Crikey! Adam Lambert Lands Gig as New ‘X Factor Australia’ Judge
(photo: John Salangsang/Invision/AP)
First, the good news: After years of one-off guest-judging stints, Adam Lambert has finally gained employment as a full-time TV talent show judge. The bad news (at least for fans north of the equator)? That TV show is in Australia.
Glamberts, you better get your Slingbox setups in order before Lambert joins Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian and Aussie rapper Iggy Azalea behind the X Factor Australia table later this year. (In a major shakeup, Lambert and Azalea are replacing last season’s X Factor Australia judges, Chris Isaak, Dannii Minogue, and James Blunt; the Oz panel is also slimming down from its previous four-judge format.)
“I am very excited to join X Factor in Australia and am looking forward to helping people shine their brightest,” Lambert announced in a statement. “Australia has always been one of my favorite places to tour. The Aussies I’ve met are so kind and good-humored – so the thought of getting to live in Sydney is very exciting.”
Ever since rumors spread (following Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler’s sudden departure from American Idol after Season 11) that Lambert was in the running to be a Season 12 Idol judge, fans have clamored for him to land a opportunity like this one. However, while The X Factor Australia will be Adam’s first full-time judging gig, it won’t be the first time that he has exercised his expertise as a TV judge. In 2011, Lambert guest-judged a rock ‘n’ roll menswear episode of Project Runway; in 2014, he judged the Season 6 premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race; and of course, last year he became the first American Idol contestant to ever guest-judge on Idol, filling in for Keith Urban at the Season 14 New York auditions.
Below, behold Lambert’s judging skills in action, while you fans in both hemispheres get ready for his never-ending succession of bon mots and killer outfits this fall.
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