Adam Lambert was the runner up on the season 8 of American Idol in 2009, despite being the heavy favorite to win.

 

Adam Lambert was born in Indiana on January 29, 1982. When he was one year old, his family moved to Rancho Peñasquitos, a San Diego suburb, where he grew up. He attended Deer Canyon Elementary School, and then Mesa Verde Middle School in Poway. At Mt. Carmel High School, he participated in theater, choir, and the jazz band. He has one younger brother.

 

Adam attended his first pop concert at age 10—a Paula Abdul show—and at that age began singing. Shortly after, he took private voice lessons and eventually appeared in several musicals, including the role of Lynus in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" at the Lyceum Theater. Lambert has appeared in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Grease," "Chess," and "Ten Commandments" with Val Kilmer.

 

After high school, he moved to Orange County for college – and lasted about five weeks. "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." Most recently, he was cast in the musical "Wicked" as the understudy to Fiyero. Since 2004, he has regularly performed at the Zodiac show and Upright Cabaret.

 

Adam Lambert quickly gained the spotlight when he auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol. He sang "Bohemian Rhapsody," not surprising considering that he often names Freddie Mercury as one of his own favorite singers, and received feedback both from Kara and Simon that indicated he might be overly theatrical. This label has stuck and served Adam well during the continuation of the contest, though since then he has shown his ability to sing a variety of genres, including classic rock in his rendition of "Can't Get No Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, Motown with "Tracks of My Tears" by the Miracles, and pop with his version of "Black or White" by Michael Jackson that earned especially high praise from all four judges. Lambert has earned notoriety for racy Internet photos to which he responded that he has "nothing to hide." He was a favorite early on, and American Idol fans eagerly anticipate what they feel are certain to be many successful upcoming albums.

 

For the final performance on American idol, Adam Lambert performed live with the band KISS and remaining members of QUEEN.

 

Adam lost to Kris Allen in the final of Season 8. There was a lot of criticism that the voting system of American idol was broken, as Adam was heavily favored to win and all polls showed him as the winner. It is thought that Adam’s sexuality may have cost him the loss, as the majority of conservative voters, voted for Kris who was the underdog.  

 

Lambert became a lightning rod for controversy in 2009 ahead of the release of his debut album For Your Entertainment. While performing the title track at the American Music Awards, he kissed a male band member and performed sexually suggestive dance moves with male and female dancers. The routine outraged some, leading to him losing a spot performing on ABC’s Good Morning America.

 

The controversy spurred interest in Lambert, and For Your Entertainment debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The single "Whataya Want from Me" reached the top 10 and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Lambert is currently on a world tour and working on tracks for a follow-up album in 2011.

 

Adam Lambert's Office website is at: http://www.adamoffcial.com/

 

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