Adam Lambert takes the cover of Instinct’s May issue, out on newsstands now.

Here’s what the 30-year-old singer had to share with the mag:

On reaching out to new fans: “As a community, we’re a little bit resistant to a gay male pop star ourselves. It’s very easy for people to look at my origin, which is American Idol, and automatically assume that I’m a commercial sellout or a puppet or a flash in the pan. I don’t think I’m any of those things. There’s something weird there. We’re very eager to celebrate a strong female. But to celebrate a fellow gay man – it gets catty sometimes.”

On his new album, Trespassing: “This is the kind of music I listen to. I know the style of vocal I have is kind of big. It has a certain edge to it. I’ve always loved rock, but I also love stuff that is more groove-based, more funky, more soulful, more dance music.”