Adam Lambert is one of the most impressive vocalists in the music industry today -- yet he still can't help but feel that he's the odd man out sometimes.

But ever the optimist, he doesn't let that cloud rain on his parade. Instead, he says that this same outsider status gives him a better POV than most entertainers, and it's also given him the unique chance to be a role model.

As he explained to Wire magazine (via Press Party) during a recent interview, "I’ve always felt a bit alienated. It’s what makes me who I am. I’m proud to represent something alternative to the status quo. In pop [music], that’s both a challenge and a privilege."

"Success is relative − I may have my career highs and lows, but all of it is an amazing step up from where I was five years ago," the 'American Idol' runner-up (who was robbed of the title) continued. "I am my own boss and I get to do what I love as a career."

After his 'Idol' run in 2008, Lambert did a cover story with Rolling Stone and publicly revealed what most people already knew: He's openly gay. But back then, he wasn't entirely comfortable taking on the identity of an activist or role model.

"I didn’t realize that was going to come with everything," he told the South Florida Gay News. "I was just trying to sing." These days, though, he has a different take.

"One of the things that drives me the most is when I was younger, I didn’t really have a lot of gay role models who were proud and gay and open and were who they were," he explained. "I’ve gotten letters and met younger people in the LGBT community who have said, 'Wow I really appreciate the fact that you don’t make any apologies and you’re just this wacky guy.' And that alone gives me a lot of confidence."

"If I can help a young person feel more comfortable in their own skin or be the person they want to be, it’s
f---ing awesome."

When asked what most people don't know about him, the 6-foot-1-inch Adam replied, "Almost half the people I meet go 'oh you’re tall.' And those same people say 'oh and you’re nice.'"

"Why does everybody think I’m short and an asshole?" he laughed. "I’m tall and I’m friendly, I promise."

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