For Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, the next step is huge.

After the "American Idol" finale -- Allen won, Lambert was runner-up -- both have big-time recording and touring plans. And that's a long way from where they had been.
Allen had dropped out of college once. For two years, he tried to be a professional musician -- something that matches his talent, but not his temperament.
"I've always been a procrastinator ... I'm kind of laid-back and low-key," he said by phone Friday.
He was a newlywed, just returning to the University of Central Arkansas, when he tried the "Idol" auditions. That day he waited for 14 hours, being careful not to talk. "I was really, really sick."
Allen said he was surprised to survive that first audition; more surprises would follow.
And Lambert? Not long before auditions, he said, he was questioning his future.
He had been thriving in theater, ever since he was Linus in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" at age 10. The great roles kept coming -- in "Peter Pan" and "Grease" and "Brigadoon" and more. Now he was in "Wicked" in Los Angeles, as part of the ensemble and sometimes stepping in as understudy to the romantic lead.
"It was a great job and I had a lot of friends and it was paying he bills," Lambert said by phone Friday. "But I thought, 'Is this it? Is this my life?'"
From the moment he auditioned for "Idol," the show focused on his distinctive look and sound. Allen, however, was virtually unnoticed in the early rounds.
"There was maybe a little bit of, 'Wow, they're not showing me,'" Allen said. "But that's kind of the way I live my life."
Few hard feelings emerge from either man.
"I'm totally OK with this," Lambert said. "I'm happy for Kris. He's a good friend."
Allen granted that the result surprised him in many ways. "Adam was the most consistent person all year," he said. "He is one of the most gifted performers I've ever seen. And he's just a great guy."
The only semi-negative thing they could say was that "No Boundaries" is a tough song. "That song is hard to sing," Allen said. "I don't know if (either of us) was happy with how that went."
Still, both were required to sing it Tuesday and it instantly became Allen's first single. "To have your first single be something you didn't (have much say on) is a little weird," he said.
Both men expect to have CD's out within a year, from the "Idol" producers. Allen expects a pop-rock feel, possibly with some of his own songwriting.
"I'm not a man of many words," he said. "I'm not expressive in my emotions, but it comes out in my music."
Lambert expresses himself strongly. The music comes first, he said, but it's helpful to wrap that in theatrical touches. That's been an on-and-off part of rock for decades.
"(David) Bowie is a good example," he said. "Michael Jackson is ... Madonna -- there are so many."
He took control of his look. Lambert had his own Los Angeles stylist and three friends, in a business called Skin Graft, designed most of the jackets he wore on "Idol."
He also took control of his music, going to extremes in variety and in intensity. That will also be the case with his CD, he said.
"I'm a collaborator," Lambert said. "I don't like to be told what to do and I don't want the reins all to myself."
He'll work with many people on the CD -- but won't stick to the plan during concerts. "I don't like to re-create things. When I get on stage, I just go for it."