During an interview on NPR's quiz show Ask Me Another, out singer-songwriter Adam Lambert talked about coming out publicly after appearing on American Idol.

The 36-year-old Lambert rose to fame after appearing on the eighth season of Fox's singing competition show American Idol, where he came in runner-up to Kris Allen.

Speculation about Lambert's sexuality, fueled in part by photos of him kissing a man, swirled during the competition. He publicly announced in a Rolling Stone cover story that he's gay.

“Did you feel a lot of pressure at the time to be the new gay poster boy?” host Ophira Eisenberg asked.

“It was so strange to me, because I came out to my family and all my friends when I was 18...[they were] really supportive and I was in an industry that supported it,” Lambert said. “To me at the time, I was looking at it from my point of view. I didn't have the knowledge or experience yet to really see it as the public looking at me.”

Lambert acknowledged that he was “mixed with total intimidation and fear” about coming out.

“We were like, 'Let's do this the right way. Let's save it for a publication that we know will cover this the right way, fairly and in a very liberal light.' [Rolling Stone] totally got me,” he added.

(Related: Cher moved to tears by Adam Lambert's powerful cover of “Believe.”)

During his appearance, Lambert answered trivia questions about other Rolling Stone cover stars from 2009.