Adam Lambert is flamboyant, extravagant and truly unique as an artist. Cutting his teeth with Queen in recent years has made him one of the most exceptional performers in the world. He had big shoes to fill, in Freddie Mercury, but instead of trying to copy him, he has forged a fantastic fresh feel and has developed his own confidence as a singer and performer. 

Getting Older is a cover of the Billie Eilish original, but performed in a way that only Adam Lambert can. Lyrically, this song does exactly what you think it might, it tells us the changes that the singer notices when they get older. When originally written, it would have been the changes that Billie Eilish no doubt felt as she was catapulted to stardom. For Adam Lambert, you can imagine a similar experience of moving from everyday life to that of a superstar and the documenting of these changes being somewhat strange! 

Whilst I imagine Adam Lambert does not want to be compared to Queen and wants to forge his own musical path, in Getting Older, musically it’s hard not to notice the similarities when the first thing we hear are close harmonies very reminiscent of the 70s Queen sound. However with lines in the song like ‘one day I’ll be royal’ I think there is always a conscious nod to the second role he occupies as the singer with the iconic rock band. Getting Older is a straightforward ballad with gliding phrases sitting over a traditional band composition of guitars, drums, piano and some synths sitting behind it to give some depth. Lambert's voice is beautiful throughout and towards the end of the song gives some deliberate cracks that shows a real authenticity to his vocal. Without comparing Lambert to Mercury, or this version to Billie Eilish, this song is a fantastic example of a wonderful singer and performer.

Author: Phil Arnold

Phil Arnold is a musician, producer and music reviewer from Devon, in the South West of England. Whilst not writing music reviews, Phil also writes and records under the name of Ugbrooke.