Posted on 05/18/2009 11:53:48 AM PDT by lewisglad
I am a greenhorn in the music world. If you gifted me an Ipod, I’d probably mistake it for a remote control. Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift are names I have heard, but faces I could not place. I can’t operate a CD player and have always thought of concert-going as an activity other people do.
Until now. American Idol contestant Adam Lambert seems to have awakened my long lost music gene. It happened on a Tuesday in March when I coasted by the family room TV on my way to nab cashews from the kitchen. This male Elvira had cool, black nail polish, a Clark Gable confidence, an androgynous sex appeal and the ability to emote like I’ve never seen.
Heck, this is a concert I could attend, I thought.
With an alluring combination of pure talent, charisma, unpredictability and eccentricity, Lambert will no doubt go down in history as a superstar, not to mention American Idol’s greatest success story.
Commentators call Lambert a polarizing figure: you love him or you hate him. Could this stem largely from the partisan divide in America?
Lambert is a blue state. He is Hollywood, glamour and bigger than life. Using struts, vocal acrobatics, and bizarre song renditions, he sticks it to 'the man' and orthodoxy. He upsets society, chastising manners and mores, much the way Elvis Presley did on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Lambert is a comic book hero for those with an anti-establishment bent, such as 70’s children like me who learned early on to distrust government and convention.
His competitor, Kris Allen, is a red state. He is good ole boy from Arkansas who attends church and married his longtime sweetheart. On stage, he is as placid as a lake, even against the raging waterfall, Lambert. Allen is humble, casual and could live in Pleasantville. Lambert would be the Picasso of Pleasantville, upsetting the status quo.
In many cases, Lambert clearly transcends the red-blue divide, as evidenced by the statistics presented on 'Dial Idol' and other websites that estimate the percentage of votes each competitor receives by state. But I have to wonder if some of his angry detractors are those with a deep-seated dislike for all things liberal and idiosyncratic. .
The controversy surrounding Lambert’s sexuality also plays into this theory. Bill O’Reilly, for example, thought it newsworthy to ask his Fox News viewers if they thought the singer was gay. Successful same-sex marriage initiatives are sweeping this country, and opponents may see Lambert as a poster boy for alternate lifestyles and as a threat to conservative values.
Could an Adam Lambert victory represent a new level of acceptance for difference? Would a Kris Allen win reinforce communitarian values and the familiar? Some may see this season’s contest as a battle of hope and change pitted against tradition and custom.
Win or lose, Lambert will be a music icon. And win or lose, I guess I’d better figure out what those shapes on the CD player mean.
________
Charlotte Laws, Ph.D. is a Los Angeles TV host and the author of the book, Meet the Stars, which explains how to hobnob with the rich and famous.
I’m not into this show at all but my 3 teenage daughters are and they think Chris is the good looking one and Adam the more talented one. Personally, I do not like his look or his sound but I guess I am a fuddy-duddy.
there can be no doubt that adam is the best singer....chris can’t compete if pure singing ability is the standard.
So is he gay?
I agree and so do my daughters.
“Lambert is a blue state. He is Hollywood, glamour and bigger than life.”
And gay as hell!
Idol ping.
Now here is a completely new dimension to the Adam controversy.
No wonder the Freeper women on the Idol thread are near unanimous in their dislike for Adam.... he’s a Blue stater.
Then for the FReepers who have been missing out, here is the Idol live thread....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2208180/posts
Adam might be the best singer in the group, but I am disgusted with the manipulation that was done by having Katy Perry wear a cape with his name on it. Simon giving high praise throughout the season and the worst of all...they have him on the cover of Entertainment Weekly by himself. I hope he loses!!!!!!!!! Vote for Kris!!!
The guy has a voice, and he’s versatile. If you listen to some of his past work...if you’re old “fuddy duddies” like us, you can better appreciate the quality of his voice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJYyqzUr6jU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu_dPnRzbRQ&feature=related (quality on this one isn’t great, but you can get the point)
However, even as a fuddy-duddy, I find this song he did on Idol to be very well done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXGBWQdHsyQ
A lot of the other styles he does don’t appeal, but the guy can sing!!!
Maybe replace 'initiatives' with 'de-criminalization'? Maybe too strong of a word...
Ick. I like real men.
,,,,,,,,androgynous sex appeal,,,,,,
I guess that means he will get the android vote. Commander Data will surely vote for Adam
So, you are hoping Idol has yet another winner who is out-sold by one of the people they ‘beat’ in the competition?
Adam will outsell everyone - win or lose - he is the marquee record from this season. Take it to the bank, because that’s where you can find him in about 6 months.
He screeches. I’m not in to that.
Yeah, I admit he is a very good singer and will probably have a big career. I just do not like the screaming and schreeching and never have. I am a big Eagles fan. I am sure he could do other work but my guess is that he will be more of a hard rocker. Who knows?
He's a fag.
“I can’t operate a CD player”
Play. Stop. Complicated.
This “analysis” is a bunch of hogwash. I’ve liked most of
Adam’s performances better than I’ve liked Kris’s. I really
liked Adam’s versions of “Mad World” and “Whole Lotta Love.”
I’m a married evangelical Christian from a red state.
My wife,son, and I really enjoy watching the show together.
That being said, Kris’s performance of “Heartless” was
fantastic! If Adam wanted to do an Aerosmith song, he should
have picked something from “Get Your Wings” or another
classic album. “Crying?” Pure dreck.
My two teenaged daughters and one teenaged son are completed creeped out by Adam. Yeah, we all know he is gay but so is Elton John and we love his music. Something very dark and weird about Adam, I predict Kris will win it all.
Well as long as we don’t know, there is still hope.
It is possible for a man to like black nail polish and eye liner and not be gay.
Isn’t it?
During Country Music week, Adam Lambert sang a bizarre version of “Ring of Fire”. I’m still expecting zombie Johnny Cash to rise from the grave and so he can strangle Adam during the finale.
True, I love Elton John’s music. I find Adam a little creepy too...but very talented.
The queer one can’t hold a candle to the overall talent level of Kris. Lambert will win only if it’s a politically correct driven decision. He’s one dimensional, whereas Kris is multi-dimensional. That’s the one reason I’ve never followed American Idolators. They usually pick the one that can scream into the microphone the loudest.
Haven’t watched one episode this season. AI lost its appeal. Yet, I’ve seen the gay singer splashed all over the media. It’s just more gay agenda promotion. This story needs a hurl alert.
ADAM Lambert was stealth and will show his gayness if he wins!!! Ha Ha!!! We defeated American Idol and it’s all American viewers.....It was deceptive, and I think well planned by the prince of the airwaves and the Left!!!!
I will be voting not for Chris, but against what Adam stands for....yes it is political.
Has anyone else notices young kids dont care anymore they will celebrate his gayness!!! DIVERSITY HAS DONE ITS JOB, SCHOOLS HAVE WON OVER THE PARENTS....WELCOME TO THE NEW AMERICA...WE TRULY HAVE PUT IDOLS BEFORE OUR GOD.... SYMBOLIC I THINK SO!
So, you’ve missed the pictures of his tonguing another man on the internet?
Round and round she goes and where she stops nobody knows.
It doesn't help that when I hear his voice, I think of Margaret Dumont.
What?
I am deeply saddened!
I will now vote for the other guy!
I think Kris has the teenage girl vote. Never underestimate the power of 12 yr. old girls with a crush!!
Adam is a brilliant performer. He is akin to Freddie Mercury or David Bowie. He probably is gay,but, he refuses to address his sexuality, much to the dismay of the “Gay Mafia” that is the mass media. If you don’t like Queen or Bowie you won’t like Adam Lambert.
LOL. You can’t possibly be surprised.
and ...
I used to think that, but if 12 year old girls really controlled the vote, David Cook would never have won over Archuletta last year.
Did you feel the same way about Clay Aiken?
On the internet? That's a body part I'm not familiar with.
;-)
Adam is amazing...both I and my 70 year old husband will travel to see him. When he sings, he moves me. He has never discussed his sexual identity...the movement is using him. He’s a performer, first and foremest, and there are those here who would be very surprised to know that some of their favorite performers are gay. WHO CARES?
AI has taken care not to mention that Kris Allen is married.
He looks like a young teenager and the producers want to keep it that way.
Well, you’re an idiot.
Yeah, I did not know it until I read it on here. Of course I do not pay that much attention other than keeping an eye on what my daughters are watching and listening to what they say.
I hope Kris wins..let him have the handcuffs of the oppressive IDOL contract...I want to see Adam SOAR! Which he will. I LOVE HIM. Don’t care if he’s gay and 27 years old. I know talent when I hear it...and he’s got it.
I didn’t watch it then either. I don’t care for him either. The only reason I even know what’s going on this season is because a local boy made it to the finals and it’s all over the local news.
LOL. It’s a euphemism.
I don’t think he’s an idiot. I think the spectacle of young girls swooning over, and “idolizing” an obviously gay man is kind of nauseating.
LMAO.
My girlfriend convinced me to watch it since she knows I love "Ring Of Fire"...needless to say I was nonplussed with his take on it.
I told her at the time, the firing squad should be the death penalty for messing up a Cash song like that.
Anyone who thinks Kris is more talented than Adam is either deaf of prejudiced.
You’re not voting for priest of the day or teacher of the year.
It’s a talent show!
Why do politics have to creep into every damn thing for some people?
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