For Your Entertainment (album)

Lambert began his professional career at age 19, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. He later appeared in light opera productions in Orange County, California, and by age 21 had signed with a manager and joined a European tour of Hair. In 2009, Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol. Praised for his theatricality and vocal range, he quickly became a fan favorite, and despite some controversy and conservative backlash, Lambert remained popular, receiving positive media coverage and support from LGBTQ+ outlets, while being widely seen as a frontrunner to win the season. He advanced to the top three and ultimately finished as the runner-up. His runner-up single, "No Boundaries," was released alongside winner Kris Allen's version. After the finale, Season 8 Favorite Performances, his 12-song set, reached number 33 on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold a total of 35,000 copies. ==Development==

On June 9, 2009, 19 Entertainment announced that Lambert had signed with a record deal with 19 Recordings and RCA Records and was prepping his debut album for a fall release. Lambert also contributed a significant portion of his own writing to the album, though much of the material was sourced from established songwriters and producers to accommodate the fast-paced production schedule. Among the numerous songs prepared for the album were also leftover tracks from Lady Gaga and Pink. Although Gaga had written "Fever" some time earlier and had not completed a version to her satisfaction, she felt it matched Lambert's style and offered it for his recording. Pink co-wrote and recorded "Whataya Want from Me" but chose not to include it on her fifth studio album Funhouse (2008) for personal reasons, feeling that she did not want to explore the song’s sentiment herself. Lambert also collaborated with producer RedOne, who initially hoped to place at least six songs on For Your Entertainment though none of their tracks ultimately appeared on the final album. Stylistically, Lambert cited glam rock as a key influence, along with contemporary bands such as The Killers and Muse, describing the album as "as if a '70s time capsule blasted off into space and you're watching it through a holographic filter." ==Promotion==

To promote the album's release, several songs from the album were performed live on AOL Sessions. Following his controversial performance at the American Music Awards of 2009 (AMAs), Lambert was dropped from a few scheduled performances on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network, though CBS subsequently invited Lambert for an interview and performance on The Early Show in New York City instead. On November 25, 2009, Lambert performed his single "Whataya Want from Me" on the Late Show with David Letterman. He later appeared on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on December 14, 2009, and performed his single. He provided another live performance two days later on the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance. Earlier that day, he appeared on Chelsea Lately, with host Chelsea Handler. He was invited back in March 2010 to close the second episode of The Tonight Show'' featuring Jay Leno, with a performance of the song "Sleepwalker" from his debut album. Lambert performed his newly released single "If I Had You" on Leno's May 21, 2010, show. Lambert then went on a series of promotional interviews and performances to address the controversy, clear up rumours, discuss his rise to fame, and promote the album. Interviews included The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The View, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. During the spring of 2010, Lambert undertook a series of promotional interviews in Europe and Asia to promote the international release ofFor Your Entertainment . A few days prior, he was interviewed for the Fuse TV On the Record segment. In March, as part of his swing through Australia to promote his album, he performed on So You Think You Can Dance, as well as the popular morning show Sunrise. Lambert also did a series of television appearances in Japan, as part of his Asian and European promotional tour. In the same month, Lambert was selected to inaugurate the newly resurrected award-winning VH1 Unplugged concert series, for which he interviewed as well as performed stripped-down versions of five songs from the album. March 2010 also saw him as a featured artist on ABC News Nightlines Playlist segment, in which he discussed his musical influences and favorite tracks. In May 2010, he returned to Ellen to perform "If I Had You". Lambert performed an acoustic version of "Whataya Want from Me" on Ellen's February 10, 2011 show. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his song "Aftermath." After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefitting The Trevor Project. Tour In support of the album, Lambert embarked on his first headlining world solo tour entitled The Glam Nation Tour. The tour travelled across North America, New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Europe, before finishing with two final shows in Los Angeles, California. The tour began with a sold-out show at the Kirby Sports Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Opening acts were Allison Iraheta and Orianthi for the North American leg of the tour. ==Critical reception==

Critical response to For Your Entertainment was generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 71, based on 10 reviews. In 2010, Lambert received a nomination for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards. Joe Vogel from The Huffington Post called the album "an instant classic." He stated that "as a whole, For Your Entertainment marks one of the most impressive mainstream pop album debuts in recent memory [...] From its kitschy cover to its memorable hooks, Lambert's appropriately labeled album contains all the elements of a successful—and influential—pop-rock classic." AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that "Lambert sounds larger than life on these [song], just like he wants to be, and if there's no sense of danger here, at least there's a lot of pure pop pleasure here, more than any immediate post-Idol album has ever delivered." Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot found that For Your Entertainment felt "anticlimactic after Lambert's Idol run and described it as a "series of hedged bets. It stuffs Lambert into a box of formulas that keep his musical flamboyance in check" and "firmly in the middle of the road." ==Commercial performance==

In the United States, For Your Entertainment debuted and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 198,000 copies in its first week. A steady seller, it remained on the chart for 50 weeks. In Canada, the album peaked at number seven on the Canadian Albums Chart. ==Track listing==

• Pink • Max Martin • Shellback }} • Martin • Shellback }} • Kara DioGuardi • Greg Wells • Adam Lambert }} • David Gamson • Alex James • Oliver Leiber }} • Martin • Shellback • Savan Kotecha }} • Martin • Shellback • Kristian Lundin }} • Rivers Cuomo • Wells • Lambert }} • Stefani Germanotta • Rob Fusari • Jeff Bhasker }} • Ryan Tedder • Aimee Mayo • Chris Lindsey }} • Lambert • Alisan Porter • Ferras • Ely Rise }} • Wells • Lambert • Evan "Kidd" Bogart }} • Alain Johannes • Natasha Shneider }} }} • Greg Wells • Lambert • Evan Bogart }} }} • Adam Lambert • Sam Sparro • Jesse Rogg }} }} • Greg Wells • Claude Kelly }} }} }} }} • Pink • Martin • Shellback }} • Pink • Martin • Shellback }} • Kelly • Dr. Luke }} • Kelly • Dr. Luke }} • Martin • Kotecha • Shellback }} ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==