Ann Powers and Adam Lambert, together at last

Anyone who kept up with the last season of "American Idol" via the Los Angeles Times knows that pop music critic Ann Powers is, well, a rather big Adam Lambert fan.

Months after the competition was called, and Lambert was declared the runner-up, Powers finally got to hang with the glam rocker while he geared up for the release of his debut album, "For Your Entertainment." Their conversation spanned his image, influences, and the primal screaming he could trademark as his own.

Here's an excerpt (after the jump):

"I want to put it out there that I don't take myself all that seriously," [Lambert]  said. That's one of his mantras. "The dress-up supports that; the fantasy element supports it. People want to talk about whether I have rock cred, whether I'm selling out, the theatricality, the gay stuff. . . . Chill out! And just enjoy yourself. It's not that deep."

Then he corrected himself, slightly. "Sometimes it is deep. Some of the songs on the album are," he admitted, pointing to the song "Soaked," a sweeping epic about the loneliness of one-night stands that's actually a cover of an unreleased track from Muse, and a very serious one at that. He also singled out "Broken Open," a ballad he co-wrote, which he said is about encouraging a lover to become vulnerable enough to cry.

"But sometimes it's just, 'This is hot, I feel good, this song makes me want to go get a drink and flirt with somebody and have a good time.' Good energy is just as credible as the cathartic, dark, heavy" stuff, he said. "It's just as important!"

This might be the most exciting message Lambert carries forward into one of the most intensely observed major label debuts in recent pop history. He's reminding America that rock music can be joyful, light-spirited and sublimely silly, just as pop can explore serious subjects beyond the call to hit the dance floor. And that a rock star might also like to dance.

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Photo: Adam Lambert on "American Idol." Credit: Fox