Out? 'I’ve Never Been In:' Lambert

Signs record deal, too

(NEWSER) - American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert finally came out to Rolling Stone, Us reports. “I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay,” says Lambert in the June issue, out tomorrow. “I'm proud of my sexuality. I embrace it. It's just another part of me.” Lambert says he didn’t confirm sexuality rumors during the show because he didn’t want it to overshadow his singing. More»

Ellen tops 'Out' magazine list for 2nd straight year

(NEWSER) - Ellen DeGeneres and Barney Frank have switched places atop Out magazine's annual list of the most influential gay Americans, but the talk show host and American Idol judge probably isn't gloating about her win—she's that nice. To see the top five, check out the slideshow above. To see who made the list and who (Rosie O'Donnell!) didn't, click here . More»

Unless you go everywhere wearing headphones, of course

(NEWSER) - Just because everyone has an iPod these days doesn’t mean you can escape the inevitable “summer jams,” writes Maura Johnston on Gawker. She selects the “seven tracks you will likely be subjected to should you decide to spend headphone-free time” anywhere:

• No Boundaries, Kris Allen: “Sure, the American Idol coronation song is dreck,” but that doesn’t mean adult-contemporary stations everywhere won’t blare it.

Former runner-up trashes Idol , contestants in blog

(NEWSER) - Former American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken finds this year’s runner-up, Adam Lambert, “slightly frightening.” Aiken trashed Idol in a post on his blog yesterday, Gawker reports, and Lambert did not escape unscathed. Aiken says he watches Idol only once a season, and “this year, I happened to turn it during the minute Adam Lambert was singing ‘Ring of Fire’ and, at that moment, thought my ears would bleed.” More»

(NEWSER) - Last night’s American Idol was more than just a reality-show finale: It was a symbolic victory of the religious right over the liberal left; red states over blue states. At least according to two bloggers. “For a theory about how Kris Allen pulled an upset over the wildly popular Adam Lambert, the Christian vote is a pretty good one,” argues Michael Giltz in the Huffington Post. More»