Adam Lambert - Season 8

[AJane]

Originally Posted by illusions

Loved his song, but I get that same feeling about his stage persona. It leans a little toward the theatrical side to me. Remember Constantine? Wannabe rocker but other sides to him also. Has Adam had any theatrical training?

Apparently (unlike Constantine) he is no wannabe. Adam already has a theatre career. I find it a bit puzzling why he would turn to AI as he is already making a living in the creative arts.

According to one of the fansites for him that have sprung up, he was also a member of an alt-rock band. That same site called him a "musical chameleon", which I guess makes him perfect for AI, at that. I've said from the beginning that he hasn't settled on the type of artist he wants to be, and even though the judges were falling all over him last night, I still think it's going to be an issue for him in the weeks to come. Adam would do well to remember that the most successful AI alumni - Carrie, Daughtry, and Kelly - had definite, identifiable genres. He'd better decide if he wants to be Cher, Freddie Mercury, Prince, or whatever.

[Google]

 

[french dip]

Adam (and Anoop) were my early favorites in the audition rounds....along with Danny.
However now I can't wait for Adam and Anoop to get the boot.
Neither of them seem real anymore. Fake and contrived.
Adam's falsettos hurt my ears...and I love me some Freddy Mercury.
I couldn't stand a full concert with him.

Give me a whole show with Danny, Matt and Kris and I'd be a happy camper

[Fooled Again]

I would love, love, love to see him do something along the lines of glam-rock, ala David Bowie. I would die of sheer happiness seeing that on Idol.

[nemo78]

First time when I heard him sing in Hollywood group round, I kinda liked him. But he's doing the same thing week after week and I think it's getting a bit annoying. The "screaming" is a good effect if used rarely but he's doing it in every song... And I cannot stand the constant mugging! He's more like an actor than a singer when he's on stage.

[Krom]

Originally Posted by nemo78

First time when I heard him sing in Hollywood group round, I kinda liked him. But he's doing the same thing week after week and I think it's getting a bit annoying. The "screaming" is a good effect if used rarely but he's doing it in every song... And I cannot stand the constant mugging! He's more like an actor than a singer when he's on stage.

Yeah, I compared him to Clay for the way he polarizes opinions, but there's also a bit of ConstantStink in him too (that would be the constant mugging for the camera). He has a much better voice than ConstantStink, but the over-dramatic garbage is the same.

[Veruka]

I would be very surprised if he made it to the final 2 as Paula predicted last night. I think he'll make it very far. But the way people are polarized on him is going to cost him votes just as it wins some for him. That gets tough to overcome when the votes are limited to just a couple of singers.

I also think that he's going to have a very tough time maintaining his image through each week and varying music types, partly because I don't think his image is genuinely who he is. As David Cook demonstrated last season, a person with a defined genre can make it all the way through the competition. But to do that, the definition has to be in his core. David Cook could take genres of music that weren't "him" and pull them around to working for him because he so clearly knew who he was, and what kind of music he did. If Adam is not the guy he's portraying in his core, but is only portraying him because he thinks it will work to get him where he wants to be, then he's not going to be able to work with ease in a variety of genres. He'll be one of those people who, on a week with a theme that doesn't fit him, leaves the audience saying "well that's not the kind of music he does" rather than "wow, I didn't expect THAT!". When you look at performances like David Cook for Dolly Parton week, Melinda Doolittle for Bon Jovi week, or Kelly Clarkson for big band week, the "I didn't expect THAT" weeks take a person with a defined style very very far.

[nemo78]

The main problem with Adam is that I really have no idea what kind of record he would make. No idea at all.

[Krom]

Originally Posted by nemo78

The main problem with Adam is that I really have no idea what kind of record he would make. No idea at all.

Glam Rock.

Of course Glam Rock has had it's day already. Big moused hair, eye makeup, clothes in eye gouging colors and styles, vaguely Goth (or more properly pre-Goth since it came first) themes, etc.

[TopCatDC]

Originally Posted by awho?

something about him that's fake....like doing his theater but singing....can't put my finger on it.

I'm a big Adam fan... and I agree with you.

Here's the weird thing for me - he's made his living for several years as an actor, but when he sings I don't believe a word he says. Which is not saying much for his acting chops. Good acting is being 100% honest and in the moment. David Cook regularly went there (Hello, and Billie Jean) as did Archuleta (Imagine), just to name a couple of examples from last year. I got chills. With Adam - I love his voice and his performance quality (in a rock concert sort of way). But does he make me feel anything? Nope. And he should. Out of all of them, he should be able to do that. But instead his performance seems to be put on - like a costume. Something that's approached from the outside.

I hope he can break through this and just bare his soul. I think it would be game changing.

[Veruka]

Originally Posted by TopCatDC

I'm a big Adam fan... and I agree with you.

Here's the weird thing for me - he's made his living for several years as an actor, but when he sings I don't believe a word he says. Which is not saying much for his acting chops. Good acting is being 100% honest and in the moment. David Cook regularly went there (Hello, and Billie Jean) as did Archuleta (Imagine), just to name a couple of examples from last year. I got chills. With Adam - I love his voice and his performance quality (in a rock concert sort of way). But does he make me feel anything? Nope. And he should. Out of all of them, he should be able to do that. But instead his performance seems to be put on - like a costume. Something that's approached from the outside.

I hope he can break through this and just bare his soul. I think it would be game changing.

Very interesting take. There are some game changing Idol moments that you remember, and others that you tend to forget after the season is over (to me, Blake Lewis's You Give Love a Bad Name is an example of a forgettable game changer). If you're right, I'd predict that it would be one of the very memorable game changing moments.