Photo: FOX
Kris Allen looked visibly uncomfortable in the hours leading up to the American Idol tour’s kick-off show in Portland, Oregon. But it wasn’t because of nerves. “I just really have to pee,” he said, hoping for a well-deserved break in the midst of a series of interviews. (Read our report from the Idols tour’s first show here.)

The Idol winner and his nine companions were feeling more pumped than apprehensive about the show. After all, they’re playing for fans now. “You don’t have the whole judge thing, the cameras aren’t in your face,” Allen said. “You’re just playing for the crowd and you can feed off that energy.” “You’re nervous on the show because you have these four guys who are going to tell me how much I suck in front of so many friggin’ people,” added Allison Iraheta, the season’s youngest Idol. “With the tour, I know there are a lot of people out there who voted for me.”

But the idea of playing for such a large live audience does seem impressive to the Idols. “This is definitely the biggest crowd I’ve performed in front of,” said Adam Lambert, whose pre-show preparation includes some push-ups and sit-ups to get his blood pumping. (more…)

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Goth kids, soccer moms and diehard Idol junkies — including one superfan with Clay Aiken’s autograph tattooed on her shoulder — packed Portland, Oregon’s Rose Garden last night for the inaugural performance of American Idol’s summer tour. (Go behind the scenes with Lambert and Co. hours before showtime here.)

The two biggest stars of the show — winner Kris Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert — embraced what endeared them to millions of fans throughout Season Eight. “Glambert” was out in full force, with tight pants, his otherworldly wail and a tribute to the original rock androgyne, David Bowie. Wrapped in a plaid shirt and a pair of jeans, Allen kept it simple and real, embracing the stripped-down soul sound that elevated him from dark horse to worthy champion. (Get all of Rolling Stone’s Adam Lambert coverage — photos, video and more — here.) (more…)

Photo: Walter/Getty(Jackson), Merritt/Getty(Lambert)

As tributes to Michael Jackson pour into Rolling Stone — be sure to keep an eye out for our special issue, out next week — recent cover star Adam Lambert shared his memories of dancing around his parents’ house, lip-synching to “Beat It.” His early childhood was also heavy on “Thriller” (he cites his love of Halloween as a major reason). Lambert also revealed that “Rock With You” was his first American Idol audition song, which impressed one judge in particular: “Paula was really grooving out to it.”

Last Thursday, Lambert was at rehearsals for the American Idols Live tour, where early in the day he spoke with Rolling Stone and revealed the David Bowie songs that made his set list and other plans for the jaunt, which launches July 5th in Portland. In the afternoon, “I was singing ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and Lil Rounds ran into the room and whispered something into the producer’s ear. And we were all like, ‘What’s going on?’ ” Lambert says. “I kept singing and looked over at them with a confused look on my face and one of the producers mouthed to me, ‘Michael Jackson just died.’ I went, ‘What?’ and stopped singing. Everybody just stopped.” (more…)

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American Idol kicks off its summer tour on July 5th, trekking Kris Allen and crew through 50 cities in just under two months. What can fans expect of Season Eight’s Top 10 on an arena stage? Adam Lambert promises a “post-apocalyptic-rocked-out-space-disco-funk” look to his ensemble, while Matt Giraud is gearing up for dance lessons courtesy of tour choreographer JaQuel Knight, who was the creative brain behind Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” video. Plenty of laughs are also in store, if a tour preview held yesterday morning (pre-Michael Jackson news) in Burbank is any indication. Blame Giraud, who all-too-enthusiastically led his fellow finalists in a group rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” complete with dueling pianos (Scott McIntyre), hoots and snickers (ahem, Megan Joy).

You could say that for the first time since these former hopefuls auditioned, they’re having fun with no consequences. “To not have to worry about where the camera’s gonna be or where you’re standing is so liberating,” says Anoop Desai, who’ll be reprising “My Prerogative” as one of his show numbers. Allen is also adjusting to a new Idol world, and the idea of building his own set list. “People want to see you do songs from the show, but it’s nice to be able to throw in something that you want to do and really mold your time onstage,” he says. (His list includes “Hey Jude,” “Heartless” and “No Boundaries.”) It’s a balancing act they’re all accustomed to, and for his part, Lambert chose tunes by a couple of his idols, Muse and David Bowie. (more…)

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American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert has issued another statement regarding the release of his pre-Idol work via On With the Show, saying he is “very disappointed” that songs never intended for public consumption will become available to fans. After previously assuming the album contained songs that weren’t written by him (like first single “Want”), Lambert has since learned On With the Show will feature the Wild Idol’s own co-written demos.

“Last Friday I was surprised to find out that songs I recorded back in 2005 were being released. Since then I discovered the entire track listing, revealed online today. I was shocked to learn that songwriting demos of songs that I co-wrote and recorded over the past few years may be released in an album,” Lambert said. “Like a rough draft that a writer does before finishing a book, I did not intend my work on these demos to be heard by the public. I was unaware that anyone intended to release these recordings until I heard about it in the press, and I’m very disappointed by this entire situation.” (more…)

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Hi Fi Records — or somebody associated with the indie label — wants the world to believe that Adam Lambert did indeed co-write songs on the album they are releasing this summer. Yesterday a rep from the label released a statement insisting Lambert didn’t just sing, but penned songs for On With the Show, a record from Lambert’s pre-Idol days that will see release before his official 19 Recordings/RCA debut this fall. Now one of the company’s internal memos has leaked that seems to corroborate their claim. The document appeared this morning on TMZ. Its authenticity has not yet been confirmed by anyone at the label or Lambert.

When news of On With the Show broke, Lambert released a statement that said the recordings dated back four years, and that he was simply singing other writers’ songs. Hi Fi countered that Lambert co-wrote eight of the album’s 11 songs with Madonna’s guitarist Monte Pittman more recently. According to the new memo, Lambert co-wrote nine of the album’s 11 songs, including “Crawl Thru Fire” and “15 Minutes of Fame.” First single “Want,” available on iTunes now, is one of two tracks Lambert didn’t co-write. (”Want” and the album’s title track were written solely by Michael Burtscher, the memo states.) (more…)

Photo: Vespa/WireImage

After conflicting reports regarding whether the songs on Adam Lambert’s not-exactly-authorized album On With The Show were actually penned by the American Idol runner-up, Wilshire Records, who have already released first single “Want” to iTunes, told Us Weekly exclusively that Lambert did in fact write eight of the album’s 11 tracks. As Rock Daily reported, when news of the pre-Idol album broke, Lambert said in a statement that he had simply sung other people’s songs, and that the recordings dated back four years.

“Adam is now enjoying the success that he and Wilshire Records hoped for. However, he is now represented by high-profile companies who released a statement in Adam’s name saying the songs on On With the Show were recorded four years ago and Adam only contributed vocals. This is simply not true,” said a rep for Hi Fi Recordings, who will release On With The Show with Wilshire later this summer. “The songs were recorded in a professional recording studio with top notch musicians and producers since the music was always meant to be released. Of the 11 songs that will appear on the album, On With the Show, Adam co-wrote eight with Monte Pittman [Madonna’s guitar player].” In our recent cover story, Lambert says he wrote songs with Pittman on GarageBand, and once fronted a metal band for the guitarist. (more…)

Photo: Getty Images Sport

After Rock Daily reported that Kris Allen would be working with the Fray frontman Joe King in some capacity for the American Idol champ’s debut album, King spoke to MTV about how the pair’s first two-day studio session at Timbaland’s Virginia studio went. While King didn’t actually watch this year’s season of AI because his band was touring overseas, he said was made aware of Allen’s performance of the Fray’s version of Kanye West’s “Heartless,” so when Allen emailed King about possibly collaborating, King simply responded “Yes!”

“It was a very good vibe in the studio. There was no pressure — we just had breakfast, got to know each other. It was all very organic after that,” King told MTV. King is currently on tour with the Fray, but he said he’s “in the studio mixing the rough demo right now” of his session with Allen. “It doesn’t have a title yet. It doesn’t even have lyrics — but there is a lot of gibberish,” King said. (more…)

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Last week Adam Lambert revealed he’s working with Lady Gaga producer RedOne on songs for his first post-Idol album. Now AI Season Eight champion Kris Allen is talking with Billboard.com about the producers and songwriters he’s recruiting for his debut disc, due out in the fall. So far, Allen has nailed down collaborations with songwriter Claude Kelly (Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You,” Britney Spears’ “Circus”), producer Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse, Nas) and former Evanescence keyboardist David Hodges, who previously worked with Idol alumni Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry and David Archuleta.

“I’ve been writing a lot with a lot of different people, and it’s going well,” Allen told Billboard. “Each writing session has been a learning experience. I think that we are trying to figure it out and that it’s going the right way and I’m really excited about it. I can’t wait.” Despite the dance/rap influence of his current writing partners, Allen is reportedly hoping to make a disc in the Jason Mraz mold. Allen also recently spent time in Timbaland’s Virginia studio, not to work with the Shock Value producer, but to collaborate with the Fray’s Joe King, who inspired Allen’s Idol performance of Kanye West’s “Heartless.” (more…)

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If you heard the “new” single from current Rolling Stone cover boy Adam Lambert and felt it didn’t quite capture the bold showman who rose to fame
on American Idol, there’s a pretty good reason.

While the freshly leaked track “Want” is indeed the first single from an upcoming Lambert album titled “On With the Show,” the song — and the rest of the collection — has actually been around for a while. The material was recorded back in 2007 and 2008, before Lambert auditioned for Season Eight of American Idol (check out photos of Lambert’s Idol run here). (more…)

Photo: To/FilmMagic

Adam Lambert reportedly turned down Queen and Chris Daughtry rejected overtures from Fuel, but American Idol’s Season Seven tattooed siren Carly Smithson couldn’t ignore the call of Evanescence: The former members of the “Bring Me To Life” band, having parted ways with singer Amy Lee, have recruited Smithson to front a new group called the Fallen, USA Today reports.

The band’s name is an obvious allusion to Evanescence’s first album Fallen, which featured now-Fallen guitarists Ben Moody and John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray. Bassist Marty O’Brien rounds out the group. Moody, who co-wrote every song on Fallen, left the band after its successful debut. While mulling a solo career, Smithson was introduced to Moody through her friend and his housemate. While Moody and Smithson shared similar thoughts about what music they wanted to make, it wasn’t until Moody saw clips of Smithson singing on YouTube that he recruited her for his new band. He told USA Today, “Carly is a rock star,” adding, “She was one of us.” Smithson previously performed “Bring Me to Life” during the 2008 Idols Live Tour. (more…)

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During a raid in mid-January on a massage parlor in Midvale, Utah, the father of last year’s American Idol runner-up, squeaky-clean Mormon David Archuleta, was arrested by police and charged with prostitute solicitation, a Class B misdemeanor.

According to Us Weekly, Jeff Archuleta, 41, who was the consummate stage dad during his son’s Idol run, has pleaded no contest to the charge, paying a $582 fine following his arrest at an establishment called the Queens of Reiki on January 14th. (more…)

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Adam Lambert confessed to crushing on his American Idol roommate Kris Allen in his Rolling Stone cover story, and now the Season Eight champion has responded to being the object of Lambert’s affection. “I’m flattered,” Allen told People. “And think it’s hilarious.”

“I was like, ‘Oh, shit, they put me with the cute guy … Distracting!” Lambert admitted to Rolling Stone about the moment he learned he’d be rooming with Allen in the AI mansion. “He’s the one guy that I found attractive in the whole group on the show … totally my type — except that he has a wife.” Still, the Allen-Lambert bromance was one of the best subplots of Season Eight, and Allen was shocked when Lambert wound up taking second place in American Idol’s final round. “I feel like Adam deserved it just as much as I did,” Allen said after the finale.

Also, as he always does, Kiss’ Gene Simmons had something to say regarding Lambert’s coming out to Rolling Stone. (more…)

Last year’s American Idol runner-up David Archuleta has become one of the show’s first alumni to comment on Adam Lambert’s big revelation. Like the majority of the Season Eight breakout star’s fans, who reacted with little surprise but lots of support, Archie wasn’t shocked by the news. “I don’t think it was a big surprise,” Archuleta said in Washington, DC, at the Children Uniting Nations gala, where he performed John Lennon’s “Imagine.” “I don’t think he was trying to be all sneaky and secret about it. I’m sure he was happy with who he was and stuff, it’s not like he was ashamed.”

He added, “I just kind of assumed it, I think everyone else did too. I don’t think it’s a bad thing or anything,” noting Lambert was “really cool” when the pair met backstage at an Idol broadcast. (more…)

There’s certainly been a huge response to Rolling Stone’s new issue featuring American Idol breakout star Adam Lambert. But how did the Wild Idol react to seeing his cover for the first time? We sent Lambert a Flip MinoHD so he could record his response to his first peek at the issue — check out the results above.

“Right after the finale, I almost started talking about it to the reporters, but I thought, ‘I’m going to wait for Rolling Stone, that will be cooler,’ ” Lambert told RS contributor Vanessa Grigoriadis. His full story is on newsstands now.

See even more Lambert in our Lambert on Idol and Lambert’s Family Album photo galleries, and go behind his cover shoot in our exclusive video. Plus, Lambert speaks out about his sexuality, Kris Allen and future in music.