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.
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