Who exactly has Adam Lambert's debut album?  Sure, he did sign a deal with 19 Recordings and RCA after his run on American Idol, but his debut album might come from an independent label.

Sources told Billboard.com that Hi Fi Recordings and Wilshire Records and planning to release On With The Show, an album with tracks that the singer co-wrote and recorded before Idol came along.  If their plans push through, that album will hit shelves this summer, months before his first post-Idol album hits stores.  The first single on that album, entitled "Want", can be heard on Hi Fi's website.


"The music's amazing," said Hi Fi CEO John Hecker.  "There are some uptempo [songs], there's some that rock a little more, and there are some songs on the same tip as 'Want'.  It's a real album that's coming out, not just a conglomerate of a bunch of songs. This is all original material--as a matter of fact, Adam wrote a lot of it."  They also claim that Adam listened to the tracks in question as recently as last May, just before the Idol finale, and was "blown away" by the results.  The record label also added that they did not notify 19 Entertainment of their plan to release the album before they announced the news.

Hecker, who also signed former Idol contestant Melinda Doolittle, admitted that he was initially adamant with releasing Lambert's pre-Idol work, when executives at Wilshire Records approached him after the singer first made a splash on the show.  "When they first discussed it with me I was really hesitant, because usually when there's music that's been recorded earlier, the stuff isn't so good," he said.  "This stuff is unbelievable.  We saw that it was the right thing for fans to hear this music.  We're doing everything on the highest level, from the mixes to how we're promoting it."

In a later statement issued through 19 Entertainment, Lambert condoned the release of the album.  "Back in 2005 when I was a struggling artist, I was hired as a studio singer to lend my vocals to tracks written by someone else," he said.  "I was broke at the time and this was my chance to make a few bucks, so I jumped at the opportunity to record for my first time in a professional studio.  The work I did back then in no way reflects the music I am currently in the studio working on."

"I'm thrilled to be working with some of today's hottest songwriters and producers and can't wait for people to hear what my music really sounds like," he added, referring to his work with Lady Gaga's producer RedOne and former Evanescence songwriter David Hodges.

"We would never put anything out that wasn't fully owned by the parties involved with all the rights secured," Hecker said.  "I'm working [Adam's] brand with as much care as anybody could.  I do not want to hurt this guy.  I want this guy to be as huge as he should be, and I think this music is only going to help."

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-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Billboard
(Image courtesy of PR Photos)