Adam Lambert Was Once Scared of Pushing Boundaries. Not Anymore: 'I Don't Have Anything to Lose' (Exclusive)

"It's an EP that hopefully sets the mood," Lambert tells PEOPLE of his new six-track project 'Afters,' which was inspired by "bedroom conversation"

Adam Lambert is unapologetically embracing his sexy side.

A little over a year after releasing his last album High Drama, Lambert is back with his new EP, Afters. The "hedonistic and unfiltered" project of House/EDM music sees Lambert, 42, exploring his sexuality and capturing the "essence of modern queer culture" in a six-track extended play.

"So often in the past, I'll be in a writing situation and you're with a couple of songwriters and you're all trying to come up with a rhyme to something, and my silly little dirty mind will come up with a naughty little lyric," Lambert tells PEOPLE exclusively. "And then we all laugh and go, 'Oh, no, no, we can't put that in there. That's too much.'"

"And so with this one, it was like, 'No, let's do it. Let's do the naughty rhyme,'" he continues of the EP, out July 19. "It just felt like I was finally going, 'Yeah, let's do it.'"

Related: Adam Lambert on Facing Homophobia, Mental Health Struggles Since 'American Idol' : 'I've Proven a Lot to Myself'

Lambert's idea for Afters came about after the pandemic allowed him to "hit the pause button."

"I spent so many years on tour and working, heavily focused on my career, that once the pandemic happened... it allowed me to sort of recalibrate a bit and reprioritize certain things," he explains. "The couple of years that have followed have been great. I've been able to have a bit more of a personal life for a little while, and I'm in an amazing relationship and we socialize a lot and put on a lot of parties and we go out, and I just wanted to make music that sort of reflected that experience, that reflected that reality."

Though Lambert is no stranger to high drama and showmanship, he says the EP is rooted in reality and "pretty authentic to certain experiences that I've had."

"It's not afraid to lift the veil a little bit," he explains. "This is a bedroom conversation... It's an EP that hopefully sets the mood and makes people feel inspired to be sexy — whatever that means to you. Whether it means you're going to hook up with somebody, a stranger; whether it means you're going to have an amazing night with your partner that you're already with; whether it means that you're going to stay single, liberated and just feel powerful. It's meant to make you feel a certain kind of way."

Related: Adam Lambert Says He's 'Flattered' by Lil Nas X Crediting Him with Opening Doors for LGBTQ+ Pop Stars

While he's pushed boundaries before, Lambert says this album is unlike any project he's done as he was able to explore "new parts" of his voice, including "lower" and "moodier stuff."

"It's definitely not as much about, 'Hey, look what I can do.' It's not like a show-off kind of energy," he explains. "It's more of a, 'Look at the mood that I can set.' That was sort of more of the goal. It was creating an energy. It was creating a vibe."

With songs like "Lube", "Wet Dream" and "CVNTY", Lambert also knows fans may see a parallel to other major artists — and they happen to be ones that have inspired him in his career.

"There's an audience out there that responds positively to someone saying, 'I'm going to do what I want,'" he says. "Some of my favorite artists have been artists that had pushed buttons and were provocateurs. Look at Prince, look at Madonna, look at George Michael after he got busted, he leaned into it. He was like, 'I'm going to make this part of my art.' And I've always really admired that spirit of pushing things and saying what others might not."

In fact, that inspiration became so clear that Lambert even says a friend who listened to the EP told him, "'This is totally your Madonna sex book. This is your moment,'" he recalls, adding how the end of his final track, "Face," also "reminds me of Madonna 'Justify My Love'."

"It kind of gives that sound, and that made me really happy," he adds. "I was like, oh my God, we've kind of accidentally created that vibe."

Related: Adam Lambert Says Freddie Mercury Is in His Heart 'Every Time I Take the Stage' as He and Queen Close Out 2023 Tour

When it came to the creative process of writing and producing, Lambert says it was a collaborative environment — one that also allowed him to ability to explore a topic he's never had the chance to delve into deeply.

"I love the team effort in making music these days. I got to work with songwriters — a lot of which are queer people, some of the producers as well," he notes. "It wasn't a real tough nut to crack, to be honest with you. I just got in there and I was like, 'I want to write about being sexy after hours. I want to write about that sort of desire.' I think I've definitely touched on the topic before in other songs and other projects, but not so directly."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Ultimately, they worked together to create a project that he's proud of — and one he envisions playing at a club or "at an after party from start to finish and just have a good old time."

The album also comes at an important time, according to Lambert.

"Socio-politically speaking, the LGBTQ community has definitely been the victim of some really nasty vitriol," he explains. "One could think, 'Oh, well, maybe that will make you hold back or be afraid.' And I personally feel the opposite is true. I think that [for] myself and a lot of the community... it kind of lights a flame of rebellion in you."

"You go, 'Well, fine, you don't like it, I'm going to shine brighter. F you.' That's how I feel," he continues. "I feel like we have fought very hard for very long to exist and we're not going to pull back now."

Related: Adam Lambert Says Homophobic Backlash Post-'American Idol' Inspired Him to 'Be as Gay' as Possible

So it should come as no surprise that Lambert is not at all concerned about any backlash to his racy new project.

"Early on, when I first started after [American] Idol, I got a big slap on the wrist for a performance that was really sexualized," he explains, noting that the fallout caused him to be "a bit cautious with how I express myself" to maintain professional relationships. "It always felt like this sort of little dance of having to stay within a certain boundary."

These days, Lambert believes the industry has "changed so much," which has allowed him more freedom to be himself and connect directly with his loyal fanbase.

"So I guess I don't really feel like I have anything to lose," he says. "That kind of feeling, when that feels very true, it's a good feeling. I think I've worked really hard for a really long time. I've sort of earned my spot and I feel secure in it. I feel like I've had an amazing couple years of doing a lot of really cool separate projects, and more and more things are on the horizon."

"I guess that kind of proves to me that there's nothing to be afraid of," he adds. "There's no fear of, 'Oh, will this get taken away from me?' Which I think early on, that kind of was in the back of my head.. I think time and experience and opportunities have sort of proven to me that there will always be another project. There will always be something else I get to be a part of. So there's no fear."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.