He still wasn’t apologetic, but there’s a hint of regret in Adam Lambert’s tone when he recalled his controversial American Music Awards performance to Ellen DeGeneres in her show.

The “American Idol” alum, whose sexually-charged AMA gig became the talk of the town, says that while he doesn’t think he did anything wrong, it maybe wasn’t the right judgment call.

He told the host, “I forgot that this was the first time people were seeing me on TV again after ‘Idol’ and I didn’t really think about that as objectively as I might have wanted to.”

“I think in hindsight, I look back on it and I go, ‘Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best first impression to make again or the first second impression.”