The World On My Fingers

Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and actor residing in Los Angeles, California. In May 2009 he finished as the runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol.

Early life and education

Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and lived there for a year before moving out West to California. He grew up in Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego, California and attended Deer Canyon Elementary School, Mesa Verde Middle School, and Mt. Carmel High School, where he was in theater, choir, and frequently performed with the school's jazz band.

Lambert is Jewish and has performed in Hebrew at Jewish events, singing songs such as "Shir LaShalom".

Career

Early career

Lambert has been a stage actor since he was about ten years old; he was cast as Linus in San Diego's Lyceum Theater's production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He also played a part in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He was the understudy for the part of Fiyero in the touring and Los Angeles casts of the musical Wicked. Since 2004, he has regularly performed at the Zodiac Show, which was co-created by Carmit Bachar of the Pussycat Dolls. He also performed at the Upright Cabaret.

Lambert has cited several musical influences, e.g. Queen, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin.

American Idol

Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California. During his initial audition, he sang "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody." In the semifinals, Lambert was voted into the Top 13, joining fellow Group 2 performers Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen. Lambert and Allen became roommates in the Idol mansion, with Allen stating it was due to their neatness.

During Michael Jackson week, he sang "Black or White" leading to praise from all four judges, with Paula Abdul predicting that he would go on to the finals. The following week, Lambert sang a version of "Ring of Fire". While Randy Jackson, DioGuardi, and Abdul all liked his performance, Cowell called it "indulgent rubbish". On Motown night, Lambert sang an acoustic version of The Miracles', "The Tracks of My Tears". The judges all liked it, and Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor and the original singer-songwriter, gave Lambert a standing ovation. For his Top 8 performance, Lambert sang the 2001 Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show had exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by simply giving Lambert a standing ovation. During the results next night, the other judges agreed that a standing ovation was the best critique of Lambert's performance. For his second Top 7 performance, Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi described as his "most memorable performance", while Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". Abdul was reduced to tears, with host Ryan Seacrest joking that Lambert had melted her into a "pool of Abdul". In the Top 4, Lambert was the first to sing, performing "Whole Lotta Love". Cowell commented, "that was one of my favourite performances... nobody can top that now", while Abdul, punning on the song's title, described Lambert's performance as "a whole lotta perfect". Season 7 American Idol winner David Cook stated that Lambert and Allen are his favorites of Season 8. Country music singer and actress Reba McEntire has echoed the same opinions, also adding Iraheta to her list of favorites.

Photos of Lambert kissing a man were shown and discussed by commentators on The O'Reilly Factor; the panel agreed that the images would likely have no impact on the competition.Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and has always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculation centered on Lambert's sexuality; presuming he was gay, he would be the first gay American Idol. Much of the media focus regarded the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. Asked by Rolling Stone whether the speculation surrounding his sexual orientation impacted the final vote, Lambert laughed and said "probably". Lambert confirmed that he was gay in a cover story interview with Rolling Stone, stating that "I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear I'm gay... I'm proud of my sexuality. I embrace it. It's just another part of me."

For the top three show, Lambert chose to sing at his alma mater, Mt. Carmel High School.While there, he performed both Michael Jackson's "Black or White", and the Gary Jules version of Tears for Fears' "Mad World." After his performance, San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders declared May 8 "Adam Lambert Day."

On May 20, 2009, Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Lambert performed a medley of "Beth", "Detroit Rock City", and "Rock and Roll All Nite" with rock band KISS during the final episode. His version of the winning single "No Boundaries" was later released on iTunes alongside American Idol winner Kris Allen's version.

Upon winning, Allen said "Adam deserved this". Explaining this remark, Allen said that he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met."

Post-Idol

Billboard magazine confirmed on May 22 that Lambert is working on a solo album, which is expected to be released some time in 2009. He stated that he would love to work with Slash. He said "When I was working with Slash I felt at home." Lambert also stated that his solo album will have a variety of sounds. Rock group Queen, with whom Lambert performed on the season finale, are said to be considering asking Lambert to be their new frontman. Lambert was a guest in Larry King Live (guest hosted by Ryan Seacrest) along with winner Kris Allen, judge Paula Abdul, and the rest of the top ten finalists. He has said that he plans to create a multi-genre album calling it a "rock-pop-electronic-dance thing". His debut single, "No Boundaries", was released on May 20, 2009, on iTunes with Allen's version. In his Rolling Stone magazine cover article, Adam confirmed that he is in fact gay, saying he never came out as gay because he was always openly gay.