A Look At Adam Lambert's Life-Changing American Idol Audition

Lambert turned 27 in 2009, the year of his remarkable audition. He had sacrificed a lot (he wasn't allowed to be bound by another "entertainment contract" when he appeared on the show, so had to quit his job), but there he was on stage performing for Simon Cowell and his cadre of sharp-tongued judges.

Lambert turned 27 in 2009, the year of his remarkable audition. He had sacrificed a lot (he wasn't allowed to be bound by another "entertainment contract" when he appeared on the show, so had to quit his job), but there he was on stage performing for Simon Cowell and his cadre of sharp-tongued judges.

He first performed "Rock with You," but the Michael Jackson number was a bust. Desperate for another chance, he asked to perform "Bohemian Rhapsody." Cowell worried that Lambert was "too theatrical" on stage, but performances like these were enough to convince Queen guitar legend Brian May, who was looking for potential replacements for singer Paul Rogers at the time.

"I had thousands of people send me the video, saying, 'You have to see this guy,'" May said in 2014 (per Smooth Radio). "So it immediately put [him] in there. And then we came to see."

Roger Taylor told "Good Morning America" (via Smooth Radio) a similar story. "A friend of mine called me up and said, 'I've just seen the most amazing singer on 'American Idol.” I checked it out and [Lambert] was singing 'Whole Lotta Love' by Led Zeppelin and just blowing it away. Fantastic," he recalled.

Watching him in person and performing together clinched it, and the rest is musical history.

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