Adam Lambert says the music of Queen “rubbed off” on him over seven years of touring with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and the results could be heard in his new solo music.

He deliberately moved away from his previous pop output with the new single “New Eyes,” and says more classic rock influences would be obvious in his upcoming album Velvet.

“It’s a bit different from the singles I’ve released in the past, and I was kinda counting on that,” Lambert told NME in a new interview. “I wanted to put something out that would wipe the slate clean – new beginning, new era, and to lean into more classic, truly musical influences.”

He added that he wanted to “put a pause on Top 40,” explaining: “You can get sucked into trying to sound like everything else – to chase hits and trends and stuff.” That led to Lambert's decision to “go back to the music that first made an impression on me,” which he recently acknowledged as including David Bowie, Prince and the Who, among others.

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“I don’t think I sat down and specifically was like, ‘Hey, I need to do a song that sounds like a Queen song,’” the singer said. “But I’m sure that now, over the course of the past seven years, by osmosis it’s kind of rubbed off on me a bit. And the thing with Queen music too is that you learn these songs still work today. They’re so timeless. And there’s a reason for that: There’s strong melody in all the songs. The concepts of all the songs are universal, about the human spirit, and inclusive.”

Lambert says he's gotten used to moving between his solo career and continuing work with Queen. “Having both of them, kinda going back and forth, it kinda gives me a second to kinda breathe; I can gain some perspective,” he said. Lambert also appeared to confirm that there were no plans to write with May and Taylor when he said: “It’s always the same songs; there’s no new material. So, it feels like a home, a new home for me, a safe space. Performing these songs in front of Queen fans – there’s no better audience for a singer. They know every word. … It’s such a powerful, powerful set of music for people.”

As for his solo work, Lambert said “it’s more uncharted territory. It’s new – I’m showing people something that I made for the first time. That’s exciting, too.”

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