adam lambert

Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California. During his initial audition, he sang "Bohemian Rhapsody". In the semifinals, Lambert was voted into the Top 13, joining fellow Group 2 performers Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen.

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.^[7] The following week, Lambert sang a modified version of "Ring of Fire". While Randy Jackson, DioGuardi, and Abdul all liked his performance, Cowell called it "indulgent rubbish".^[8] On Motown night, Lambert distanced himself from his rocker persona, singing a slowed down, acoustic version of "The Tracks of My Tears". The judges all liked it, and Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor and the original singer-songwriter, gave Adam 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 Adam's performance.^[9] 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".^[10]

Season 7 American Idol winner David Cook stated that Lambert and Allen are his favorites of Season 8.^[11] Country music singer and actress Reba McEntire has echoed the same opinions, also adding Iraheta to her list of favorites.^[12]

Photos of Lambert kissing another man were shown and discussed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor; They agreed that the images would likely have no impact on the competition because the focus remains on the singers' talent.^[13] Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and has always been open about his life