QUEEN frontman Adam Lambert spoke to CNBC 's Tania Bryer about recording new music in lockdown, honoring frontline health workers, the political response to the COVID-19 crisis and his philanthropic foundation which supports LGBTQ+ communities. You can watch the chat below.
Assesing how the government has handled the COVID-19 outbreak, Lambert said: "There are cases where I'm very proud of the leadership — government leadership [at the] state [level], like our governor here in California [ Gavin Newsom ]. The mayor of Los Angeles [ Eric Garcetti ] — really wonderful leadership. I do think on a federal level, it's a little bit chaotic.
"I kind of have to temper how much news I actually watch, 'cause I find it very frustrating," he continued. "Also, I think a lot of the news and information coming out, it's turned into a political thing, and really, at the end of the day, I really wish that it was more focused on the health and safety of everybody and not how this turns into a bipartisan thing. It's a very us-versus-them, red-versus-blue, and I just think this is not the time to be getting stuck there."
Asked what he would want President Donald Trump to do more to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, Lambert said: "I think it's more that I want him to do less. [ Laughs ] It seems to me that when he has a press conference and he speaks, it just makes things worse. So maybe if he would just let the medical professionals step in, I think if he delegated a little bit more responsibly, that might be good."
QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT recently recorded a new version of "We Are The Champions" — retitled "You Are The Champions" — as a tribute to workers on the frontline fighting coronavirus. All proceeds made from the song will go towards the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization .
Lambert , drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May first shared the stage during "American Idol" in May 2009 for a performance of "We Are The Champions" . They teamed up again in 2011 at the MTV European Music Awards in Belfast, Ireland for an electrifying eight-minute finale of "The Show Must Go On" , "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" and in the summer of 2012, the singer performed a series of shows with QUEEN across Europe as well as dates in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. They have since completed a number of tours and performed at some of the biggest festivals in the world.
