LOS ANGELES -- Adam Lambert has to be a little annoyed that the [article id="1611893"]"American Idol" crown slipped through his fingers[/article], right?

Well, if he was, he didn't show it. "What a night, right?" the 27-year-old glam rocker said, greeting a room full of reporters backstage after Wednesday night's finale.

So what's next for one of the most unpredictable "Idol" contestants ever? Lambert answered questions about finding common ground with Kris Allen, how he pushed himself to take risks and conspiracy theories about his second-place finish.

Q: What was the night like?

A: It felt so good. I mean, I got to sing with [article id="1611896"]Queen[/article] and [article id="1611891"]Kiss[/article]! First or second, it doesn't matter to me. I got to sing with two great, heroic rock bands of mine.

Q: Have you had any offers yet?

A: A couple. [Laughs.] Just a few here and there.

Q: What did Paula Abdul say to you after the show?

A: From the get-go, Paula has been super supportive. ... She just had the warmest, most positive energy, she was always encouraging, so she just kind of wrapped it up for me and said that she's proud of me.

Q: How about the other judges?

A: They're all really supportive. They've all been supportive. I didn't get a chance to talk to Simon after the show; I'm sure I'll meet him at the party. Nothing but positive support, and that's what's been so great about this experience, is that it's been very encouraging, the environment. I never felt like anybody was like, "No, you can't do that. You can't sing that. You can't say that. You can't wear that." They've always been like, "Run with it, Adam. Do your thing!" So it's been really cool.

Q: How did you come to be so fearless onstage?

A: When I was younger, it was scarier to take risks. And I just kept pushing myself throughout my early 20s to kind of push myself to the point where it wasn't scary anymore.

Q: Were you as surprised as everyone else when they called Kris' name?

A: I knew it was gonna be a close race. I think Kris is incredibly talented, and he's a good person, so to me it was like, "OK, we know it's gonna be close. Whatever happens, happens." We made it this far. We got to do a really cool finale. And we're both gonna get to do great things in the future. For me, it's not really about what happened tonight. It's about tomorrow. It's about next.

Q: When do you think you'll start on an album?

A: I know that we're gonna start working on some music right away, and that's what I can't wait to do -- to collaborate, to write, to co-write and create visuals that go along with the music. I think that's gonna be really exciting.

Q: Maybe another [article id="1610708"]duet with Allison Iraheta[/article]?

A: I love Allison. Yeah, we'll see. That would be really cool.

Q: Some bloggers might say you lost "American Idol" because of the speculation about your sexuality.

A: Is that what they're gonna say? [Laughs.] We'll see. The blogs have a lot of opinions, don't they? I think that Kris won because he's a great artist, and I was happy to be a runner-up to that.

Q: What's next?

A: My dream now is to make a really dope record, to do something new, push the boundaries a little bit, push people's buttons, open people's minds up a little bit. And you know what's really, really cool about Kris being in the finals tonight? We are seemingly so different, but we found a way to get along and find a common bond -- mostly through music, but also just through talking and getting to know each other. And if there's anything that could come from this experience that I hope [article id="1611897"]all the fans[/article] out there can pick up is that even if you're really different, there's a way to get along with each other. It's not about, "Oh, you beat me because of this" or "You're different." It's about finding the common stuff that makes it work. We got up there and did the Queen duet, and we made it work, because we found a common ground with each other.

Q: Did you have a strategy going into the competition?

A: Yeah, my strategy was just to show all different sides. And also, there's a very fine line between giving the audience what they wanted, and also me trying to introduce stuff they didn't know they wanted.

Q: What inspires your style?

A: I just kind of like things that are different. I like things that make you look. I don't like to blend in; I like to stand out.

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