Adam Lambert: America's First Gay 'Idol'?

April 15, 2009 — -- There's the eyeliner. There's the YouTube video in which he declares kissing girls is "not necessarily" his preference. There are the Web photos of him making out with guys.

None of it seems to matter.

Adam Lambert appears to be this year's chosen "American Idol" contestant, whatever his sexuality may be, signaling a shift from the moral scrutiny once piled on "Idol" contestants.

Lambert has never publicly acknowledged whether or not he's gay. But he did confirm that photos posted on the "American Idol"-mocking Web site votefortheworst.com depicting him dressed in drag and kissing another man were real, taken at the Burning Man arts festival, telling "Access Hollywood," "I have nothing to hide. I am who I am. And this is about singing … nothing else."

That comment was made before Lambert was voted into "Idol's" top 12 and Fox cut off press access to him and his family. Since then, speculation about the 27-year-old musical theater veteran's sexuality has been kept at a simmer.

Conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly tried to turn up the heat last week by broadcasting the make-out pictures and asking if they'll "have an effect on ['Idol'], which is a cultural phenomenon in America?" But that buzz comes up cold in comparison to the overwhelming praise Lambert has received for his "Idol" performances.

Lambert's rendition of "Mad World" earned a standing ovation from perpetually persnickety judge Simon Cowell last week. Prior to that, his rendition of Smokey Robinson's "The Tracks of My Tears" drew high praise from the songwriter himself, who served as "Idol's" mentor of the week. According to online betting exchange Betfair.com, Lambert has a 68 percent chance of winning this season of "Idol," with no other contestant consistently wowing both voters and judges.

While Lambert's not flaunting his sexuality, whatever it may be, he's not taking the Clay Aiken path of avoidance. Aiken, the runner up of "Idol's" second season, dodged questions about his sexual orientation during his 2003 run on the show and for years afterward.

Aiken officially came out on the cover of People magazine in 2008 beneath the headline "Yes, I'm Gay," hardly shocking those who watched him all along and wondered about his sexuality.