Was Adam Lambert Ineligible for 'American Idol?'

Adam Lambert competed three years ago on "American Idol" (and didn't even win), but still his eligibility for the vocal competition show is coming into question. Why would anyone care at this point? Well, as is often the case with these kinds of things, a lawsuit is involved.

The lawsuit comes from Colwel Platinum Entertainment, which claims it has the rights to an album from Lambert titled "Beg for Mercy."

Observant Lambert fans may have noticed the album up for sale briefly on Amazon.com, before Lambert's people had it taken down: "Beg For Mercy project is same as ‘Take One’. some songs I worked on 5 yrs ago and never finished," Lambert Tweeted. "This release comes as a surprise to me…"

What does any of this have to do with "Idol?" Colwel Platinum claims that Lambert is still under a contract with them, one that he entered before he competed on "American Idol." Not only could that make a sticky situation concerning Lambert's current deal with RCA records, but it would mean that Lambert was technically not allowed on "Idol" at all.

See, "Idol" has a stipulation that shows like "The Voice" and "The X Factor" don't: contestants aren't allowed to have a recording contract. Thus, if Lambert was indeed signed, he would have been ineligible for the show.

Of course, that's more or less a foregone conclusion: season seven of "Idol," the season on which Lambert competed, is long since done. What happens with Lambert's songs, and specifically the ones on "Beg for Mercy," will depend on the lawsuit.