[3][4] Lambert started singing and playing the guitar at the age of nine; at sixteen, he began taking his music more seriously and writing his own songs, citing his grandfather, a country musician who worked with Conway Twitty and Willie Nelson, as his main inspiration.

[5] Prior to auditioning for American Idol, Lambert was self-taught, both vocally and on guitar, and had only played in front of small coffee shop audiences for friends and family with his band, Hands that Hurt.

[8] Lambert auditioned for the ninth season of American Idol on August 25, 2009, in Dallas, Texas, at the encouragement of his mother, and earned a golden ticket to Hollywood Week.

[10] Although Lambert's group, The Dreamers, gave a rocky performance, his ukulele-accompanied final solo was well received by the judges, and he secured a spot among the Top 24 finalists.

[20] Immediately after his elimination, Lambert was invited to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where he discussed his American Idol experience and sang "Let Me Love You" by Mario, the song he had initially intended to perform during the Top 16 round.

[36] Notable performances include the U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach,[37] the 2010 Sunset Strip Music Festival[38] and Elvis Week in Graceland.

[45] "I Didn't Know", a soulful pop song written by Lambert with Nasri Atweh and Adam Messinger, was selected and made into a music video by Clear Channel and 19 Entertainment, and then released on July 26, 2010, through iHeartRadio, then across the web.