Adam Lambert 24/7 News

"Glam guy on tour"

by Ng Suzhen




DESPITE bringing home the title this year, poor Lee DeWyze's win has been overshadowed by Simon Cowell's fare­well in American Idol Season 9 (AI).

Even last year's Adam Lambert (left), who took second place in last year's AI grabbed more headlines than DeWyze by being absent from the send off for Cowell.

Rumours have been flying about re­garding Lambert's no-show.

First, he was accused of developing a diva-ish attitude by not turning up for rehearsals of the show, which eventu­ally got him cut off as one of the perfor­mances of the night.

There were some who also claimed that higher manage­ment thought it was too risky to put Lambert on stage with his penchant for being unpredictable.

While everyone has been second-guessing his absence, Lambert's twitter message squashed all rumours by an­nouncing that the doctor had advised him to rest his throat due to a bug. Most important of all, while Lambert would have loved to be there for Cowell, he claimed that he was never invited to perform in the finale.

Besides, Lambert has more important things on his mind right now. For ex­ample, preparing for his Glam Nation Tour, where Orianthi and fel­low AI Season 8 contestant Alison Iraheta will be opening for him.

Not the first time he has received flak, Lambert has been continuously sparking controversies which mostly stemmed from his stage performances that push the envelope on sexuality. Even his de­but album cover For Your Entertainment was not spared criticism.

Lambert is, of course, aware of them.

"I breeze through Twitter - I look at the mentions, the pictures, the videos. But I try not to get too wrapped up in message boards because it's crazy. When the fans are support­ive, that's super positive. On the flip side, when message boards are filled with negativ­ity, I find it sad that people have nothing better to do than hate on others online. It's not a good vibe."

Featuring Lambert with heavy make-up and a coy-ish look, fans' reactions were split in half. While some were dis­gusted that he looked like a cross-dress­er, others thought he looked gorgeous with the glam look.

Knowing exactly where he was going with the album, Lambert admitted it was pretty much his call for the cover and he's not regretting the decision anytime soon.

"When we got to the point of doing the photo shoot, I just wanted to go super androgy­nous glam, kind of campy and outlandish. I love imagery like that. It's just funny, because the second a guy starts doing things out of the box, people get all freaked out. But women do it all the time, so it's an in­teresting double standard," said Lambert.

It's obvious that Lam­bert's inspiration comes from glam-rock era David Bowie during the '70s where he performed as his androgy­nous alter-ego Ziggy Stardust.

Besides Bowie, Jagger, Prince, Boy George and Michael Jackson, all of whom are guys who don make-up and yet look glamorous, inspired Lambert.

"Some of the Michael Jackson covers are amazing, like Dangerous where it's just his eyes and the entire thing is just super frosted and touched up and per­fect. And pictures of Bowie back in the day, like the Hunky Dory cover where he's just pretty and in soft focus. I love that look and think it's cool that not a lot of guys are doing it, so that's how I'm go­ing to style myself.

"It's part of my persona and has been there consistently. That's why I find it so funny that people were surprised by the cover. I mean, didn't you see me on stage with KISS and the glitter boots and the rhinestones around my eyes (on Idol)?"

The pairing of Lambert and KISS had been a perfect fit to Lambert's perform­ing style and it looked like it stuck to Lambert all the way to his debut album, and currently, his Glam Nation Tour.

The glam image might be something that would stick with Lambert for a long time, but it looks like he is not worried about getting trapped in that image. In fact, he is confident that he will still be able to escape from being boxed up in a certain style.

"I'm the one who put on those clothes; it's my own making. I feel like when I want to, I can change it up like I did on AI. I try not to get trapped in any one musical or visual style at all. I mean, that's part of what I was really trying to do on Idol - change it up week to week, like a variety tray. A veggie platter, if you will."

Lambert is best known for his pow­erful vocals as showcased during his performances, especially on AI and his album.

There are still songs that he has dif­ficulty mastering though, and one of them was Sure Fire Winners, a song from his album.

"Sure Fire Winners is pretty vocally ac­robatic. It's crazy - but they all kind of go crazy. Artistically, I think the Linda Perry song was a departure for me be­cause it was a little out of my obvious comfort zone - vocally, it sits in this falsetto space, and lyrically, if you re­ally listen to it, it's complicated. The lyrics contradict themselves, which was done on purpose. Linda and I really talked about it.

"There are two different interpreta­tions: one is that it's about two members of a relationship, and what's going on in their heads when they're with each oth­er. One partner is loving every moment and in bliss, while the other person is feeling empty and not satisfied.

"The other way to look at it is that it's about one person, going back and forth about a relationship in their head. Like one day, we feel like we love this person to death, the next, 'what the hell'. It's emotionally complicated, which makes it special."

Just when AI was starting to be bor­ing, Adam Lambert's presence in Sea­son 8 boosted a renewed interest in the show due to his electric performances and high energy on stage.

Lambert was so good, he bowled over even harsh critic Cowell, who gave Lambert a standing ovation for his ren­dition of British band Tears for Fears' Mad World.

Many had expected Lambert to grab the top spot for AI but surprisingly, he came in second place, losing the title to Kris Allen, who had a more wholesome image compared to Lambert. Many saw the win as an upset but nevertheless, support did grow for Lambert as seen with his current success.

For now, he's keeping busy with his Glam Nation Tour and will soon take it to the UK.

● Interview transcript courtesy of Sony Music Malaysia


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