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Adam Lambert to Replace the Late Freddie Mercury in Queen

1328302252_adam lambert freddie mercury article

Don't stop him now — Adam Lambert is on fire!

The season eight American Idol runner-up confirmed to the U.K.'s Daily Star Thursday that he has been tapped to be the lead singer of Queen — the spot in which original member Freddie Mercury held until his untimely death in 1991.

Related: PHOTOS: Revisit Adam's American Idol run

"The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some f*****g great songs," Lambert, 30, told the paper. "It's to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would have been proud of. There's no intention in my mind of replacing Freddie. That's impossible."

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Adam follows in the footsteps of vocalist Paul Rodgers, 62, who went on a 2005 tour with original Queen bandmates guitarist Brian May, 64, and drummer Roger Taylor, 62.

Related: PHOTOS: Adam Lambert and other out and proud celebs

Lambert attributes some of his success to Mercury, who he's named to be his longtime idol. In addition to singing Queen's timeless mega-hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" for his American Idol audition and performing "We Are the Champions" with Rodgers and May at the show's finale, he took the stage at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards with the duo in November to perform a medley of the band's hits.

Queen is set to headline the Sonisphere Festival tour this summer.

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