Idol Chatter & Voice Views

If you hear a few fewer vocal hijinks on Adam Lambert’s new Trespassing album, take it as a sign that he’s matured as a singer.

If you hear lots more funk … well, that’s by intention too.

Adam talked about a wide range of topics — from gay marriage to bullying — during a candid live interview with Billboard.com this afternoon.

But the focus, of course, was on the new music. After all, “Trespassing” hits stores Tuesday.

The key to putting together the album, Adam said, was having more time to do it right.

His first album, he admits “was very much a guessing game. We did a bunch of cool songs and recorded them.”

It turned out to be a highly successful guessing game, since “For Your Entertainment” just went platinum.

On “Trespassing,” Adam says he had time to write music he wanted to record, time to work with different producers and different collaborators.

And, most of all, time to test drive the music by playing demos for family and friends.

He talks about a Halloween party he hosted on a bus with about 25 friends. Dressed as a vampire, he watched their reaction to his new music.

That reaction was how he decided the title track and “Kickin’ In” would make the album.

“I found I really wanted to get into that funk,” Adam says of the sound on album number two. “It’s disco, funk, dance for, like, now.

“Then the back half of the album slows down a bit and goes into this experimental, mid-tempo, emotional kid of place.”

In the end, Adam says he’s satisfied that he’s put together an “honest” album of songs he won’t tire of performing, and of songs that can be performed live in a number of ways.

Oh, and as for growing up as an artist, he says he no longer feels the need to show how high a note he can hit on every single song.

That, he admits, might have been a bit of a holdover from the Idol days.

To listen to the complete interview, head here. Adam even provides some musical recommendations straight from his own iPod.

Meanwhile, don’t forget that Adam will be performing on the American Idol results show this week.

And check back tomorrow; I’ll post some early reviews of Adam’s “Trespassing.”

Meanwhile, Billboard wasn’t Adam’s only stop today. He’s also performed on Good Morning America. Here’s a clip.

The audio isn’t perfect on his version of “Never Close Oour Eyes,” but you can head here for a better listen.