Adam Lambert
Photo: Bruce Glikas/ FilmMagic

During his nearly flawless run on "American Idol," Adam Lambert seemed unshakably confident. The San Diego native was so comfortable onstage that even the rare negative comment from the judges seemed to bounce off his glittery armor without leaving a scratch.

But, like just about anybody, that confidence was tested when he met Madonna. In his interview for the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Lambert describes how his "Idol" trip has resulted in so many of his wildest dreams coming true. "Everything that I always thought was a fantasy is actually happening," he said. "And it's a testament to imagination and doing whatever the f--- comes to my mind."

Case in point: meeting Madonna. Months before being introduced to the nation on "Idol," Lambert had met Madonna guitarist Monte Pittman and the two collaborated on some original songs last year for the Los Angeles performance revue, "The Zodiac Show."

Zodiac co-creator and director Lee Cherry told MTV News earlier this year that the two hit it off and came up with some mind-blowing music, including the viral-video glam-rock hit, "Crawl Thru Fire." Cherry said the very first night the two met they wrote an original song, and they quickly established a close partnership.

After giving her a guitar lesson, Pittman invited Lambert over to Madonna's Los Angeles apartment, according to the RS story, which doesn't specify when the meeting took place. "She had her guard up a little at first," Lambert said of the pop icon. "Like anyone would in that situation, but after she realized I had good intentions she was so playful."

Lambert says he professed to loving her music and being intimidated by her, which gave the power-dynamic loving Madonna the perfect opportunity to show the budding "Idol" star how it's done. "Oh, so love equals intimidation for you?" Madonna teased Lambert. Though she hadn't watched the show and didn't seem to know who he was, Lambert said the two talked astrology, specifically his moon sign, Aries.

"She said, 'You don't like anyone telling you what to do, do you?' " he recalled. "It's so cool, because she gets it, you know?"