LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- `` American Idol '' runner-up Adam Lambert confirmed publicly what he assumed everyone already knew : He is gay . Adam Lambert talks about his sexuality and his `` Idol '' experience in the new Rolling Stone . `` I do n't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I am gay , '' Lambert told Rolling Stone magazine . He said he is `` proud of my sexuality '' and never sought to hide it during the `` Idol '' competition . `` I embrace it , '' he said . `` It 's just another part of me . '' Still , he stayed silent when , in March , a picture of him , dressed in drag and kissing an ex-boyfriend , emerged online . Lambert told Rolling Stone he was worried coming out would `` be so sensationalized that it would overshadow what I was there to do , which was sing . '' The photo was taken on one of the three or four times he 's dressed in drag , Lambert said , `` but 'sucking my boy 's face ? Yes , that I will own . ' `` He took down all of the pictures on his Facebook and MySpace pages before the `` Idol '' season , but he forgot about another Web site profile that included the drag photo , he said . Watch Lambert pose with a snake for the cover » . With the competition over , Lambert 's public confirmation of his homosexuality is in preparation for the `` American Idol '' national tour , which starts next month . He said he wanted to avoid `` the Clay Aiken thing and the celebrity-magazine bulls -- t. '' `` I find it very important to be in control of this situation , '' he said . `` I feel like everyone has an opinion of me , and I want a chance to say , 'Well , do you want to hear how I really feel about all this ? ' '' Aiken , the runner-up on `` Idol 's '' second season , dodged questions about his sexuality until coming out in People magazine last year . Lambert said his coming out is not a political statement . `` I 'm trying to be a singer , not a civil rights leader , '' he said . The Rolling Stone article revealed some `` bi-curious '' ambiguity for Lambert , whose tall , dark and handsome looks appealed to the female audience . `` I loved it this season when girls went crazy for me , '' he said . `` As far as I 'm concerned , it 's all hot . '' He said he is `` kind of interested '' in girls . Lambert made another revelation to Rolling Stone that might not be expected . His decision to audition for `` American Idol '' came after a week at Burning Man -- an annual festival held in a Nevada desert -- where he experimented with `` certain funguses . '' `` I had a psychedelic experience where I looked up at the clouds and went , 'Oh ! ' `` he said . `` I realized that we all have our own power , and that whatever I wanted to do , I had to make happen . '' And what he wanted to do was be on `` American Idol , '' he said . `` I knew it was my only shot to be taken seriously in the recording industry , because it 's fast and broad . ''
Adam Lambert subject of cover story in Rolling Stone ; that he is gay . Lambert said he never wanted to hide sexuality , but did n't want it to . Decision to try out for ` ` American Idol '' , after psychedelic experience .