Adam Lambert - Season 8

[Veruka]

Originally Posted by Broadway

I'm very conflicted about this guy. I am a HUGE musical theater fan (hence my screenname) and I would absolutely LOVE him on stage in a musical theater performance. He would kick some major stage butt with the likes of Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Heather Headley, and Cheyenne Jackson.

But I absolutely HATE him in this format. Hate him. There is a reason why many/most highly successful Broadway actors don't hit it big in music.. their talent just isn't mainstream. And mainstream is exactly what American Idol is all about, and that is the type of talent that the producers are allegedly looking for.

Adam creeped me out last night. He does have a fabulous voice... but the showmanship is just way over the top. I hated last night's antics (still can't shake the "it burrrrrrrrrrrrns... it BURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNS" atrocity... that will be in my mocking vernacular for years, I'd imagine.) If he wants to succeed in this format he's going to have to dial it back more than just a few notches and hide his extensive theater training. I am surprised there aren't more Freddie Mercury comparisons going on when it comes to Adam. Not that I'd necessarily be all over that comparison... but it still seems more logical than some of the others being made.

Well said, I think you've nailed it. Adam is a very talented singer, but he's not a commercial singer. I can see him going far in the competition, because he knows how to play the game that is American Idol. but I can also can see the people who will be responsible for the album in a panic, trying to figure out how on earth they'll market him if he were to win.

[Google]

 

[moonpie]

Originally Posted by sopearl

I guess you either love him or hate him and I'm on the love side of this equation.

I'm feeling the love as well. I guess when it comes down to it, I like not knowing what to expect when he steps onto the stage ... not to mention his killer voice. Over the top, definitely. But his performance is the one I remember from last night. Save for Anoop and Danny, everyone else just kinda blends together for me.

[Krazy4Knievel]

I'm on the Love Train too!

[Fooled Again]

Riding the love train all the way till the end. This guy is mesmerizing. Over the top? Hell yes! But in a superb way.

[Little Sew&Sew]

I enjoy a good Broadway show tune as much as the next person and I wanted to like Adam, really I did.

Did you ever say something while sitting on the comfort of your own couch in your own home, only to have someone on tv repeat - in LIVE format - the same exact thing?

Happened to me last night when Simon said "What the H... was that"!!

This guy is verging on cult leader status if performances like that one continue to get him through.

[angelic_one2002]

I just don't care for his style at all, and Im a rock music fan. I think he screams too much, and I dont call that talent at all, but that's just my opinion.

[ElizabethG]

I'm a middle-aged, mostly conservative, mostly old-school rock n roll loving Mama. But I look forward to seeing Adam perform most of all, just to see what he's going to do with that voice. He is mesmerizing to me, I really enjoy his performances. Don't really care one way or the other if he wins this thing, but I enjoy watching him. And to me, that's why I watch the programs I do - to enjoy and to be entertained. Period. All this other stuff is just......stuff. Doesn't mean a hill of beans.

[Ionan]

I'm confused, everybody keeps saying that he's musical theatre, but in what reality does he sound even remotely as such? I am quite aware of the highly varied musicals out there, but just because he's been in musicals or has sung songs from them, does not make him a musical theatre singer, if anything, he's a emo singer because all he does is either screech and yells songs out, or turns them into a pile of depressing crap.
Comparing him to Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel is an INSULT to both of those talented people.

He's a pretty one dimensional singer (Like most this season). But Good singers are either able to adapt to different genres, or make songs from different genres adapt to them without murdering it. He EPIC FAILED at that, especially this week. He turned an iconic song from an iconic singer into a jumbled mess of self-indulgent crap.

[Krom]

Ack. The Aikenish divide over this guy deepens more and more.

I don't deny his voice. It's very good. But I DO find myself rather shocked by how many folks think what he's doing is original. It's not even close to original. Different from what usually appears on Idol? Sure. But hardly original. He's synthesizing, copying, aping, adapting stuff that's been out there forever.

For me personally, his version is over the top and yes... those magic words... indulgent and pretentious. But mileage will vary, I guess. People loved Jason Castro. Clay. SANJAYA. Chicken Little. Pickler before real professionals outside of Idol picked her up and polished her up a bit. Even Constantine. In terms of pure vocal strength, its likely that Adam has more than any of these fan magnets. Those fan likings don't always translate to commercial success though (Pickler with all the help she had being the big exception, as well as Clay for like... a year).

[alsoaktchr]

I googled Adam & came up with some video of him singing in productions of Wicked and a Ten Commandments (?) musical... pretty awesome Musical theater chops to me... jmho...