Thinking back to the 2009 edition of American Idol, I was very much on the side of Team Kris, preferring the aw-shucks charms of Mr. Allen to the theatrical yelping of Adam Lambert. You’ll probably also recall the Idol judges pushing a Lambert victory pretty vociferously in the last few weeks of the competition, as if what remained was a mere formality — a sentiment that only strengthened my solidarity with Allen.

Truth be told, my Season 8 allegiance had long been with Alison Iraheta, the pint-sized firecracker who admirably finished in third. So while I looked forward to picking up both Allen and Iraheta’s albums, I had no such plans for Lambert’s post-Idol debut. He didn’t help matters with his performance on November’s American Music Awards, though it was the everything-AND-the-kitchen-sink creative bent that turned me off, not the guy-on-guy action.

Still, in the fury that followed, I admired Lambert’s response as the weak-kneed ABC cancelled the singer’s other scheduled network appearances. And with that in mind, just a day or so later when Amazon MP3 offered For Your Entertainment as one of its crazy $3.99 deals (and aware that some of music’s heaviest hitters had pitched in on the album), I concluded my purchase of Lambert’s debut was all reward, no risk.

And for the most part, For Your Entertainment lives up to its title, a solid pop effort, if somewhat stylistically schizo (a lot like American Idol, come to think of it). While the title song proved too much to handle (both on TV and radio, which didn’t embrace it either), I’m betting that Lambert’s second single, the comparatively subdued “Whataya Want From Me,” is going to blow up big. In fact, the song came thisclose to making my list of the Top 100 Tracks of 2009, before I decided it was destined for future success and reserved it for 2010 consideration.

“Whataya Want From Me” was one of four songs written and recorded by P!nk, Max Martin, and Shellback for her Funhouse album. The track didn’t make the final cut (“So What,” “It’s All Your Fault,” and “Boring” did), and so “Whataya Want From Me” eventually made its way to Lambert, with Martin and Shellback producing. Once you know the history, it’s not hard to hear P!nk’s POV in the song’s pleading lyrics, but Lambert makes this broken beauty all his.

The “Whataya Want From Me” video premiered on Friday, and Lambert’s take on wrestling with the fame monster is worth the watch:

Purchase Adam Lambert – “Whataya Want From Me” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.