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Billboard: The 20 Best American Music Awards Performances Ever #12 Adam Lambert

Filed Under () by Adam Lambert on Thursday, November 23, 2017

Posted at : Thursday, November 23, 2017


18 comments:

The Dark Side said...

I doubt there is a Glambert on earth who will ever forget that AMA performance!

blu said...

I think it's great that it made the top 20 . . . and it so cute when Adam didn't know he did anything wrong . . . just trying to keep up with Lady GaGa . . got caught in the moment . . Love It!

Artemis said...

I can't imagine that it rates as the 20 best. It was the biggest disappointment I had ever seen in AMA performances. His singing was way off, he tried to out GaGa Lady Gaga and failed, plus he tripped and fell during the performance. I think his dad said it all when he noted he had never seen Adam perform as badly as he did that night. This was NOT the vocal performance we were used to seeing on AI from him. Too much attention to stage theater and not enough attention to great vocals. He learned a huge lesson that night. I think Adam knew very well that this was not a good performance. He was supposed to blow them all away with his vocals, and he did NOT succeed in that. Since then, I have never seen him give a bad performance ever again.

Lam-My said...

Adam did learn a helluva lot from his AMA performance; goodness gracious, 8 years went by just like that and the strangest part is we are still arguing about it. FYE song on video was on the top of my chart for many years, I like the Mm Mm Mm beat and piak piak piak at the start of the video showing an LA street; then, Adam coming into a dark underground joint.
As for the AMA performance, he did not do anything so bad that needed that huge protest of 1,400 signatures and the subsequent cancelling of his 2009 NYE show. So I think the lesson he learnt should be, never try too hard to beat another contender and forget what he was there for. As a result, he sang too hard and it came off insincere but Adam is a very sincere singer/actor/person. To add to the fiasco, the sound system was not properly tweaked to accommodate his voice which needs very fine tuning on the part of the sound control; like what Queen is doing on their QAL tours.
By the way, I saw the full AMA performance, uncensored live, nothing that bad I'd say; he portrayed a sexual song the way it was meant to him on stage respectfully attired. Actually, the leashed actor who was pulled by Adam to his crotch got my attention, the way he slid with exaggerated movement like a stalking panther. I believe that censored portion took the biggest toll of all at the AMA; still, a very good AMA performance overall, best of that night!
I attended his Trespassing concert live in Singapore and his portrayal of FYE song live was not good at all; he lowered the key and sang it as any ordinary song; don't know if his AMA punishment affected him to play it down in case of any unforeseen backlash. But now, Singaporeans are so used to Adam's muses, we don't even blink an eye. lwl! Like he kissed Tommy Joe at the Padang 2010 Glam Nation concert, no hue or cry.
Ahh, then why the latest episode of 20,000 signatures to cancel Adam's performance at Singapore's 2015 NYE at Marina Bay to usher in 2016 with pomp, pageantry and fireworks, also live on tv. Well, still nothing happened, 24,000 anti-signatures put their foot down. The whole episode was staged and smelt of politics; it was later reported outsiders/other countries were also involved to create division. That particular church group had an axe to grind. They cited Adam's 2009 AMA performance as 'lewd' and harmful. Goodness gracious, which means they couldn't even quote a more recent example and relied on one that happened 7 years ago. Smelt very fishy indeed to me and Singaporeans by and large are very tolerant when it comes to stage shows.
All said and done Adam returned and wowed a crowd of 90,000 last year, QAL at the 2016 Singapore F1...scintillating show!

LAMBERT Outlaw said...

My mother always told me ... "if you can't say anything nice .. don't say anything at all" & I've always tried to follow that rule but @Artemis makes it hard for me to follow that rule!! That's all I have to say!!

ADAM is an Entertainer Extraordinaire ... He never fails to amaze & amuse ... He never Disappoints!!

tess4ADAM(LAMBERT Outlaw)

Lam-My said...


https://youtu.be/BJ7gC_OdTvE

Queen + Adam Lambert - Bohemian Rhapsody

Jan Woller
Published Nov 23, 2017
Live in Royal Arena Copenhagen Denmark. 22/11-17

Mi Re La said...

Artemis , Adam was out of the pattern and the world was not ready for it. Regarding the fact that he fell on the stage I did not even notice, Adam managed to fix it pretty quickly. I do not know if you saw how hard Madonna fell on the stairs during a concert or how Justin Bieber vomited on stage. In terms of voice, it really was not Adam's best performance, but he was probably full of emotions. There are many experienced singers singing very badly in concert (see Adele's tribute to George Michael when he started playing poorly, stopped, apologizing to the audience and started the song again) and most of them make lips sync.
At this point, when playing live Adam raised the level so high that he is alone in the league.

Lam-My said...

Brian, in a recent interview said, that's why live shows can be risky because the performers can't anticipate exactly what can happen. He also said that in the case of Queen, it can even be dangerous as they do not use any pre-recorded music; all live voices other than the BR chorus to include Freddie as part of the show. He said that's what keeps them going, the excitement and unpredictability; and that's what keeps the crowd coming. I thought that was a rather insightful concept.

Unknown said...

Was his singing really that bad? You might not like his choice of voice colour, but he didn't sing a single note off-key. His performance I thought was great and as for him tripping, if he hadn't told us nobody would have known. He tripped, rolled over, immediately got back on his feet and didn't miss a note. Anyone else would have fallen flat on their face.

Allysa Mentor said...

It may not been his best performance, but probably his most talked about....... what sets one apart from the others. I guess we'll never know if that helped or hurt him, but it proved he's his own man. ��❤️Adam....

Nanbert said...

IMO...I have to agree with Adam's father, and a few others here.... this was NOT Adam's best performance...but very likely his worst.

I feel that a "perfect storm" of emotions, bad sound, that fall he took, his unbelievable loss on AI, including a sense of defiance he undoubtedly felt about his perceived rejection by people because he was gay, a spirit of competition with the previous performers, pride, etc...and, he briefly once suggested, perhaps a "tipple", or two, before.... all converged to throw him off his usual perfection.

I believe that all of the turmoil he experienced is clearly seen in that last expression on his face when he was finished... his red-faced, out of breath, defiant finger-up pose which is indelibly imbedded in my mind... along with a deep sense of sorrow and sympathy for him (and us) to have experienced that moment.

But, that's all water over the Dam ...even though we all find ourselves rehashing it over and over. I, for one, would be delighted if the video of that performance got lost forever....I'm sure Adam does. Especially since Adam has the most immaculate live vocals of any singer I've ever heard.

But, look at it this way. The article we're discussing ranks Adam's performance in the TOP 12 of ALL AMA performances... ever. That just says what WE already know...that........
ON HIS WORST DAY, ADAM IS A SUPERIOR SINGER AND ENTERTAINER TO MOST CURRENT AND PAST AMA PERFORMERS...EVER!!

I THINK THAT SAYS IT ALL!! So let's celebrate!

Dee R Gee said...

Anyone remember Barry Manilow's reaction to Adam's AMA performance? He said that Adam should have just stood on a darkened stage with one spotlight on him and sung a song. Period. Wonder how different things would have been if Adam had done something like that? Barry is a fellow gay artist with years of experience. Maybe his instincts were good.

Dee R Gee said...

The AMAs were a deal-breaker for some viewers. No more Adam. Period. For some it was graphically sexual like the other acts that night. For me, he was the Adam I had hoped for. I adored the AI Adam, sexy but sweet, edgy but nice. But I had a feeling we would get a different Adam after AI was over. And I was right. The ride has been bumpy, but I love it because Adam has always been true to himself, mistakes and all.

Dee R Gee said...

Anyone remember Barry Manilow's reaction to Adam's AMA performance? He said that Adam should have just stood on a darkened stage with one spotlight on him and sung a song. Period. Wonder how different things would have been if Adam had done something like that? Barry is a fellow gay artist with years of experience. Maybe his instincts were good.

Dee R Gee said...

Oops. Double post. Sorry.

Artemis said...

Mirela, I pretty much stand by what I said regarding the AMA performance. And yes, others who have been in the business far longer have had mishaps on the stage, though I hardly even equate Bieber with Adele or Madonna. The point is that being asked to do a number at the AMA's , even though he didn't win AI, was exceptional, and it was his introduction to the rest of the music world who didn't watch AI. His big debut. He had a chance to blow them away with his vocal talent. That is NOT what was talked about afterward. According to his father, what went wrong during the performance and the reaction to some of his choices really shook Adam. He thought he had perhaps blown his big chance. Were it not for the loyalty of his original fans like us, he might just have done that. Someone else mentioned the finger at the end, and I had forgotten that, partly because they edited it out by the time the West Coast saw it. I live streamed it and saw it. People were confused as to exactly to whom the finger was aimed, and really, it was totally unnecessary. But yes, to the point it WAS the worst vocal performance I had ever heard Adam do, and that includes the performances I saw him do around the LA scene which were available online at the time. I've seen Adam in quite a few live concerts and have never been disappointed since that AMA performance. I want him to be a phenom, but the music world seems to ignore him when it comes to the charts. I often wonder if things would have been different had the AMA debut been different.

Lam-My said...

Nothing wrong with the stage setup; not so sure about standing in a dark spot and just belt out the song; might not do justice to an intrinsically flamboyant sexual song.
People were up in arms over the crotch enactment and to some extent the kissing. It would have gone down better if these were not acted out and yes the third finger venting, not appropriate on stage. Well, I think Adam sensed by now what he had done might have gone over the edge, so might as well finish it off with the third finger perhaps to sum it up. lwl!
As for the vocals and rendering of the song...a little lacking in finesses/style which we had expected of Adam after Idol where he delivered perfectly crafted songs and with a lot more feeling. I think also, the sound control could have made a difference to highlight his vocals at the right places instead of muffling them.
In a nutshell, Adam at the AMA lost his intrinsic natural self and came across as just a performer rather than a real artist / person. Can't blame him. It was his debut in such a large event; if he had an experienced coach to guide/prepare him...that could have helped but Adam being a theatre trained actor/singer who had performed in big musicals/shows like Ten Commandments, Zodiac Show, Wicked, Hair... felt he could take his AMA act to a different level, watched by millions.

Nanbert said...

I never heard that quote of Barry Manilov's. That was certainly flattering for Adam, and showed the esteem Barry must have held for Adam's voice. Basically, he was saying that Adam's voice didn't require any props or frou-frou....it could stand beautifully and simply alone.

That's certainly true....but that's not the AMA's style. It seemed that all the previous performers were more interested in outdoing each each other by titillating and shocking the audience than actually singing.

And Adam came last! The pressure on him by then must have been excruciating. Unfortunately, the song he planned to sing was already very sexual, suggestive and aggressive.