Adam Lambert, relaxed and personable, talked about his sexually charged American Music Awards performance on “The Early Show” on CBS on Friday. Lambert said he understood how some viewers might have been upset but offered no apology. “I’m not a baby sitter. I’m a performer.” He said his first performance since “American Idol” would not have caused as much controversy if he weren’t a gay male. He also said there were other “adult” moments on the show — “Janet Jackson. Crotch grab.” — that caused no outrage. Lambert admitted he didn’t rehearse some of the more risque elements of his award show performance — a point that particularly upset ABC, which said it was taken by surprise by what he did. In the future, he said he’d try to get these issues cleared before the show.

“I admit I did get carried away, but I don’t see anything wrong with it. I do see how people got offended and that was not my intention. My intention was to interpret the lyrics of my song and have a good time with it.”

So what would he do differently if given a do-over? “I would sing it a little bit better.” Lambert appears on Letterman tonight.