During the recording sessions, Lambert enlisted various pop and rock producers, such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Shellback, Greg Wells, Linda Perry, Jeff Bhasker, Ryan Tedder and Howard Benson.

A pop record, For Your Entertainment consists of six songs co-written by Lambert, while also having contributions from fellow artists Pink, Lady Gaga, Orianthi and Justin Hawkins.

Following its release, album received primary positive reviews from music critics, with The Washington Post calling it "an instant classic".

Commercially, For Your Entertainment peaked inside the top ten in seven countries, including Australia, Canada and the United States, where it reached third spot on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually was certified Gold by Recording Industry Association of America.

Immediately following his participation on American Idol, Lambert began writing and recording with predominant pop hit makers such as Lady Gaga, Greg Wells, Max Martin, Linda Perry, RedOne, Ryan Tedder, Evan "Kidd" Bogart, Sam Sparro, Kara DioGuardi, Alex James, Rivers Cuomo and Pink.

[10] He was invited back in March 2010 to close the second episode of The Tonight Show featuring Jay Leno, with a performance of the song "Sleepwalker" from his debut album.

[18] In March, as part of his swing through Australia to promote his album, he performed on "So You Think You Can Dance", as well as the popular morning show "Sunrise".

In the same month, Lambert was selected to inaugurate the newly resurrected award-winning VH1 Unplugged concert series, for which he interviewed as well as performed stripped-down versions of five songs from the album.

[21] March 2010 also saw him as a featured artist on the ABC News Nightline "Playlist" segment, in which he discussed his musical influences and favorite tracks.

[24] Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011, results show, singing an acoustic version of his song "Aftermath", accompanied only by guitar.

The tour travelled across North America, New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Europe, before finishing with two final shows in Los Angeles, California.

"[32] Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package.

"[37] Slant Magazine wrote that "'Music Again' and the awkwardly written 'Strut' [are] every bit as obnoxious as the songs from Mika's The Boy Who Knew Too Much," and that "'Music Again' apes its production and a good deal of its melody from Mika's 'Touches You,' while the title track and lead single is so similar to Sam Sparro's 'Black and Gold' that 19 Entertainment should probably keep a strong legal team on retainer...but questions of originality aside, there's simply no getting around the fact that the Lady Gaga co-write 'Fever' and 'Whataya Want from Me,' written by Pink and Max Martin, are phenomenally well-crafted pop singles that give Lambert the opportunity to shine.