For Your Entertainment hitmaker Adam Lambert was 12 when he realized he is gay.

The American Idol alumnus admitted he was insecure when he was younger and it took him a while to accept who he is.

"Growing up I wasn't very confident. It wasn't until in my early 20s that I evolved into who I really was and wanted to be," he said.

"I always used to look at being different as a bad thing, but I've learned that you need to take pride in the fact that you are unique.

"I was an ugly duckling, I was overweight and at 12 I realized I was gay. I kept that a secret until I was 18, so dealing with that and not feeling attractive was hard.

"The main validation I got was from being a performer, because it made me feel good about myself."