Get ready for a serious glam and drama injection on next week's American Idol, because Adam Lambert is back! That's right, the originator of the Idol screech and one of the most talked about performers in American Idol history will return to the stage that made him next week as he serves as a mentor for the Top 8 Idol contestants. 

After rumors began to swirl this morning, 19 Entertainment confirmed to EW's Michael Slezak  that the glam one will serve as an Idol mentor and performer next week.  While we don't yet know the theme on which Adam will mentor the Top 8, it doesn't really matter, because Lambert had a way of taking  nearly every theme thrown at him and making it distinctly his own.


While some will say that Adam Lambert has as much right to mentor on American Idol as Miley Cyrus, I have to respectfully disagree. While Adam may not be a music industry veteran, he knows more about the rigors and pitfalls of American Idol than almost anyone else.  Sure he might not be able to give credible advice on what it takes to make it in the music industry, but he does know what it takes to survive on the big Idol stage. Sure, it would have been great if Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood could have come back to mentor, but they don't have summer tours on the horizon, remix albums coming out, and they don't need American Idol anymore.

Even though this news is sure to upset Kris Allen fans everywhere, fans that are sick of their winner being over-shadowed by the second place finisher, the truth is Adam Lambert will bring exactly what season 9 of American Idol needs next week: performance value. There's no denying that season 9 needs a lesson in stage presence and performance and Adam Lambert can provide that in a way that the meek and sweet Kris Allen never could. I suspect with the return of Adam next week, the ailing Idol will have its biggest audience since the Top 24 performed.

What do you think about Adam Lambert as an American Idol mentor? And do you have any guesses on what theme he'll be helping the Top 8 navigate? I'm holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, this means that one of my 17 Idol Theme Suggestions will be used and we'll get to see "Hit Songs by Former Idol Contestants" next week. 

(Image courtesy of FOX)