Adam Lambert

Although Adam finished as the runner-up in Season 8 of American Idol, his debut album For Your Entertainment is blowing up the charts in the United States, Canada and New Zealand, cracking the top three on the Billboard music charts.

As a contestant on American Idol, Lambert wowed both judges and audiences consistently every week with an incredible vocal range and captivating theatrics. All four judges praised his talent throughout the competition, and week four mentor Smokey Robinson even awarded Lambert with a standing ovation after his rendition of The Miracles', "The Tracks of My Tears." Upon winning Adam's season, winner Kris Allen was quoted as saying that, "Adam deserved this. Lambert deserved to win as much as I did. He was the most consistent person all year and seriously one of the most gifted performers I've ever met."

Adam's success began much earlier than his American Idol debut. Raised Jewish in San Diego, California by an interior designer and a program manager, Adam was always active in his school's and community's theater productions and choirs. At age 10 he made his first major theatrical appearance as Linus in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, presented by the Lyceum Theater of San Diego. Until the age of 19 Adam starred in various classic productions of Fiddler On the Roof, Hello, Dolly!, Chess, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease and Peter Pan. After graduating from Mount Caramel High School in California, Lambert moved overseas to tour with Anita Mann Productions. He returned to the United States after a short ten months on tour and was immediately cast in the European production of Hair. His most notable U.S. theater productions include the character of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical and an understudy for the Broadwayproduction in Los Angeles of Wicked.

He was finally urged to audition for American Idol after the self-realization that, "Oh! We all have our own power, and that whatever I want to do, I have to make happen."

Post-idol Adam has had a wealth of success with his first studio album, and recorded the soundtrack "Time For Miracles" for the Columbia Pictures film 2012. An album of studio recordings Adam recorded working as a session artisit pre-fame has also been released via iTunes. He's quick to remind his fans that the work on this album entitled, Take One, in no way represents the direction of the work he is producing now, that it was simply a job to pay the bills.

Adam continues to ruffle feathers with his openness about his sexuality. Adam came out to the public in the June 2009 issue of Rolling Stone. Lambert was asked if he thought his sexuality affected his American Idol outcome and he responded calmly with a laugh saying, "probably." In regards to his risque performance at the American Music Awards in 2009, Adam was quoted as explaining the performance as, "pushing the envelope about sexuality," and that his goal was to, "promote freedom of expression and artisitic freedom." Subsequently, his raunchy routine got him booted from an appearance on Good Morning America, but opened up the door to an appearance on The Early Show.

Adam released a six track digital EP on his official website on Friday, April 9, which became available on other digital outlets on Tuesday, April 13. The EP features remixes of songs off his first album, "Whataya Want from Me," "For Your Entertainment," and "Voodoo."

His first single off For Your Entertainment was the title track and it did not receive much airplay. However, his second single, "Whataya Want from Me" was a much bigger hit and it  continues to top the charts. Unlike many past American Idol contestants, Adam is remains loyal to the show because he realizes that without it he would not have received this much success. On Tuesday, April 13, Adam returned to American Idol to coach the contestants for Elvis week.

Adam recently announced his next single will be "If I Had You" off his album For Your Entertainment. He is now in the process of planning his North American summer  tour.