Friday, October 22, 2010

Idol 16 - Alex Lambert

16. Alex Lambert
Season 9, Top 16 Finalist

So. Much. Darn. Potential. Seriously.

As I've said before, the Top 16 results night of Season 9 would go down in American Idol history as the biggest injustice that EVER happened on the show. Really. It was the freakin' apocalypse because three - maybe four - people who were eliminated way too early. Yes, once upon a time, we all survived Daughtry's fourth-place finish or Melinda Doolittle's boot a week before the Finale or even Jennifer Hudson getting eliminated at 7th place, but this one stung so badly.

To be perfectly honest, during that week, it was Alex Lambert's elimination that felt a bit demoralizing. It was demoralizing because the show lost the most distinctive male voice in the competition of that season - one that with a little nurturing had the potential to be something special - and we're left with mediocre karaoke singer that was Aaron Kelly and the obviously flash in the pan, Andrew Garcia. Alex, to me, had the very real opportunity to show growth with every single week. When he was eliminated, sure, he wasn't quite there yet but he had too much potential for the show to waste.

I admit, his rendition of James Morrison's Wonderful World was painful to watch as he looked incredibly nervous during his performance but if you just closed your eyes and didn’t focus on that, he really has a pleasing vocal tone to his voice and the song choice was actually great. But yes, I still considered him a cannon fodder after this performance.

Then, Everybody Knows happened and I was floored. His version of this John Legend ditty was fantastic and made me really consider him as a potential dark horse in the competition. I also noticed that week that he  seemed to have this superhuman ability to pick great songs for his voice. Obviously, Alex came from absolutely nowhere and Simon was right when he inspired Alex to always be confident in his voice. I mean, his vocal tone is impossibly lovely.

After that, he delivered another good performance with Trouble although I already expected more from him after the awesomeness that was Everybody Knows. I just wish the producers didn't advice him to sing Trouble instead of Mario's Let Me Love You because the latter seemed a bit more relatable to the apparent demo of the show. Sabotage?! Regardless, he still proved that he had one of the very best natural voices in the competition as his husky tone was immediately identifiable, and would sound amazing on the radio.

Now, after his elimination, I was so glad that Simon Fuller gave him another chance by putting casting Alex as part of his Online Show If I Can Dream where he got to record some songs as demo for record labels and one music video. Personally, his post-Idol materials are really good and I hope he releases an album very soon.

Favorite Performance(s): I have to say, all his Idol performances were really good and it showed his growth as an artist. I'll probably include his music video and his performance of what-could-have-been Let Me Love You in the mix.

Everybody Knows


Wonderful World


Trouble


Let Me Love You (The Ellen DeGeneres Show)


Music Video: I Didn't Know


#15 - Back Up Singer!

13 comments:

Robbie said...

This sealed the deal for me. They wanted a female winner soooo bad that they wanted all the bad-singing guys in the Top 12. But they couldn't stop the fckin tweens from voting for guys because those teenage girls are young and horny.

I'm still upset over this.


Wahahahaha.

Denman said...

I was so disappointed when he got the boot. Took me a week to get over it. Hehe.

DAM THE NATION said...

Robbie: I agree. And although, talent wise, the girls last year were arguably far more superior than the guys, they just pushed them too much that it back fired in the end. Now, we're stuck with Lee Dewyze. Haha.

And yes, I still can't believe we didn't even get a couple of studio recordings from Alex. Huhu.

DAM THE NATION said...

Den: Heck, I'm still pissed that he got eliminated. Haha. The day he got the boot, I wasn't able to function well. Haha.

Denman said...

Ako din eh. Pumetiks ako sa work for a day. Seriously! Haha.

DAM THE NATION said...

Den: Haha. The effects of Alex Lambert. LOL

Cecintx said...

I cannot wait for his album to be released!!!! I love his voice.
IMO, American Idol lost a gem with his elimination and also lost what was left of its already damaged credibility.

Anonymous said...

Alex is in a very good position,with regards to his future success in the record. industry,because his voice is so unique,and identifiable.From what I've been told,he's been recording literally dozens of tracks,and some with writers/ producers as high-end as the Avila Bros.,and Harvey Mason Jr.So,I'd say there's a 99 percent chance of seeing a Major Label album out from Alex in the near future-and my guess would be Pop/R&B,based on the genre of the above stronger producers that 19 has selected for him to work with,recently-But he actualy does deserve it-his vocals are that strong...

DAM THE NATION said...

Cecintx: Just like you, can't wait for his album as well. And yes, Idol obviously had some backlash after the Top 16 elimination apocalypse. :))

DAM THE NATION said...

Anonymous: Thanks for the update. I really appreciate it. :)

Anonymous said...

I was extremely pained by his elimination because I knew if he had made it that he could have WON the whole damn thing. But good things came for him anyway when he was asked to join the If I Can Dream cast after the petition to put him back on. He's still doing well, but not as good as he'd probably be doing if he has stayed longer on Idol. I'm so proud of that boy!

DAM THE NATION said...

Anonymous: Ditto!

Anonymous said...

i am still not over it. Such a waste.

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