AMERICAN Idol runner- up Adam Lambert defended his sexually- charged performance at the American Music Awards on Sunday, saying his goal was to promote "artistic freedom" rather than upset the television audience.

Millions of United States viewers saw Lambert dancing very provocatively with back-up dancers - who were dressed in bondage costumes - even kissing one on the mouth, on the live music awards show.

Lambert, who performed the song For Your Entertainment, the title track off his debut album, added that much of the racy energy he brought to Sunday's show was "in the moment".

"Adrenaline is a crazy, crazy, crazy feeling. Some of the things I love most about performing is when you're up there and all of a sudden you just have these feelings, this rush that comes over you," he told CNN after the show.

The 27-year-old also said that his goal was "not to pi** people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom".

He added that said that his act was no different from the erotic performances of some female pop singers.

By Monday, Lambert was among the top 10 most popular topics on Twitter thanks to his antics.

But US network ABC television said on Monday that it had received about 1,500 complaints about the performance.

American Music Awards producer Dick Clark Productions said that it was unaware from rehearsals what he had planned.

"We did not expect the impromptu moments," a spokesman said.

An estimated 14.2 million viewers watched the American Music Awards telecast in the US - the largest audience since 2002, ABC said, based on preliminary viewing figures. ABC cut the most controversial part of his act - Lambert rubbing the face of a dancer in his crotch - from the US West Coast telecast that aired later on Sunday.

Still, Lambert's performance is fast becoming hailed as one of the most provocative TV moments in the music industry since Madonna and Britney Spears kissed at the MTV Video Music Awards show in 2003.

Entertainment Weekly music reporter Michael Slezak wrote that Lambert's first major TV outing since the American Idol show "felt less like a genuine expression of his high-octane sexuality...and more like a carefully planned stab at dominating the post-American Music Awards blogosphere/water-cooler discussion".

Lambert released his debut album, also titled For Your Entertainment, on Monday.

By midday it was No. 11 on the iTunes album chart.