Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Idol 18 - Adam Lambert

18. Adam Lambert
Season 8, Runner-up

It's the GREAT Adam Lambert. Ha!

Where do I start with Adam Lambert? Well, if I had done this list a year ago - like I had intended - he'd probably be about 20 places lower than this ranking. Seriously. If you were reading my reviews during Season 8, you would know that I'm absolutely not buying the whole Glambert thing. I mean, I obviously prefer him over Danny Gokey, but I'm just not a fan.

If I'm being honest, I really do think Adam is THE most overrated Idol contestant in the history of the show. I mean, I don't deny talent - so I do admit that yes, he can sing very well - but he's not the second coming of Freddie Mercury, or anyone else he's been compared to before. Sue me. Haha.

Going back, when the semifinals of Season 8 started, I knew that he was a heavy favorite of the judges and probably one of most popular contestants - along with Gokey and Rounds, the pimpage trifecta - so I went in with an open mind. Sadly, he shrieked through Satisfaction, and the judges tongue-bathed him for it. I was like "Really? You're going to praise that?" Good thing, he started the Top 13 with a pretty good version of Michael Jackson's Black or White. It was still almost murder to my ears but I thought it was better than his semifinals performance.

Then, Ring Of Fire happened and I thought that it was the strangest thing to ever "grace" my television screen. Sure, it was vocally good but it was just too odd for my taste. I mean, I'm absolutely fine with taking liberties with a song, but the arrangement took way too many liberties that it could actually piss off the country folks tuned in to watch the show that week. It was different and creative, I'd gave him that, but I just didn’t get that. Personally, that was the moment I realized that Adam Lambert was too polarizing for people to understand fully - and yes, I'm one of them.

He further proved that he's a polarizing artist the week after that when he absolutely won me over with his rendition of Tracks Of My Tears and eventually the hauntingly beautiful Mad World. Not long after that, I realized exactly what Adam's shtick was. He operated at 1 OR 100, absolutely no middle ground whatsoever. He would sing a slow song one week, and then give a shrieky mess of a performance the next week. Nothing else. He somewhat made everyone think that he was diverse - and not to take that away from him, he probably is - but he never actually proved that on the show. I mean, I cannot think of any performance that was "middle ground" so to speak, except for maybe Black Or White - I'm not even sure. Haha.

Now, come Finale week, I knew Adam Lambert would not win American Idol because, as I've said, he was way too polarizing for the show. Let's be honest, people voted for Kris Allen in the Finale to vote against Adam Lambert. Do I think it was fair? Of course, Kris hasn't shown up on the list yet. Haha. But seriously, it probably was for the best that Adam didn't win. Frankly, Kris Allen fits the image of American Idol more than Adam ever would.

One thing I'm gonna say about Adam though after Idol stint is that I think he's now a little too big for his britches. His AMA performance proves it. That, to me, was a complete disaster and there's a line you don't cross - well, Adam skyrocketed past it. Good thing, some of his post-Idol materials were good enough to merit some respect after the embarrassment that was For Your Entertainment performance at the AMA. He had several moderate hits since the release of his album and I think nothing is going to stop him now. No, he's not the next music phenomenon but I think he's here to stay for a while.

Album Review: For Your Entertainment

Favorite Performance(s): I loved four of his performaces, which I think helped him rank this high on my list. Of course, the ethereal Mad World, his impressive rendition of Tracks of My Tears, his rocking duet of Slow Ride with Allison Iraheta and Michael Jackson's Black or White.

Mad World


Tracks of My Tears


Slow Ride


Black or White


#17 - One of the best Idol auditions EVER!

2 comments:

Robbie said...

I actually started hating Lambert because of the way the show was shoving him down my throat. I can't deny that he has mad talent and I actually like his songs now, pero during that time I was sooooo sick of the pimping that he, Gokey, and badonka-donk rounds got.

Oh and the war between Kris and Lambert fans after the finale was soooooooo bloody. Lambert fans were out for the kill! It made me dislike Adam even more because of his fans.

Right now I like him na.Pero look at him, people were putting him on a pedestal and as it turns out, he's really not the next big superstar everyone thought he would be. :P

DAM THE NATION said...

Robbie: I totally agree! Actually I have nothing more to say. Adam was praised by the judges - especially Paula - to high heavens and even calling him ICONIC but look where he is now. Yes, he outsold Allen in terms of album sales but in general, his sales are just as good as David Archuleta's first album. So, nothing superstar-ish about it. Just saying. Sorry fans!

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