More than any past American Idol "great," Adam Lambert has the chance to maintain his current level of idolatry in the long term. His sex appeal is as undeniable as his singing talent, and unlike Idol veterans like Clay Aiken or Ryan Seacrest, Lambert will avoid late night jokes about his sexuality by already being out of the closet.
While it's still difficult to measure Lambert's place in American pop culture or in fighting homophobia, his voice is pretty difficult to question. Less a Clay Aiken screech than a Robert Plant wail, Lambert has enough talent to make his debut album For Your Entertainment more than a teeny-bopper flavor of the month. Other than Kelly Clarkson, few American Idol veterans have been able to maintain their unironic appeal to music fans beyond high school. Lambert, the cover boy of this month's Details magazine, may be hitting the zeitgest in a particularly poignant way.
ADAM is unstoppable. There's no denying he is the whole package of a consummate artist, performer and entertainer. He thrills, excites and electrifies. He seduces and mesmerizes. There's no one like ADAM today.