IRC-Galleria

Without a doubt, Adam Lambert is the splashiest singer to ever lose on American Idol. The glammy 28-year-old has a knack for grabbing attention, from his costumes (Ziggy Stardust by way of Los Angeles) to the clubby pop-rock featured on his debut, For Your Entertainment, which went gold earlier this year. The album hit iTunes last November, and Lambert’s already released three videos to promote it—an anomaly in a time when the music industry is cutting back on such extravagances. But Lambert’s an extravagant sort of guy, the kind of performer who puts the emphasis on spectacle. “I really enjoy Gareth Pugh,” he says, discussing his go-to designers. “I like the late and great Alexander McQueen. I like Galliano. I love a Dolce & Gabbana suit. For more casual stuff, I like Diesel and Rock & Republic.” And he’s as comfortable in his clothes as he is in his role as a lightning rod for controversy, which is to be expected when you’re an openly gay megastar.

“Most of what I do doesn’t feel controversial,” he says. “I’m just the same Adam I’ve always been, and in the circles I run in, it’s not all that shocking.” Born in Indianapolis and raised in San Diego, Lambert showed a flair for the dramatic at an early age, appearing in various school theater productions; he went on to tour with a production of Hair and worked as a performer on a cruise ship for a year. That was all pre-Idol. Now he’s calling the shots, looking forward to an upcoming summer tour and hoping eventually to cross over into acting. “There’s been a void in mainstream music of a male performer who’s theatrical, campy, over the top. That’s something that used to be celebrated, and I haven’t seen that lately. So I think that’s an interesting challenge—to fill that spot.”