"Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert: "I'm gay"

The announcement came a day after 19 Recordings said it had signed Allen to a record deal, a guaranteed result of his first-place finish on "American Idol." 19 Recordings is run by Simon Fuller, executive producer of "American Idol."

Lambert, 27, grew up in San Diego, California, and starred in musical theater before trying out for "Idol" last year.

In the Rolling Stone interview, he said he had a "psychedelic experience" at an annual festival held in the Nevada desert called Burning Man, and that experience convinced him to try out for "American Idol."

"I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen," Lambert told Rolling Stone.

Lambert also revealed a crush on Allen, who was his roommate for much of the two singers' run on "American Idol."

"He's the one guy that I found attractive in the whole group on the show: nice, nonchalant, pretty and totally my type -- except that he has a wife," Lambert joked.

"American Idol" is broadcast by the Fox network, a unit of News Corp. Past winners, including Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, have enjoyed Grammy-winning careers, but stardom has also touched runners-up such as Chris Daughtry.