‘American Idol’ notes: Adam Lambert, Lee DeWyze, and Kelly Clarkson

Kelly’s Christmas album – We’re sure that there are plenty of people out there who wished that Kelly Clarkson had done this sooner: A full Christmas album rather than just some little releases here and there and this is the year that it is happening. On October 29, the original “American Idol” winner will be releasing “Wrapped in Red,” a collection that includes a combination of Christmas classics mixed with new favorites. If you like to frequently surround yourself with Christmas cheer, this is probably something that you are going to be very interested in picking up for yourself.

Kelly’s album cover is certainly Christmas-y enough, in between the obvious inclusion of red and the “A Christmas Carol” styled lettering used for her name. We also like that it’s not so “bleed Christmas all over the place,” where she was standing in front of a campfire wearing a bad sweater and drinking eggnog. No thank you.

Lee’s album is out – Moving onto an album that is actually available, Lee DeWyze’s sophomore release “Frames” is out. You can buy the standard edition here, and the deluxe one here; we personally recommend the latter, since you’re basically getting another album full of acoustic versions of the songs. It’s a lot of bang for your buck and either way you won’t be disappointed. We’re not a music critic and nor do we try to be, but we’ve had a good time listening to the stories Lee tells on this CD, and it’s in a great folk-rock style that suits him perfectly.

Adam’s new performance – Adam Lambert is featured with Nile Rogers on the new Avicii track “Lay Me Down,” and you can see the first American performance of the song below. It’s certainly different than what we traditionally see from Adam, but that’s more or less a testament to his own humility. Enjoy below. This song is part of Avicii’s new album “True,” which drops on September 17.

Be sure to click here if you want to read some of the latest judging rumors for “American Idol,” and we’ll have some more news as it becomes available.

Photo: RCA