Adam Lambert exploded onto the music scene at last night's American Music Awards with a rough-and-tumble performance of "For Your Entertainment." Unfortunately — and it pains me to say this — the results were mixed at best.

If Adam Lambert's goal was to simply rile America, then he succeeded. The in-your-face sexuality was bold, brave and totally groundbreaking. (Whether it was "appropriate" for a major network awards show is another discussion entirely.) I applaud Adam and his team for not pulling any punches or watering down his or his single's rawness.

The problem I had with the performance is that Adam Lambert is better than just being a lightning rod for controversy. With his Mariah-esque range, his effortless-yet-controlled wail and emotional delivery, Lambert has the potential to go down in history as one of the most technically-gifted rock vocalists of all time. Adam had a gigantic platform to show the non-"American Idol" viewing public what us Idol Freaks have known since February: He can sing his face off!

But that talent was barely on display last night. Read more...

A week ago, a group of David Archuleta fans surprised me (and my co-workers) with a stream of goodies, from flowers to gourmet cupcakes to Kenny G Christmas albums.

Kris Allen fans decided to take a page from "Teen Witch" and play "Top That," metaphorically speaking. The result was a delicious early birthday cake that read "Happy Birthday Jim! #KrimForever."

Since Krim (the nickname Kris Allen gave our little tag team) was about to have another playdate in the form of an interview, I figured I should wait for Mr. Allen's arrival before I dug in. This caused a lot of angry sighs from my mooching co-workers (who now act way too entitled when it comes to tasty treats from "Idol" fans, if you ask me).

After Kris spoke about his fantastic new CD (in stores now), it was time to indulge! Now if only we had silverware.

Watch the video below to watch Krim devour the cakey goodness in a particularly animalistic way.

Thanks again Kris Allen fans! Archie fans need to step up their game if they want to be back in the running for the "Sweetest Ever" title! (Just kidding! You all win! Please stop sending gifts! Save your money for "Idol" CDs!)

November 4, 2009. A date that will forever live in infamy — at least for "American Idol" winner Kris Allen's 100,000 Twitter followers. That's the fateful day when Kris' Twitter name changed from the endearingly sassy "@KrisAllen4Real" to the simple, direct "@krisallen."

When Kris Allen (for real) stopped by earlier this week to chat about his major label debut (in stores now), I wanted to get to the bottom of Kris' online switcheroo. Is he fake now? Is it some elaborate "Paul is Dead"-esque hoax that will reveal itself in trippy songs and future album covers? Does his online persona feel like a five character weight has been lifted from his shoulders?

What follows is a funny discussion of why "4Real" existed in the first place, an analysis of the "other" Kris Allen rocking out in cyberspace and a glorious gifting ceremony in which MTV News gives Kris a little token so he'll never forget how "4Real" he is. In your face, J. Lo!

Do you miss Kris Allen's old Twitter name? Would you like to see a Kris Allen supergroup featuring Southern Thunder and a sax player? And yikes, should we have gotten him a size small instead? Leave a comment below.

Attention all Kradison fans! Want your favorite Season 8 "Idol" star's autograph? MTV News and Elle magazine can hook you up!

In honor of the December issue of Elle — which features a three-page spread starring Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta — MTV News is holding a contest to find the #1 fan for each contestant. How can you show your level of fandom?

Easy! Pick up a copy of Elle, read Joey Zee's "A to Zee" column about each contestant's sense of style and do your best to replicate your fave's fashion in your own photo!

Are you gaga for Glambert? Flat-iron your hair, bust out the eyeliner and squeeze into your tightest leather pants. Are you a Krisbert? Rock the plaid and unbutton your shirt to dangerous depths. Or is Allison Iraheta your #1? You'll need a fiery red mane and an aura of general awesomeness.

Keep in mind we're not looking for exact copies of the photos in the Elle spread. Be creative! Whoever captures the essence of their favorite singer will be handsomely rewarded.

With what you ask? Three winners (one for each contestant) will each receive a copy of Elle signed by their favorite "Idol." The Kris fan will get a John Hancock from Kris, the Adam fan will get a signature from the Fierce One and the #1 Allison follower will get a copy signed by Her Royal Rockness.

Here's how you enter: Go to Your.MTV.com, create an account (if you haven't done so already) and then upload your photo! The deadline for submission is November 30, 2009 at Noon EST. I'll be going through the pics and selecting a winner personally, so make them fun, friends!

The contest is officially underway, so Kradison krazies, get your dress-up on now!

Dear Adam Lambert,

I am so sorry about last night. My co-worker, Larry Carroll, asked if you were ticklish on the Us Weekly "Hot Hollywood" red carpet. And then things got awkward. It's all my fault.

Here's what happened.

Yesterday afternoon, my boss emailed me to say that you and Kris Allen were scheduled to walk the Us Weekly red carpet event, and that I should send Larry some questions. Given that you and I are scheduled for a sit-down interview next week (can't wait, by the way!) I didn't want to give Larry all my questions, so I jokingly emailed, "Ask Adam if he's ticklish. I'm just kidding. Don't really ask that."

Well, Larry apparently took me seriously, because he opened his interview by saying "Jim Cantiello wants to know if you're ticklish."

"That's a little creepy, Jim," you said. "I think it's a private fantasy of his. I'm unaware of it."

If you need me, I'll be crawling into a hole and dying.

Dude, I assure you I'm not a creep. I don't have tickle fantasies.

In any case, I can't wait to talk to you about your excellent new album next week. And I promise that you will realize as soon as you meet me again that I'm not a psycho, and that this whole tickle thing was a big, silly misunderstanding.

Best of luck at the American Music Awards this Sunday. And whatever you do, do not watch this episode of "Tweet Beat."

Professionally,

Jim Cantiello
MTV News "American Idol" Expert

If you were in Hollywood yesterday and saw more leather chaps than usual, don't panic — it was just Adam Lambert's music video shoot. No big deal.

Actually, yes big deal. Massive deal! So much so that paparazzi came out of the woodwork to snap some photos that should help shed some light on the treatment behind the clip for Lambert's first official album music video, "For Your Entertainment."

Here's what we knew before the photos leaked: the video was directed by Lady Gaga collaborator Ray Kay, and would be shot at the Alexandria Hotel in Los Angeles.

What did we learn from the photos? Adam Lambert is fully embracing the S&M lyrics featured in his single. Greased up dancers are dolled up in leather, dog collars, nipple clamps (zoinks!) and platform boots. He's not kidding when he asks in the song, "Push the limit/ Are you with it?" This video shoot looks like it's pushing boundaries well past the mountains and hurricanes Adam had to sing about on the "Idol" finale.

Hooray!

"American Idol" blogger MJ gathered a bunch of intel from eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen a "destroyed ballroom" set featuring Buddhist statues, champagne and lawn chairs. From the sound of it, it could be a genius mash-up of Nine Inch Nails "Closer" video with the slick excess of late '90s hip hop videos.

I'm downright giddy that Lambert (and his team) are fully embracing his wild side. One of the highlights of this past summer's "Idol" tour was Lambert's in-your-face sexuality and swagger. Judging from these leaked photos (which have the rocker in head-to-toe leather holding a gold cane), they're letting Lambert unleash the fierce in a bold way. In other words, those of you disappointed with the lack of makeup in the "Time for Miracles" clip should have nothing to gripe about now. He's going there. Awesome.

What do you think of these photos? How excited are you for Adam's new video? How much do you think MTV will have to edit in order to play it on the channel? And how in the world is he going to dramatize the lyric, "I'ma work ya 'til you're totally blown?" Comment away below!

This morning, I casually Tweeted that I'd be celebrating my birthday tonight. My actual birthday isn't until November 22 — the day Adam Lambert will be stealing the show at the American Music Awards — so I was a tad confused when the mailroom called me to say I had to sign for some flowers.

"Uh, you have the wrong number," I said.

"Are you the Jim Cantiello who sits on the 29th floor?" the mail room dude asked.

I slowly said, "Yes."

"Well, then come downstairs and pick up your flowers." Click.

During the elevator ride down to the lobby, I scanned through my mental Rolodex of people who would send me flowers two weeks before my birthday. "Hmm, Shakira seemed to really enjoy our interview together on Tuesday. Maybe she wanted to say thanks?" "I gave a cab driver a 40 percent tip the other day." "Perhaps my grandparents are losing it and forgot my date of birth?"

It turns out a group of David Archuleta fans had banded together and wanted to wish me a happy early birthday by sending me flowers and a giant balloon! The card read, "You made us happy with your support of our 'homey' @davidarchie!"

Wow! I knew the Christmas carol segment I did was popular with his fan base, but I never imagined it would inspire such thoughtfulness! They even quoted the "Archmas" joke, writing in the card, "Last part of your Archmas gift includes an early HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!"

How sweet is that? Although the "last part" reference confused me. Would there be more on its way?

As I was writing this very blog I got another phone call. "You have a delivery from a bakery downstairs."

Bwah?!

The same four fans had also sent me cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery! (Brooke White would be so jealous right now.) This time the card was a poem! "Another part of your Archmas treat. Thanks again, we'd love a Tweet!"

Another part? Is there going to be more? My head's going to explode!

So to @momJulee, @sofansmom, @ClaudiaNRR and @janey79: Thank you for the nicest early birthday gift ever. (My co-workers who helped me devour the delicious cupcakes also send you kisses.) I will definitely sing "Touch My Hand" at my karaoke party later tonight in your honor.

Dye your hair with Kool-Aid and start joking about cutting, because 30-second snippets of Allison Iraheta's major label debut Just Like You have hit the web. Everybody knows I was less-than-thrilled with the super-poppy, heavily-processed vocals of Iraheta's Max Martin-produced single "Friday I'll Be Over U." But will the rest of her album make me happy? Let's go through these too-short snippets and see.

» "Friday I'll Be Over U"
This.

» "Robot Love"
In this pulsating electro-pop ditty (which samples Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part II"), Iraheta is pissed that her boyfriend is in love with a robot. Whether said robot is an actual lady cyborg or just an iPhone is to be determined. Also TBD? Whether this song will have a discernible melody. We're on track two and I'm already thinking "filler?" Ruh-roh.

» "Just Like You"
Good news: I'm finally hearing Allison's voice without a bunch of studio trickery around it. Bad news: The mid-tempo chorus is as generic as it gets, both melodically and lyrically. Good news again: The verse sounds more promising, where the sassy teen sings about deleting a dude's texts.

» "Don't Waste the Pretty"
Whoever gave Iraheta this bland track should be choked. (Like this!) Did Roxette or Savage Garden write this? Was this left over from a Natalie Imbruglia CD? (It turns out the offending parties are Michael Dennis Smith, Stefanie Ridel, Miriam Nervo and Olivia Nervo.) "Don't waste the pretty on life/ 'Cause soon it's gonna fly on by." How did this new-age feel-good gunk make it on to the Rocker's album?
Read more...

Being a diehard "American Idol" fan is an emotional roller-coaster. No matter how much you dig a performer on the show, by the time his or her album leaks your fandom has been deflated by less-than-awesome singles and frustrations with how they're being marketed. "Idol" albums are often over-written, over-produced and over-calculated, making the artist feel like studio-bots with little personality. "I'll like the songs on tour, without all the studio crap around it," you say to yourself, trying to save face when deep down you know your favorite new singer laid an egg.

Well, fans of our current "American Idol" can breathe a giant sigh of relief, because AOL premiered Kris Allen's self-titled major label debut this morning and it’s pretty damn good.

I jotted down some notes while listening to the CD for the first time. And MTV News would like me to share them with you. So here we go!

» "Live Like We're Dying"
Y'all know I love the single, which was originally a b-side from the Script, and Team Allen did right by starting the album strong. Besides, any power-pop album that features piano on the opening track instantly gets my seal of approval. (See: New Radicals' Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too.)

» "Before We Come Undone"
Whew! What a massive improvement over the demo I heard over the summer. (It featured an ill-fitting electronic drum track. Did not want.) Reverse guitar and piano parts give the track a really neat unraveling sound, as if the song itself is coming undone along with the rocky relationship Kris sings about. If I have one gripe, it's that I feel like Kris' vocals sound just a smidge behind the beat, as if they decided to increase the track's tempo by a couple beats-per-minutes and forgot to update Kris' track.

» "Can't Stay Away"
Allen's flirty side comes out to play in this white boy funk track. The verses sound like Maroon 5 without the whiny vocals, and the choruses are like Gavin DeGraw with less soul man posturing. Sorority girls: Be prepared to hear this when your frat guy boyfriends make you a new mix.

» "The Truth"
>>Kris' breathy ballad vocals remind me of Richard Marx on this track. Considering I'm a sucker for Marx's schmaltzy oeuvre, this one hooked me early, even if this Pat Monahan/Toby Gad-written song is considerably less cornball than Marx's massive hits. These lyrics really jumped out at me: "While the floors underneath our feet are crumbling/ The walls we built together tumbling/ I still stand here holding up the roof / 'Cause it’s easier than telling the truth." I can see why the Beatles-obsessed Allen chose this song, as the collapsing-house-metaphor recalls "Fixing a Hole."
Read more...

"American Idol" winner Kris Allen debuted his first music video today (although he's been the unwilling star of several hilarious/creepy fan-made Kradam tribute clips) and while "Live Like We're Dying" probably won't win any Moonmen at next year's VMAs, it's a big, bold and awesomely expensive-looking first taste of what fans can expect from Kris Allen 2.0. He's no longer "just" an "Idol" winner. He's a musician in his own right, and the video sets him up as a worthy colleague to similarly-minded artists like the Fray, OneRepublic and John Mayer.

The video starts in near-darkness, but as the clip progresses (and as he plays more instruments), the sun slowly rises until the final moments, when a new day has officially dawned. Call me sentimental (and, okay, a crazy fan), but this video perfectly mirrors Kris' "Idol" journey in a deliciously subtle way. He began as a guy with little exposure during the early episodes, but thanks to his earnest performances and winning personality, he ended up being the top dog.

Perhaps I'm reading into it, but Allen could be winking at his naysayers by performing in front of a clock that looks as though it's ticking down from 15 minutes. (It's actually one-minute and fifty seconds, but with the fast-paced editing it's easy to misread it.) Okay, I'm definitely reading into it.

What struck me the most about the video, however, was just how different Kris' debut clip is compared to other "Idol" winners' music video debuts. And that's a good — nay, amazing — thing.

Imagine, if you will, the cheese that would have come with a dramatic interpretation of the song's lyrics (see Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel"). If Team Allen had decided to go the David Cook "Light On" route, poor Kris would have played second fiddle to a subplot featuring actors. Even worse, Kris could have played the romantic lead in a slo-mo melodramatic clip like Ruben Studdard's "Sorry (2004)" and Fantasia's "Truth Is" video. If they had used Kelly Clarkson's "Miss Independent" video philosophy, Kris would have had to wear a huge scarf and get lost in a giant house party. And don't even get me started on Taylor Hicks' first "Look! I'm at a jazz club!" video or Jordin Sparks' cheap off-season-at-the-carnival "Tattoo."

Instead, Jive Records and 19 Recordings opened their check books and let Kris do what he does best: Sing, play a bunch of instruments and look achingly sincere while doing so. Holy crap! An "Idol" music video that shows the contestant in their element? That really is a first.