Adam Lambert to Queen Out This Summer

Brian May (left), Adam Lambert & Roger Taylor | Photo by Kevin Mazur

Although surviving Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor have played it close to their chests when it comes to who will play Freddie Mercury in the promised biopic (last we heard they wanted the best, Ben Whishaw), they made a big announcement this morning regarding their summer plans.

Pop star Adam Lambert will be joining the duo as their frontman during a 19-date summer tour. It kicks off June 19 at the United Center in Chicago and will include New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Vancouver, Montreal, and Las Vegas.

Queen first teamed up with Lambert in 2009 to perform the band's rock anthem "We Are the Champions" on American Idol's Season 8 finale. Kris Allen won that season, and Lambert was the runner-up but since then Lambert has released two hit albums and toured the world. His debut album, For Your Entertainment, earned him a Grammy Award nom for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and his second, Trespassing, debuted at the top of the Billboard chart last year.

The trio made the announcement public on GMA this morning, but at a press conference that followed they discussed the tour, Lambert was asked what obscure Queen song he wanted to perform. He responded: "Dragon Attack," saying "We are looking for songs that not only work, but will be fun and dangerous."

May and Taylor have hinted this will be their LAST major tour as Queen and they talked about how the three get along. "The point is not for Adam to emulate Freddie," Taylor and May said, "We want to push boundaries and keep evolving as a band." They reitereated that the chemistry between the three since they preformed on American Idol has remained strong. "During the performance in Vegas, the I Heart Radio, everything seemed to come together and be grounded," Lambert said.