Tuned In: New releases from 'American Idol' stars

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"FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT," Adam Lambert (RCA)

Polarizing though Adam Lambert is, even his detractors must admit "American Idol" has never had anything quite like the show's latest runner-up.

The singer is unapologetically theatrical, and he flaunts the pipes to back up his confident swagger on his new "For Your Entertainment." It's all insanely over the top, but hey, even Bowie, Kiss and Prince have induced their share of eye-rolling over the years.

Unlike those predecessors, Lambert is a product of mass collaboration -- though at least he's supported by like-minded artists on his release, including writers Lady Gaga, Pink, Muse's Matthew Bellamy and Lambert himself plus producers Rob Cavallo, Greg Wells, Max Martin and Johan Shellback. Three-dozen writers and producers in all put "For Your Entertainment" together with the apparent goal of blowing the roof off.

Not only does Lambert indulge his followers with titillating excess in the heavy-handed sexuality of the glossy "Strut," the emphatic electro-rock machinery of "Sure Fire Winner" and the sweeping kick of the title track, he even gives them a mantra with his Queenly opening cut, "Music Again" -- "Oh, you make me wanna listen to music again" -- and a motto with the grandiose closer, "Time for Miracles" -- "I ain't giving up on love."

The histrionics may be just what Lambert's fans wanted, yet he stands to convert cynics with surprising twists, as when he snakes his voice through the mesmerizing, surreal vibe of "A Loaded Smile," when he delivers a nuanced croon worthy of a James Bond theme on "Soaked" and when his vocal is subtly aired out in the echoing ballad "Broken Open."

However, Lambert will eventually lose some of those he wins over, and maybe even some committed fans, as "For Your Entertainment" chugs through clunkers such as the stumbling zombie-stomp "Sleepwalker" and the slapping, unremarkable "Pick U Up" co-written by Weezer's Rivers Cuomo.

But the gay singer's biggest mistake is his affected pose on the cover shot, which is absurd enough to set the gay-rights movement back by decades, Otherwise, Lambert's judgment on "For Your Entertainment" is mostly sound.

Rating (five possible): 3-1/2

"KRIS ALLEN," Kris Allen (19/Jive)

Turns out David couldn't pull off a second upset over Goliath.

Underdog lovers united as last season's "American Idol" rolled along, and though the judges all but crowned front-runner Adam Lambert the champion before the season was half over, America had the final say, and last laugh, by voting the unassuming Kris Allen the winner.

The good-looking Allen was the safe alternative to Lambert's showy indulgences, and a talented singer in his own humble way. Unfortunately, his modest style doesn't translate so well on "Kris Allen," which seems likely to be overshadowed by Lambert's more ambitious "For Your Entertainment."

Not that "Kris Allen" is as bad as the usual post-"Idol" releases dumped out by the show's former contestants: Allen has a discrete self-assurance about him, and he's adventurous enough to stray out of his comfort zone to dabble in funk ("Can't Stay Away"), sing with peppy horns ("Alright With Me") and throw an album-ending curveball with a rendition of Kanye West's "Heartless" (duplicating an effort he managed surprisingly well on the show). However, the only truly noteworthy diversion from his usual pop-rock relationship songs is a blues-infused "Is It Over," where he sounds impressively weathered as he pleads, "Can I turn you around if I crawl on my knees?"

"Kris Allen" is mostly designed to make girls swoon. And he will, easily, with the wide-eyed rush of "Live Like We're Dying" and especially with the melancholy piano ballads "Bring It Back" and "I Need to Know." And if those girls stare intently enough at his photos on the insert, they might overlook the more generic leanings of the remaining "Kris Allen" tracks, ignoring his nondescript (but serviceable) voice and finding meaning in his mundane lyrics.

They also might proudly note he had a hand in writing nine of the 13 tracks -- though it doesn't really count when it all sounds familiar.

Rating: 2-1/2

"ECHO," Leona Lewis (J/Syco)

Leona Lewis is obviously talented, so it seems appropriate she would be packaged in an obvious way. Her lyrics are straightforward and boldly manipulative, she blatantly sounds like a new-generation Mariah Carey and the pre-Christmas release of her wryly titled new "Echo" not surprisingly features more collaborations with Ryan Tedder, who worked with her on her monster hit "Bleeding Love" from her breakout debut album, "Spirit."

Despite its complete lack of subtlety, "Echo" resonates with pop brilliance.

The three Lewis collaborations with OneRepublic's Tedder are all successful -- he even chips in vocals on a booming "Lost Then Found" that asks, "Why do we say things we can't take back?" He also had writing input into the heartbreaking "You Don't Care" that rides a huge chorus and such direct lines as, "I don't want to lose you, but it's so hard when you don't care anymore," as well as a striking "Happy" that brings to mind the Prince-penned Sinead O'Connor hit, "Nothing Compares 2 U."

Lewis' fortunes don't rest solely with Tedder. Justin Timberlake helped write a ballad with a bumping undercurrent, "Don't Let Me Down," that calls for mass optimism, and Jeff Bhasker co-wrote with Lewis "Fly Here Now," a rumbling experiment in metaphysics with lyrics like, "When I miss you like this, baby, gotta teleport your molecules."

Yet it's the soul and style of Lewis that rightly stays at "Echo's" focus: The London native's high-pitched wails across a bossy rhythm wind up "Can't Breathe" into an effective drama overload as she convincingly sings, "I can't breathe without you near me." She effortlessly pushes other cuts into similar crescendos, delivering lyrics such as, "You can take away everything, leave me lying on the floor" (on "Broken") and "Where do I go now when I'm so alone?" ("Alive").

Amazingly, even in the most brazen of the infectious hooks, she somehow sounds sincere.

Now that's talent.

Rating: 4

(E-mail Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at Campbell(at)knews.com.)

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