A beloved American Idol star just got candid about how legendary singer George Michael's forced coming-out story inspired them.
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Indeed, at MTV's Video Music Awards ceremony on Sept. 27, Adam Lambert joined artists like RAYE and Sombr on stage to pay tribute to Michael's, who passed away in 2016. The American Idol favorite and Queen singer closed out the tribute by singing Michael's hit "Freedom! '90."
However, the performance held a very special meaning for the 44-year-old.
"When I was growing up, [George Michael] and Michael Jackson were my two male artists that I liked," Lambert, who debuted in American Idol way back in 2009, told PEOPLE on the VMA red carpet. "They were so influential. The stuff that George did with his voice, I mean, he was such a good singer, and a great writer and a great producer."
Why George Michael Meant So Much to Adam Lambert
His artistry aside, there was another reason a teenage Lambert looked up to George Michael: the way the "Faith" singer stood up to the media after he was essentially forced to come out to CNN following an arrest for a "lewd act" in Beverly Hills in 1998.
"At that time, I thought he did it with such grace and confidence and didn't apologize, and he owned it," Lambert recalled to PEOPLE. "He stood up for himself, and he called out the media and everybody else."
"I just think that was a really important thing for us to see as a community, and I look back on that very often with pride," Lambert added. "I think it's really, really beautiful that he handled it that way."
Michael certainly was bold for the late 1990s. While most artists, especially a man who appealed to women as a sex symbol, would do their best to spin the story, he chose to be defiant in the face of adversity.
"I don't feel any shame," the "Father Figure " singer told CNN at the time, per PEOPLE. "I feel stupid, and I feel reckless and weak for having allowed my sexuality to be exposed this way. But I don't feel any shame whatsoever."
Meanwhile, Lambert and co. tribute to George Michael at the VMAs comes a decade after the beloved singer passed away at 53. The tribute also marked the 40th anniversary of Michael's signature album, Faith.
