Adam Lambert - Season 8

[nemo78]

I didn't like Adam last night (Country week). The entire point of having a 'theme' week is to show your range. I feel that by changing the song the way he did was insulting.

I don't see it that way. I think it's good thing if a contestant picks a song from another genre and makes it his/her own, I don't see that disrespectful or insulting. I don't understand this whole "range thing", I mean you should do what you're best at and what you feel most comfortable doing at. I think that is showing more of your talent when you have to pick a song from some different genre and try to make it your own, and that's how it should be IMHO.

So, I didn't see Adam's version of Ring of fire insulting or disrespectful because he tried to make it his own, and wasn't singin the song in country style. I just hated it because he changed the melody way too much (it was hard to even recognize the song) and went completely over the top with his screaming and screeching. He just tried to do too much with that song. You can try to swich a genre but I think you shouldn't mess up the melody too much, or at least try to do it better than original if you're gonna change it up. I think Adam failed to do that and his rendition of that song was just terrible.

[dallas_viewer]

Having listened to many of his performances on YouTube, I think Adam is a phenomenal singer and exciting to watch.

HOWEVER, as others have said, his rendition of RoF was waaayyy over the top. (Though he had, as always, some great vocal moments and was still watchable, in a "I can't believe he's doing this to this song" kind of way.)

You know how the judges admonish the female contestants not to try to sing popular Whitney Houston songs, because comparisons will be made, etc.?

Well, it's kind of the same thing here.

Ring of Fire is an iconic country song, and Johnny Cash--deep-voiced, gravelly throated, rugged-looking Johnny Cash--is the one who made it so.

Adam didn't just change it up (which could have potentially worked out okay), he made a parody of this iconic song by replacing the rugged, macho, somberly soulful quality of Cash's version with a more effiminate, salacious, over-the-top performance. It was self-indulgent, and he deserved to be taken to task for it, IMO.

BTW, Adam should also take note of what happened to Chris Daughtry. Daughtry thought he could take every theme/genre, week to week, and just turn it into a screaming rock song, and he would be so good that it wouldn't matter. But viewers got tired of what seemed to be almost the same song week after week--like a one-trick pony--and Daughtry was booted off the show. Hopefully Adam will not fall into the same trap...

[moonpie]

Not to quibble, but Johnny Cash did several versions of Ring of Fire. The first was not somber and soulful, but was upbeat and used Mexican trumpets.

Other versions of the song have been covered over the years by artists from Frank Zappa to Bowling for Soup to a punk version by Social Distortion. I would think those varying covers were done as a tribute to Cash, not to mock him. I didn't see Adam's version as a parody at all, just a different approach. (Which, admittedly, was pretty over the top.)

If every contestant sang every song the way the original artists did verbatim, they may as well call the show "Karaoke Idol". I like the boldness of changing things up. YMMV, of course.

[Veruka]

In the off-stage post-performance interviews shown last night, I think that Adam showed what will prove to be his weakness. In commenting about the negative feedback, he made some flip comment about it not being for everyone, so some people didn't like it, who cares! That kind of attitude works a lot of times in the arts, but not in pop music. In pop music, everything has to be done to please the masses. On American Idol, when the votes keep you alive, it matters that much more. People who make the choice to be true to who they are as artists don't seek the world of fame via pop music. They stay true to their art, and accept the smaller audience that comes with it. Others choose to stray from the art, please the masses, and reap the fame that comes with it. But you don't get both.

[ibot2much]

If every contestant sang every song the way the original artists did verbatim, they may as well call the show "Karaoke Idol". I like the boldness of changing things up. YMMV, of course.

I agree with you.

The worst sin in Simon's eyes is Karaoke...or Cruise Ship or Cabaret. And don't forget "too safe".

Self-Indulgent rubbish ( or was it nonsense---he's used both terms at different times) it was NOT.

And what I loved was that Simon's repeat of his asinine comments last night didn't disturb Adam in the least.

[Ionan]

Mt. Smugmore needs a reality check and an attitude adjustment. It was clear that he dislikes country music, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had chosen Ring of Fire for its iconic status as a big F-U...pretty much like saying "Oh, look, I took your song and screwed it up, how'd you like that now? Aren't I better than the original? Of Course I am! I' AM original by attempting to copy others' versions!"

Of course, there's no way to prove that unless he comes out and says it flat out, but I get that kind of vibe from him after he sings pretty much anything that he changes around. If he were to make the song truly his own, I can respect that, but what he does to them is no where near original to him.

[HavingFunNow]

The cool thing about Adam is; he doesn't care what Simon thinks, he doesn't care what Idol thinks, he doesn't care what I think, and he doesn't care what you think.
He's already quite content to move on, and I'll bet he finds a way to break the contract and not go on tour.
He's accomplished what he set out to do.

[Fooled Again]

The downloaded version is just beautiful. Props to Adam.

[animagus]

well...randy mentioned it was jeff buckley's version of "ring of fire". i didn't know it was buckley's version (ive heard it before...have his cds) but maybe i didnt get it because i was just overly distracted with adam and goth glam look and the reds and mugging camera, etc. also buckley's voice is very haunting and emotional. i didnt get any emotion from adam.

he is an incredible singer, best vocally this season but just the wrong song. he could have won over so many people who's on the fence with him due to his goth glam look/style if he just chose a more sensible song. i think doing something outrageous and different is good only if its a certain artist like what he did with mj last week. but not so well with a genre....unless if its broadway.

The version that Adam sang was from the band Universal Hall Pass. But don't bother going to their website; it's crashed and none of the links work to sneakyrecords.com, their distributor. I've tried to find a place to listen to the original version on line and I can't locate it anywhere.

[illusions]

I had totally mixed feelings on that song. Some parts I liked and others were weird. I remember when Dilana did Ring of Fire on Rockstar the total thing was weird but for some reason I liked it. I definitely don't think this was Adam's best song.