Adam Lambert 24/7 News

Along with a select group of 45 Belvedere Middle School music students, we were treated to a very special Adam Lambert performance Thursday. So special that it was one of those rare times when you truly appreciate how incredibly fulfilling it can be to cover “American Idol.”

Now, charity is nothing new in the “Idol” arena. On most seasons, we get more than a healthy dose via the show’s all-star philanthropic effort “Idol Gives Back” (this year should be no exception, with Kris Allen traveling to Haiti and Kara DioGuardi and Elliott Yamin helping in Angola), but rarely does one get to witness the act of giving. Most of us donate money and hope it makes it into needy hands, but we never really know.

Well, Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert opted to be completely hands-on, delivering much-needed supplies to the school’s Contemporary Rock music class himself. At the same time, it was entirely a group effort. After Adam teamed up with DonorsChoose.org, his fans donated nearly $300,000 to the cause, allowing the school to purchase guitars, strings (1,000 to be exact – the school boasts 300 guitarists!) and batteries to power up the keyboards.

The kids, who were hand-picked by teacher Sarah Fuller based on skill and had no idea that Adam Lambert would be showing up at their class that day, not only got to meet Adam and ask him a few questions (one of which was: “How did you feel when you won ‘American Idol?’ ”), but after weeks of practice, they also got to accompany him on his first single “Whataya Want From Me” (see video below) as well as perform two songs on their own, the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” and an original number.

Even with some minor key issues at the start, that room sounded stellar, thanks to the strums of 30 guitars, a row of recorders and a capable backing band (not to mention Adam’s own guitarist, Monte Pittman, helping along). Adam, ever the consummate showman, adapted with ease and, in the end, charmed the pants off of everybody.

Belvedere students have certainly seen their share of celebrities -- Edward James Olmos and "Napoleon Dynamite’s" Efren Ramirez both have visited the school -- and for good reason: 94% of Belvedere students qualify for free or reduced lunch, meaning that the student body comes overwhelmingly from low-income families.

That unfortunate fact was not lost on Adam. “Public schools don't get the budgets for materials in the arts programs,” he told Idol Tracker. “We've raised an insane amount of money. Music classes, drama classes, art classes … these are the programs I really wanted to focus on because, as a kid, I was fortunate enough to have great funding in my district. That’s not always the case for people, so this is really important and great.”



-- Shirley Halperin

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