San Diego’s Adam Lambert raised the bar with his unique singing style during FOX television’s eighth season of American Idol, inspiring the other contestants to not only bring their “A” game to the table but to push beyond that to a game they didn’t know they could play. The judges (Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell) declared the point week after week throughout the competition, as did fans, blog writers, newscasters and talk show hosts – and Lambert was expected to win the competition hands-down. In the end, however, Lambert came in second on Wednesday, May 20 to surprise winner Kris Allen of Arkansas in an upset. Polar opposites in every way – from vocal style to appearance – Lambert and Allen gave the fans a show last week at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live, capped by a never-before-seen grand finale that included KISS, Jason Mraz, Queen Latifah, Queen, Rod Stewart and Steve Martin. The star-studded buildup eventually led to the much-anticipated announcement in the last few seconds of Wednesday night’s results show. Host Ryan Seacrest, the only person in the room able to conceal any surprise or emotion, revealed the winner in his trademark, painstakingly enunciated delivery. Upon hearing his name, Allen’s jaw literally dropped to his knees in shock, while mumbling, “Adam deserves this.” Allen later said, “I feel that [Adam] deserves this just as much as I do. He’s an amazing performer, a gifted, gifted guy – really just an amazing guy.” The confident but humble Lambert focused on the positive and on moving forward after America’s record-breaking 100 million votes were re-vealed. “Kris won because he’s a great ar-tist, and I was happy to be a runner-up to that,” said Lambert, who comes across as truly genuine and sincere. “What was really cool about me and Kris being in the finals tonight is that we are seemingly so different,” he said. “But we found a way to get along. We found a common ground.” Lambert said his goals for the show were to show different sides of himself and to not only give the audience what it wanted but to try and “introduce stuff that they didn’t know they wanted.” Noted for some courageous risk-taking in his performances, Lambert said this was not the case in high school at San Diego’s Mt. Carmel, where he was considered the “weird kid.” “I definitely wasn’t popular or anything,” Lambert said. “I kind of kept to myself. I did a lot of theater and choir things. I was only accepted in those arts groups, I think.” American Idol’s Homecoming Week recently included a return to the high school, complete with a parade and screaming cheerleaders — something Lambert termed “surreal.” “I wasn’t that courageous early on in my life,” he added. “If something made me feel uncomfortable or awkward, then I dug into it more. When I was younger, it was scarier to take risks. In my early 20s, I pushed myself. I pushed myself to the point where it just wasn’t scary anymore.” What does the future hold for Lambert? It begins with a record – “something new, push the boundaries a little bit, push people’s buttons.” “I would just love a couple of days off,” Lambert said. “Go to the beach maybe. Maybe just spend some time absolutely alone.” Time off will be short-lived, however, as rehearsals have begun for the 50-city American Idol 2009 Summer Tour, revving up July 5 — including a stop at the San Diego Sports Arena on July 18. Tickets are on sale. For more information, visit www.americanidol.com or www.ticketmaster.com.