‘AMERICAN Idol” runner- up Adam Lambert is big ger than Madonna and even The Beatles.
Within hours of making his yet-to-be-released album available for pre-order on Amazon.com, a frenzy of ordering drove Lambert’s ranking all the way to No. 2 on the online retailer’s bestsellers list.
That put Lambert ahead of Madonna, The Beatles and world-wide sensation Susan Boyle.
Lambert’s album won’t be released until Nov. 24. The only CD that out-ranked him yesterday was Barbra Streisand’s first new record in four years.
The sky-rocket sales seem to indicate two things: that “Idol” packs an unprecedented punch in the music business and that Lambert, like Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry in past seasons, may quickly overshadow the singer who beat him in the final vote, Kris Allen.
Remarkably, Lambert’s record company, RCA, did not announce that it was taking pre-release orders. The sales were all propelled by word of mouth.
Lambert and his fellow Top 10 “Idols,” including Allen and 4th-place finisher Allison Iraheta wrapped up their “American Idols Live” tour a few weeks ago.
Fans, left without their daily fix, have been scouring the Internet for news of their “Idol” favorites.
It was during one of these searches, early Sunday morning, when a Lambert fan discovered that Adam’s album was available.
Within hours, word of the album’s availability on Amazon spread across the Internet. The online social networking site, Twitter, lit up with the news. Fans traveled from “Idol” blogs to Lambert fanboards to spread the word to other fans. Soon, the album, which has yet to be named, began climbing up the Amazon Bestsellers List.
By late Sunday afternoon, it hit No. 4. Later that evening, it peaked at No. 2.
Lambert has been working on his album with a slew of industry a-listers including Lady Gaga’s producer RedOne, One Republic’s Ryan Tedder and “Since U Been Gone” hit maker Max Martin.
The album has also made its way onto several critics’ “most anticipated” lists.