Listen: Adam Lambert on the Influence and Legacy of Freddie Mercury

There has never been a rock and roll showman who can compare to Freddie Mercury. There never will be a rock and roll showman who will compare to Freddie Mercury. The Queen frontman was lightning in a bottle, and his flair, flamboyance, stage presence, and charisma will never be duplicated.

Freddie's influence can still be seen and heard today, nearly twenty years after his death, in artists such as Jake Shears, Lady Gaga (whose name may or may not be derived from Queen's final Top 40 hit "Radio Gaga,") and his heir apparent Adam Lambert.

Adam discusses Freddie in an NPR piece about Freddie's legacy, and how the legend always brought a sexual magnetism to the stage:

"He was completely over the top in the best possible way," says Lambert. "Music, most of the time, is about sexuality, whether you are straight, gay or in between. It's about love and sex. That's rock 'n' roll."

Adam also laments the fact that so few male performers are willing to put everything out there the way Freddie did:

"There's definitely something missing in today's music scene," he says. "We don't have a lot of men on stage doing flamboyant or theatrical. We have a lot of female pop stars doing it, but where are the guys? Where's the classic pop-rock showman?"

You can listen to the entire NPR piece below, which is part of their "50 Great Voices" series, and delves into Freddies' childhood ... and why he refused to have his teeth fixed.

And you can hear why Adam is infatuated with Freddie's "squeeze."