In an mini-essay entitled 'Beware of the Diamond Dogs,' modern glam-rocker Adam Lambert cites old-school glam-rocker David Bowie as his main musical inspiration.

If you're surprised by this, you obviously don't know much about either one of them.

In the article in Out, Lambert writes that his father was a big Bowie fan, but that he didn't become one himself until he was an adult:

I didn’t really start appreciating Bowie until my early twenties, when I was getting into glam rock. A light bulb went off -- I wasn’t into drag, I didn’t want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration.

It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts -- he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration. Later, when he finally made his big American breakthrough in the ’80s working with Nile Rodgers on 'Let’s Dance,' his image shifted to a more masculine sensibility. Considering how far he had pushed it the decade previous, however, it gave his masculinity an edgy and mysterious undercurrent.

So clearly, Glamberts owe a debt to Bowie. But it may work both ways.

Back in 2010, when asked if he would like to collaborate with Bowie, Lambert gushed, "I think that would be so exciting. I have always been really influenced by his music and the way he presents himself visually. I would love the opportunity to sit down and get creative with him because he's a genius. So maybe he will come out of hiding."

And it is for that wish that Bowie fans should in turn thank Adam Lambert. Because on March 11, David Bowie released his first new album in 10 years. Coincidence? Hard to say.

Regardless, back when Adam was touring with the rest of his 'American Idol' castmates a few years ago, he routinely paid homage to Bowie with a medley -- you can check that out below.

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