Even though Adam Lambert”s July 7 concert with Queen at Sonisphere was cancelled, he will play the part of the band”s lead singer for at least four shows in 2012.
Queen”s Roger Taylor says Lambert will play with the band, which also includes original member Brian May, on June 30 in Kiev, another Kiev show where Queen and Elton John will share the bill, and two July shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in London in July. Taylor told Billboard.com that the London shows will provide an “alternative…for some of the people who had bought tickets” to Sonisphere.
Lambert will sing the songs made famous by Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991. Lambert and Queen became fast friends after Lambert performed with the band on “American Idol” in 2009. “Adam… of course he has this unbelievable range, like Freddie (Mercury) had range,” Taylor told Billboard. “Adam can really cover it. He’s an extraordinary singer and a real talent. I feel he fits into our sort of theatricality.”
Lambert”s new album, “Trespassing,” comes out May 15.