8.7.13 Adam News & Info

It’s noon, and Adam Lambert is on the floor of a van en route to Atlantic City, trying to nap. “I’m fucking exhausted,” says the American Idol runner-up, who rose at 5 a.m. to apply black eyeliner and slick his hair into a pompadour for a Good Morning America performance with Idol winner Kris Allen. “I’m gonna need a Red Bull tonight.”
For the past month, Lambert has been performing almost nightly with American Idols Live, the 52-date, three - hour extravaganza starring this season’s top 10 contestants. Lambert performs an intense 20-minute set, which features a duet with Idol number four, Allison Iraheta, on Foghat’s “Slow Ride,” and a David Bowie medley of “Life on Mars? ” “Fame” and “Let’s Dance.” “I hope I pull it off tonight,” he says, seconds before hitting the stage in a faux-lizard-skin trench coat covered with spikes. Though Lambert came in second to Allen, he’s clearly the show’s star: When he kicks into Led Zeppelin’s “ Whole Lotta Love,” singing, “I’m gonna give you every inch of my love” and thrusting his pelvis, a group of cleavage-flashing cougars jump onto their chairs.
When he rips off his coat during “Fame,” someone lobs a lacy pink bra onstage; Lambert picks it up and swings it like a lasso. “I love that the girls go nuts,” says the singer, who came out to Rolling Stone in June. “ When I’m getting nasty with the microphone stand, it doesn’t matter if I’m gay or straight–it’s just sexy and fun.” The other Idols are more family-friendly, though they try to mimic Lambert’s vibe(sometimes to comic effect): Anoop Desai swivels his hips while singing, “I see nothin’ wrong in spreading myself around,” during his gawky rendition of Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative.”
Allen, however, exudes clean-cut all-American charm during his covers of the Killers’ “All These Things That I’ve Done” and Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” “I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to make this good,” he says before the show. “America is the most ADD country in the world – who knows if people will still like me next year? All the Idols feel like we have to prove that we belong in the music industry, that we’re not just the product of some TV show.”
Pre-concert, the Idols shuffle to fan meet-and-greets, during which they sit behind a banquet table snacking on cheese cubes and chicken fingers – like some kind of Idol Last Supper–while moms snap photos of their kids getting autographs. There’s a bar with Coronas and wine in the room, but the singers can’t drink: “That’s what days off are for,” says the tour manager. “There’s a part of me that’s a little itchy to call my own shots,” Lambert says later. “I’m not a control freak, but I want to say,‘OK, I’m going to do this before a show.’ ”
The opportunity is coming: The singer’s debut drops in November (so do LPs from Allen and Iraheta). “It’s music that makes you feel sexy, makes you dance,” says Lambert, who worked with Lady Gaga producer RedOne and Linda Perry. “I like anthems that say, ‘I’m a badass,’ ” he adds. “I’m not a big fan of feel-sorry-for yourself-type music. Right now, I’m getting everything I want.”