For your entertainment

For Your Entertainment is the debut studio album by Adam Lambert, the American Idol season eight runner-up. It was released on November 23, 2009.[1]

Three singles have been released from the album in the United States: "For Your Entertainment", "Whataya Want from Me" and "If I Had You". In international markets, Fever (New Zealand), Sleepwalker (Canada) and Aftermath (Finland) have been released for radio play. The album has sold one million copies worldwide.[citation needed]

Development

Immediately following his participation on American Idol, Lambert began writing and recording with predominant pop hit makers such as Lady Gaga, Greg Wells, Max Martin, Linda Perry, RedOne, Ryan Tedder, Evan "Kidd" Bogart, Sam Sparro, Kara DioGuardi, Rivers Cuomo and Pink.

On October 28, Lambert announced that the lead single would be "For Your Entertainment" produced by Dr. Luke. He tweeted, "Debut single is called 'For Your Entertainment' ..." He also confirmed a song called "Soaked" written by Matthew Bellamy of Muse and a song called "Music Again" written by Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and stated that he co-wrote four of the songs on the album: "Strut", "Pick U Up", "Aftermath" and "Broken Open".

Lambert also announced through Twitter that he had collaborated with Lady Gaga. "Yes it's true: I spent yesterday in the studio with the insanely talented and creative Lady Gaga recording a song that she wrote! I love her."[2]

The guitar solo on the song "Sleepwalker" was performed by Orianthi.

Promotion

To promote the album's release, several songs from the album were performed live on AOL Sessions.[3] 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,[4] though CBS subsequently invited Lambert for an interview and performance on The Early Show in New York City instead.[5] 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[6], The View[7], and The Oprah Winfrey Show[8][9]

On the March 10, Lambert performed on VH1's "Unplugged", where he sang stripped-down versions of songs off the album.[10]
During the spring of 2010, Lambert undertook a series of promotional interviews (TV and Radio) in Europe and Asia, to promote the upcoming international release of his album.

Singles from For Your Entertainment
"For Your Entertainment"
Released: November 3, 2009
"Whataya Want from Me"
Released: November 20, 2009
"If I Had You"
Released: May 11, 2010

Promotion

To promote the album's release, several songs from the album were performed live on AOL Sessions.[3] 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,[4] though CBS subsequently invited Lambert for an interview and performance on The Early Show in New York City instead.[5] 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[6], The View[7], and The Oprah Winfrey Show[8][9]

On the March 10, Lambert performed on VH1's "Unplugged", where he sang stripped-down versions of songs off the album.[10]
During the spring of 2010, Lambert undertook a series of promotional interviews (TV and Radio) in Europe and Asia, to promote the upcoming international release of his album.

Release

The album was first released in the United Kingdom, on November 20, 2009, to generally positive reception. The album was released internationally with "Time for Miracles", "Master Plan", "No Boundaries", "Down the Rabbit Hole" and "Voodoo" as bonus tracks. The CD was also released in a Tour Edition, featuring the bonus tracks, live performances, music videos, and the making of "If I Had You"'s music video.

The album was released with a different cover, the same image of the title track artwork. The only difference it's that Adam Lambert and For Your Entertainment are above, instead of being down.

Critical reception
[hide] Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [11]
Boston Globe (mixed)[12]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[13]
The Detroit News (favorable)[14]
Los Angeles Times [15]
The New York Times (unfavorable)[16]
Rolling Stone [17]
Slant [18]
Spin [19]
Toronto Star [20]
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 ten reviews.[21] The Huffington Post called the album "An instant classic" and also stated that "As a whole, For Your Entertainment marks one of the most impressive mainstream pop album debuts in recent memory."[22] The Detroit News said that "It goes without saying that "For Your Entertainment" is the most poised debut from any "Idol" to date. Lambert has a vision and has successfully honed a sound that pays homage to his heroes while carving a niche for himself."[14] Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package."[19]

Slant Magazine wrote that "'Music Again' and the awkwardly written 'Strut' [are] every bit as obnoxious as the songs from Mika's The Boy Who Knew Too Much," and that "'Music Again' apes its production and a good deal of its melody from Mika's 'Touches You,' while the title track and lead single is so similar to Sam Sparro's 'Black and Gold' that 19 Entertainment should probably keep a strong legal team on retainer...but questions of originality aside, there's simply no getting around the fact that the Lady Gaga co-write 'Fever' and 'Whataya Want from Me,' written by Pink and Max Martin, are phenomenally well-crafted pop singles that give Lambert the opportunity to shine. To co-opt one of Simon Cowell's favorite phrases: Lambert's music sounds current in a way that Idol albums rarely do."[18] Rolling Stone wrote that "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy — Entertainment seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut."[17]

In 2010, Adam Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Music Artist" for the album For Your Entertainment during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.[23]

Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [11]
Boston Globe (mixed)[12]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[13]
The Detroit News (favorable)[14]
Los Angeles Times [15]
The New York Times (unfavorable)[16]
Rolling Stone [17]
Slant [18]
Spin [19]
Toronto Star [20]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Music Again" Justin Hawkins Rob Cavallo 3:16
2. "For Your Entertainment" Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly Dr. Luke 3:35
3. "Whataya Want from Me" Pink, Max Martin, Shellback Martin, Shellback 3:47
4. "Strut" Kara DioGuardi, Greg Wells, Adam Lambert Wells 3:30
5. "Soaked" Matthew Bellamy Cavallo 4:33
6. "Sure Fire Winners" David Gamson, Alexander James, Oliver Lieber Cavallo 3:33
7. "A Loaded Smile" Linda Perry Perry 4:04
8. "If I Had You" Martin, Shellback, Savan Kotecha Martin, Shellback, Kristian Lundin 3:48
9. "Pick U Up" Rivers Cuomo, Wells, Lambert Wells 4:00
10. "Fever" Lady Gaga, Jeff Bhasker Bhasker 3:26
11. "Sleepwalker" Ryan Tedder, Aimee Mayo, Chris Lindsey Tedder 4:25
12. "Aftermath" Lambert, Alisan Porter, Ferras, Ely Rise Howard Benson 4:26
13. "Broken Open" Wells, Lambert, Evan "Kidd" Bogart Wells 5:11

nternational and Tour Edition bonus tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
14. "Time for Miracles" Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider Rogg 4:43
15. "Master Plan" Tedder, Dave Roth, Pat Benzer, David Jost Tedder 3:21
16. "Down the Rabbit Hole" Wells, Lambert, Bogart Wells 4:06
17. "No Boundaries" DioGuardi, Cathy Dennis, Mitch Allan 3:48
18. "Voodoo" Lambert, Sparro, Rogg 3:13
19. "Can't Let You Go" (UK Edition Only) Adam Lambert Rogg 4:14

Tour Edition DVD
No. Title Length
1. "Music Again" (Stripped)
2. "Sleepwalker" (Stripped)
3. "For Your Entertainment" (Stripped)
4. "Soaked" (Sessions @AOL)
5. "If I Had You" (Sessions @AOL)
6. "Whataya Want from Me" (Sessions @AOL)
7. "Strut" (Sessions @AOL)
8. "Fever" (Sessions @AOL)
9. "If I Had You" (Music video)
10. "For Your Entertainment" (Music video)
11. "Whataya Want from Me" (Music video)
12. "Making-of 'If I Had You'" (music video)

emixes[citation needed]
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Whataya Want from Me" (Fonzerelli Electro House Club Mix) Pink, Martin, Shellback 5:51
2. "Whataya Want from Me" (Brad Walsh A Vivir Mix) Pink, Martin, Shellback 4:31
3. "Whataya Want from Me" (Jason Nevins Electrotek Extended Mix) Pink, Martin, Shellback 6:22
4. "For Your Entertainment" (Bimbo Jones Vocal Mix) Kelly, Dr. Luke 6:29
5. "For Your Entertainment" (Brad Walsh Remix) Kelly, Dr. Luke 4:56
6. "If I Had You" (Jason Nevins Radio Edit) Martin, Kotecha, Shellback 3:44

World tour

In support of the album, Lambert embarked on his first headlining world solo tour entitled The Glam Nation Tour. Dates across North America, New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Europe have been announced to date. The tour began with a sold out show at the Kirby Sports Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Opening acts were Allison Iraheta and Orianthi.[24][25]

Chart performance

The album sold 198,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 3 on the Billboard 200. As of December 2010, it has sold 775,000 in the U.S.[26]

Chart (2009–2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[27] 5
Austrian Albums Chart[28] 22
Belgium Ultratop Albums[29] 56
Canadian Albums Chart[30] 7
Danish Album Chart[31] 30
Dutch Album Chart[32] 25
Finnish Albums Chart[33] 4
France Albums Chart 106
German Albums Chart [34] 16
Greek International Albums Chart[35] 5
Hungarian Albums Chart[36] 22
Swiss Albums Chart[37] 34
Irish Albums Chart[38] 60
Italian Albums Chart[39] 65
New Zealand Albums Chart[40] 5
Swedish Albums Chart[41] 8
UK Albums Chart[42] 36
Billboard European Albums[43] 46
U.S. Billboard 200[44] 3