Adam Lambert has confirmed he is set to join Queen as the band's new frontman for a tour this summer.
The star was joined by original group members Brian May and Roger Taylor during his finale performance on 2009's American Idol, and the trio teamed up once more at the MTV European Music Awards in November.
The collaborations led to speculation that Lambert would be stepping in to take the place of late singer Freddie Mercury in an upcoming trek, and Taylor fuelled the reports, saying in December, "He has grown into a really great performer with an astonishing voice... We would like to work with him again. There's nothing signed just yet but we're talking about live dates."
Lambert has now announced he will be touring with May and Taylor throughout 2012 - including dates at Knebworth in England, where Queen played their final gig with Mercury in 1986, before his death in 1991.
He tells the Daily Star: "The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some f**king great songs. It's to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would have been proud of."
However, Lambert insists he doesn't intend to take Mercury's place: "After the EMAs, I heard faint little slithers of a backlash from people saying: 'You can't replace Freddie Mercury.' But I already knew that.
"There's no intention in my mind of replacing Freddie. That's impossible. The way I'm choosing to view it is that it's a great honour and one I'm in no way going to shirk... Being asked to front Queen is the best thing that can possibly happen."