Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and stage actor born in Indianapolis but raised in San Diego. He began performing in amateur theatrical productions in childhood, a path he pursued into adulthood, appearing in professional productions in the U.S. and abroad.

Lambert became prominent after appearing on the eighth season of American Idol. Although he was runner-up, Lambert launched a music career with the release of the studio album For Your Entertainment (2009) after signing with 19 in a joint venture with RCA. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, sold 198,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week, and reached the top 10 in several countries worldwide. Its singles "For Your Entertainment", "Whataya Want from Me" and "If I Had You" also became successes internationally. Soon after he headlined a worldwide concert tour, Glam Nation, the first American Idol contestant to do so in the year following his Idol season. The tour was followed by two live releases: an extended play entitled Acoustic Live! (2010), and a live CD/DVD Glam Nation Live (2011), which debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart. Lambert took executive producer credit and was a principal writer on his second studio album, Trespassing, released on May 15, 2012, to critical acclaim. Trespassing made its debut in the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart, also topping the Billboard Digital Albums Chart and Canada's Digital Albums Chart. Lambert made music history as the first openly gay artist to achieve this top charting position.

Citing influence from various artists and genres, Lambert has a flamboyant, theatrical and androgynous performance style, and a powerful, technically skilled tenor voice with multi-octave range. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 2011. By April 2012 his first album had sold nearly two million copies worldwide and 4.2 million singles worldwide as of January 2011. The Times identified Lambert as the first openly gay mainstream pop artist to launch a career on a major label in the U.S.

Biography

Early life

Adam Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila (née Mitchel), an interior designer; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. He has a younger brother, Neil. His father is of mostly Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion and has performed songs in Hebrew, such as "Shir LaShalom" and "The Prayer" at a 2005 tribute concert to assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, as well as at the San Diego Temple of the Arts.

Shortly after Lambert's birth, his family moved to San Diego, California, settling in Rancho Peñasquitos after his brother was born. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine, and appeared in local productions of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Fiddler on the Roof with the company. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then high school.

While attending Mount Carmel High School (MCHS), he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, MC Jazz, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. Some of his MCHS performances included Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance and "It's Only a Paper Moon" with MC Jazz. Lambert auditioned for Starlight Theatre, a professional outdoor theater company in Balboa Park, where he performed in the ensemble for Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease and as Captain Hook in Peter Pan. After graduating in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton., but left school after five weeks and moved to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world," he said. "Life is all about taking risks to get what you want."

2001"08: Career beginnings

At 19, Lambert landed his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair for six months. "That was a huge turning point for me personally, because I finally got comfortable in my own skin. I was discovering a lot about myself. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, a lot of it." He dyed his hair black, and while in Germany, reportedly started smoking cannabis and tried ecstasy. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. Lambert, still unknown, was one of the few facets of the production to garner a positive review. He came to the attention of the casting director for the musical Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero in addition to being an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005; and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. Beginning in 2004, he regularly performed at the Upright Cabaret and the Zodiac Show, which was co-created by Carmit Bachar of the Pussycat Dolls.

During this same period, Lambert briefly moonlighted as the front man for underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He remembers, "We did three gigs and that was it and we recorded a couple things, like rough recordings, and I don't know, it didn't quite click." He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were later released on the album Take One (2009) by Hi Fi Recordings and Wilshire Records. Upon their release, Lambert issued a statement: "Back in 2005 when I was a struggling artist, I was hired as a studio singer to lend my vocals to tracks written by someone else. I was broke at the time and this was my chance to make a few bucks, so I jumped at the opportunity to record for my first time in a professional studio. The work I did back then in no way reflects the music I am currently in the studio working on."

2009: American Idol

Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California. He recalls his decision to audition for the show came after a week at Burning Man: "I had a psychedelic experience where I looked up at the clouds and went, 'Oh!' I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen." During his initial audition, Lambert sang the songs "Crazy", "Rock With You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" as solos, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Lambert was a hit with judges, though both Simon Cowell and Kara DioGuardi feared he might be too theatrical. Nonetheless, he advanced to the top 36 where contestants were split into three groups of 12. Lambert was in group 2 and performed "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", after which, he 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.

The first week of live shows, Lambert sang Michael Jackson's "Black or White", leading to praiseful support from all four judges. The following week, Lambert sang a version of "Ring of Fire". While Randy Jackson, DioGuardi, and Paula 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. When Lambert performed "Play That Funky Music", DioGuardi capped the judge's across-the-board positive reaction with: "Every week I cannot wait to get to the show and see what you're going to do next." Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and 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 (the only standing ovation that Cowell gave during his ten-year run as a judge on American Idol). During the results show the next night, the other judges agreed that a standing ovation was the best critique of Lambert's performance. The next week, he performed "Born to Be Wild" to which Abdul responded, "You're one of the bravest contestants I've ever witnessed" but Cowell questioned the version's overall likability to the general public.

Photos of Lambert romantically kissing another man surfaced in the midst of the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were presented and discussed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact 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". He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover story interview shortly after he was named the American Idol runner-up.

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" and Abdul was reduced to tears. A week later, he returned with "Feeling Good" which received mixed reception from the judges who felt his edgy and dramatic theatrical performance was "a little too Broadway." For the only time, he ended up in the bottom two after the public vote, but received enough votes to remain in the competition. Down to the top 4, Lambert was the first to perform and sang "Whole Lotta Love". Cowell commented, "that was one of my favorite performances" admitting that "nobody can top that now", while Abdul described Lambert's performance as "a whole lotta perfect." He followed it by "nailing" his duet of "Slow Ride" with fellow competitor Allison Iraheta later in the night. For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets", and followed it with "Cryin' before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that." He also visited his hometown and reprised his earlier successes of "Black or White" and "Mad World" at his alma mater, Mount Carmel High School. Afterwards, San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders declared May 8, 2009, "Adam Lambert Day."

Friends from the start, Lambert and Kris Allen were safe, and into the final. Lambert performed three solo songs in the final, reprising "Mad World" as his choice. He followed this by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", picked by producer Simon Fuller, to a tremendously positive judge reaction. "That was the best I've EVER heard you sing, EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER!" cooed Abdul. "Whatever happens with this Idol journey, I know you're going to be iconic." The mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries", was then performed by both Lambert and Allen. After the performance, Cowell summed up Lambert's journey, "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you." Alongside the usual solo performances, Lambert also performed a medley of "Beth", "Detroit Rock City", and "Rock and Roll All Nite" with rock band Kiss and joined with Kris Allen, Brian May and Roger Taylor (of Queen) to perform the anthem "We Are the Champions" during the final episode before the results were announced. Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol but, upon winning, Kris Allen stated, "Adam deserved this." Explaining this remark later, 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." Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's version. The LA Times later ranked Lambert 5th in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from seasons 1 to 9 of the show, above Allen.

American Idol season 8 performances and results

Performances:

Week #	Theme	Song choice	Original artist	Order #	Result
Audition	Auditioner's Choice	"Rock with You" "Bohemian Rhapsody"	Michael Jackson Queen	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood	First Solo	"What's Up"	4 Non Blondes	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood	Group Performance	"Some Kind of Wonderful"	Soul Brothers Six	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood	Second Solo	"Believe"	Cher	N/A	Advanced
Top 36/Semi-Final 2	Billboard Hot 100 Hits to Date	"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"	The Rolling Stones	12	Advanced
Top 13	Michael Jackson	"Black or White"	Michael Jackson	11	Safe
Top 11	Grand Ole Opry	"Ring of Fire"	Anita Carter	5	Safe
Top 10	Motown	"The Tracks of My Tears"	The Miracles	8	Safe
Top 9	Top Downloads	"Play That Funky Music"	Wild Cherry	8	Safe
Top 8	Year They Were Born (1982)	"Mad World"	Tears for Fears	8	Safe
Top 7	Songs from the Cinema	"Born to Be Wild" " Easy Rider	Steppenwolf	3	Safe
Top 7	Disco	"If I Can't Have You"	Yvonne Elliman	5	Safe
Top 5	Rat Pack Standards	"Feeling Good"	Cy Grant	5	Bottom 2
Top 4	Rock and Roll Solo Duet	"Whole Lotta Love" "Slow Ride" with Allison Iraheta	Led Zeppelin Foghat	1 6	Safe
Top 3	Judge's Choice (Simon Cowell) Contestant's Choice	"One" "Cryin'	U2 Aerosmith	3 6	Safe
Top 2	Contestant's Choice Simon Fuller's Choice Coronation Song	"Mad World" "A Change Is Gonna Come" "No Boundaries"	Tears for Fears Sam Cooke Kris Allen/Adam Lambert	1 3 5	Runner-up

• ^ Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for an additional week.
• ^ It was only announced that Allison Iraheta received the lowest number of votes this week. The other member(s) of the bottom two or three were never revealed, and the safe contestants were announced in random order.

Fresh from the competition, in May 2009, Lambert performed "Mad World" on CBS' The Early Show, and the next morning on Live with Regis and Kelly. He was featured in a segment of the ABC News magazine show 20/20 in June 2009 which reviewed much of his musical career, leading into the up-coming 2009 Idol Tour. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 with his fellow top 10 contestants in July, visiting 50 cities in the United States and Canada, stretching through till September 15. In August 2009, he appeared with fellow Idols David Cook and Kris Allen on Good Morning America's televised concert series held in Central Park, New York City, performing a nearly acoustic version of Muse's "Starlight". That summer he was also the recipient of two 2009 awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. He reteamed with fellow contestants Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta for a special Idols Rock My Town concert in February, which was held in New York City. When Lambert appeared on Larry King Live (guest-hosted by Ryan Seacrest) along with judge Paula Abdul and the other top ten finalists, he stated that he planned to create a pop rock, multi-genre album fused with electronic production. Lambert stuck to those intentions in his subsequent debut release.

2009"11: For Your Entertainment and touring

For Your Entertainment, Lambert's debut studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the United States its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with a number of producers, including Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and a string of writers that included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" with Entertainment Weekly writing, "he's still the belle of what turns out to be one heck of a glitter-pop ball," and All Music Guide stating, "there's a lot of pure pop pleasure here, more than any immediate post-Idol album has ever delivered." But Rolling Stone gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy--[it] seems like a disc that was overthought." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single included on the album was "Time for Miracles", which was originally intended as only the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012; Queen guitarist Brian May lauded the "truly sensational" song, admitting that he was "completely blown away" upon hearing the track. Since its release, For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US.

On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist, grinding a dancer's head against his pelvis, and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency campaigning group, urged viewers to complain to the FCC, despite the fact that the performance occurred "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's November 25 performance on Good Morning America. Consequently, CBS invited Lambert to perform on The Early Show instead, on the same date. When discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview after the performance, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years"?pushing the envelope about sexuality"?and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009"?it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012.

In the months surrounding his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of a number of high-profile magazines including Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. In his Details shoot he was photographed with a nude woman, sparking controversy. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their "Out 100" issue (11/09), again sparking controversy when Out's publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. The Canadian website and magazine Rockstar Weekly published an Adam Lambert fan magazine in February 2010, which sold out quickly in its first run and was re-issued in October 2010 with added content. In April it was revealed that Lambert had been chosen one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He appeared on the cover of Japan's May 2010 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, after his single "For Your Entertainment" reached its fifth consecutive number-one spot on their radio airplay charts. In November 2011, Lambert appeared on the cover of what became a sought after edition of The Advocate, which also included an in-depth interview. Lambert was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and appeared on the December 10 show to be interviewed by Walters.

In support of the album, Lambert appeared on various programs and at events, both in the US and internationally. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman,The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, and The Jay Leno Show. He also appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The View, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, where he gave lengthy interviews about his album and career, as well as performing. In December 2009, he hosted and performed at radio-sponsored Jingle Balls in New York, Miami and Tampa, Florida. To ring in the New Year, he headlined the Gridlock New Year's Eve 2010 festival at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, which benefited the American Red Cross. In February, AOL Music showcased Lambert in an intimate five-song mini-concert on AOL Sessions. The same month, he performed another intimate acoustic set for IHeartRadio, interrupting the performance of "Whataya Want from Me" to ask an audience member to stop talking on her cell phone. Later that month, Lambert's first official solo concert was held at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, where he played a sold-out show to fans from around the world. In early March, Lambert was selected to inaugurate the newly resurrected award-winning VH1 Unplugged concert series, interviewing and performing stripped-down versions of five songs from For Your Entertainment. March also saw him as a featured artist on the ABC News Nightline "Playlist" segment, discussing his musical influences and favorite tracks. Lambert performed sets in Berns, Stockholm, Sweden and two concerts in British Columbia, Canada rounding out Spring 2010. In May 2011, Lambert performed at the Maxidrom Festival in Moscow, Russia, to an estimated crowd of 50,000 people, while July saw him at the Ste Agathe en Feux Festival in Quebec, Canada.

In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, also performing "Whataya Want from Me". His contributions drew praise, including from then Idol musical director Rickey Minor. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me", which he also performed.

At the start of June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining concert tour Glam Nation, playing throughout the United States with Allison Iraheta and Orianthi before performing throughout Europe and Asia. His concert in Malaysia on October 10, 2010, went ahead as planned, despite protests from an Islamist political party. Lambert performed a total of 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The complete concert in Indianapolis was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a package consisting of a 13-track CD with DVD, which included behind-the-scenes footage. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying that it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed in the number-12 spot on Billboard's 2011 year-end chart for music video sales. This followed the release of his first extended play (EP), titled Acoustic Live!, which included acoustic versions of his songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News.

Lambert was profiled in an episode of VH1's celebrated Behind the Music series, in an hour-long documentary which premiered on August 7, 2011. In it he revealed details about a broad range of topics, including early struggles with his sexuality, his experience in the theater, and events surrounding the release of his debut album. He was the subject of more in-depth interviews that fall, in an E! True Hollywood Story, and on CNN Talk Asia.

On November 6, 2011, Lambert joined Queen as lead singer for a special performance at the MTV Europe Music Awards held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award. In a "spectacular" performance that closed the show, Lambert and Queen presented a medley of the classic hits "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions".

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