Adam Lambert one of the best 'American Idol' non-winners

USA Today has celebrated vocal powerhouse Adam Lambert as one of the best non-winners of 'American Idol' ever.

In the new editorial, Lambert is named as one of the best non-winners the show was lucky enough to have and the accompanying article reads:

"With all due respect to Season 8 champ Kris Allen, Lambert may have been the runner-up who most deserved to win. He drew fans with his irrepressible style and showmanship, contrasting with the WGWG (white guy with guitar) profile that had become a victory formula."

"Lambert has had post-Idol musical success, ranking high on the list of finalists' album sales and touring with members of Queen. He appeared in Fox's Glee and plays Eddie in the network's The Rocky Horror Picture Show revival, due this fall."

Other successful non-winners included in the feature are Chris Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson, Kellie Pickler, Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, and Sanjaya Malakar.

Lambert, meanwhile, recently spoke to Billboard about the end of 'American Idol' and confessed that it feels like the right time: "It's an end of an era, Idol will always go down in history for what it is and what it did and what it represents for people. It came long at a time when I think we, as a country, we needed to come together and we needed to believe in something hopeful and give underdogs a chance and celebrate music and the diversity of music in our country. I think they did a great job, and it's time to pack it up."

Watch an interview with Lambert here: