there was any question that Adam Lambert stands out as one of the most interesting performers ever to strut through America's flighty pop culture conscience, then you need only chat with him a few minutes for confirmation.
Firstly, he just got a new iPhone and he's using it from his hotel room in Portland and he isn't quite sure how it works, so, um, sorry if he accidentally cuts you off.
And, secondly, don't think for one second that the hedgehog-haired glam rock sensation who almost won American Idol -- coming second in last May's finale behind the talented, mild-mannered Kris Allen -- isn't guiding his own light.
Lambert, who is touring North America in American Idols Live!, featuring the show's Top 10 finalists, took season eight by storm with his powerhouse vocals and his flamboyant stage presence, finely tuned from years in musical theatre.
The experience, he says, grounded him and while he admits the music industry is different, he quickly puts to rest any suggestion that Idol has wrested control of his artistic ambition.
That's always been the knock against the hit reality show, of course, that undiscovered talents like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry are manufactured commodities. That they've been plucked from obscurity, signed to contracts and steered to stardom with the backing of the big Idol machine and franchise creator Simon Fuller's company, 19 Recordings.
Even if that were true, and even if that were a bad thing, Lambert's Idol experience has been anything but.
During the show, he says, it was all consultation, all the time, from the outfits he wore to the songs he picked to sing.
"I like to control what I create and what I perform. And with Idol, they let me do that. There's this perception out there that they control you, and that's not the case.
"They consult about everything . . . it's all been kind of up to me."
And if the post-Idol chaos, from his non-stop rehearsing schedule to the endless media interviews, is handled by experts, that's fine by him.
"The day-to-day stuff isn't up to me, but to be honest, it takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders.
"I'd be a mess if I had to look after that at the moment."
American Idols Live! features the season's Top 10 -- performing along with Allen and Lambert are Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Danny Gokey, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud, Megan Joy, Michael Sarver, Scott MacIntyre.
Lambert says the group, which is travelling to venues on two separate buses, has been in rehearsals for the past month and, with the first show in Portland, Ore. recently was itching "to put it up on its feet in a big arena."
Lambert's set includes a David Bowie medley -- "Life on Mars," "Fame" and "Let's Dance" -- which he'll deliver with an electronic spin while decked out in a blue metallic silver bomber jacket with tails and spikes.
For Lambert fans, the show will surely recall his still-memorable over-the-top Idol performances, which ranged from a haunting "Mad World" to a rocking version of Aerosmith's "Cryin'" to a show-stopping "Ring of Fire."
Though he was considered the favourite from the start of the season, his campiness and the rumours about his homosexuality, which he didn't publicly confirm until after the show, were said to have scuttled a win, with conservative American Idol voters opting for the more homespun Allen.
Lambert, who looks like the love child of Joan Jett and Elvis Presley, knows there is no question he's an Idol oddball and a media magnet, whether he's being touted as Queen's new frontman or taking flak from Gene Simmons of KISS, who said the 27-year-old killed his career by officially outing himself in a June cover story in Rolling Stone.
And while Lambert says he's had to sacrifice his personal life (he's dating interior designer Drake LaBry), "I try my hardest to remain cool with it, to have a sense of humour about it.
"None of it has really shocked me. I think it's a fair trade. It's worth it, for the opportunities."
Lambert has also been busy in the studio, writing and recording songs for a CD that will be released in November, as well as meeting so to keep his eyes on the prize.
But the best advice so far, he says, came from songbird Katy Perry who told him, simply, "You gotta stay happy."
So, Adam, is life post-Idol more roller-coaster or runaway train?
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