Lambert came to prominence following his appearance on the eighth season of American Idol. Although he was runner-up, Lambert launched a music career after signing with 19 Recordings in a joint venture with RCA Records. The release of his debut studio album For Your Entertainment (2009) proved notable after debuting at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 198,000 copies in the United States in its first week, and reaching the top ten in several countries worldwide. His achievement on the album led to international success for its singles "For Your Entertainment", "Whataya Want from Me" and "If I Had You"; the release of an extended play Acoustic Live! (2010) and a live album Glam Nation Live (2011); and allowed him to embark on his first headlining worldwide concert tour, Glam Nation, making him the only American Idol contestant to do so in the year following his Idol season. He is currently working on his second studio album Trespassing (March, 2012), which was preceded by lead single "Better Than I Know Myself" (December, 2011).
Influenced by a number of artists before him, Lambert has become recognized for his flamboyant, theatrical and androgynous performance style. He has accrued numerous awards, received a 2011 Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and had sold (as of January, 2011) 1.2 million albums and 4.2 million singles worldwide. The Times identified Lambert as the first openly gay mainstream pop artist to launch a career on a major label in the United States, while The LA Times ranked him 5th in their list of the top 120 American Idol contestants.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Lambert
