4.5.16 Adam News and Info
Apr 5, 2016 2:45:30 GMT -5
Post by Q3 on Apr 5, 2016 2:45:30 GMT -5
Adam Lambert Talks Idol, 70s Rock And How He Got His Mojo
Posted on 04/04/2016 at 3:33 AM
by Maxine Page
It seems hard to remember the music world without the absolutely fabulous Adam Lambert.
Lambert rose to fame after becoming the American Idol runner-up in 2009—and, with the exception perhaps of Jennifer Hudson, he’s the most successful of the reality competition’s alums.
Pre-Idol
Before Idol, Adam was an up-and-coming musical theater star, having landed a role in the Los Angeles production of Wicked.
But his heart was in rock ’n roll—and thankfully for us, he took a huge gamble on his career to audition for Idol.
It’s a gamble that paid off handsomely, and the rest, as they say, is Glambert history.
In it to win it
Adam talked to the Review Journal about how sometimes you’ve got to take a risk in order to achieve your true dream:
[The Wicked casting] was an eight-show-a-week, professional production in L.A., paying very well, enough to make a living off of, unlike most theater in Los Angeles.
And so I did that for two years, and while I was doing that, I worked on my music. Then I auditioned for Idol, and they were like, “You’ve got to quit that show,” because you can’t be in a professional anything. So I quit and then Idol happened.
It was a gamble, because they made me quit before I even got in front of Simon, Paula and Randy and Kara.
So it was definitely a gamble. I thought, “well, this could be a shot and if I don’t take it, I’m going to kick myself later.”
And I’m glad it worked out. It’s definitely an example of you’ve got to take the risk in order to get the reward.
Idol definition
The 34-year-old went on to give props to Idol for helping him define his musical performance style.
It was interesting for me to be on Idol, because they were trying to figure out who I was, and I was like, “Well, I like all this [nostalgic rock ‘n’ roll music].”
You know, why do I need to be defined by a genre. I don’t really get that. You know, it’s a TV show. I was like, “I can sing the rock music, and you don’t really have a rocker, so I’ll go sing rock music.”
And so yeah, so I did that, and towards the end of it, I realized, well, now I have a shot at being on the radio and having a contemporary music career, and I want to make the kind of music that I like to listen to, and I still love rock ‘n’ roll, so how do
I kind of put those both together.
And so, that’s sort of what my first album was, was this modernized glam thing.
And then there’s the whole Queen thing.
Killer Queen
As Popdust previously reported, Lambert stepped in to the late great Freddie Mercury’s platform boots back in 2012, to tour the world with Queen.
Not surprisingly, Lambert received rave reviews from critics, fans, and Queen band members alike.
Guitarist, Brian May, called Adam “a gift from God” telling Classic Rock, “Adam is the first person we’ve encountered who can do all the Queen catalogue without blinking.”
While drummer, Roger Taylor, gushed, “He’s incredibly musical, and we certainly take anything he says quite seriously.”
And, it turns out, it was the perfect fit for Lambert too. It was pretty much serendipity, all things considered.
’70s influence
He opened up to the Review Journal about how much he was influenced by the ’70s rock giants.
Queen was huge for me. You know, I just became really enthralled with the whole glam rock thing.
What I loved about it was it was music that was rock, but it was also pop, obviously, at the time, and it was also … the fashion of it was something that was really … especially at that time, I was, like, 22, 23, I had just come back from doing a show in Europe, where I was in Germany for six months.
And everybody in Germany is very progressive and liberal. I was dressing like a crazy club kid.
And I got home and I was like, well, how do I combine all these things that I love, and that’s one of the reasons why that glam rock movement of the ’70s spoke to me.
I was like, “Ah, God, I wish we had that now. That’s so in line with everything that I love and am and see myself as.”
And it just, I don’t know, it spoke to me.
Link: popdust.com/2016/04/04/adam-lambert-idol-70s-rock/#slide1
Review Can't we just let Adam Lambert be Adam Lambert?
Adam Lambert performs Saturday night at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
by Mikael Wood
“American Idol” introduced us to Adam Lambert, but it’s also what’s kept us from really getting to know him.
In 2009, this former San Diego theater kid struck the televised singing competition like a bolt of originality. He was sensitive but macho, showy yet deep-feeling. As a vocalist, he could level a room with pure power but was also capable of smaller inflections.
ADVERTISING
Yet “Idol’s” method — then as now, just before the series is set to conclude Thursday night — is to smooth out that type of originality. The show sands the edges from unique talents to fit them into known compartments.
So it’s no wonder that in the years since he finished in second place (behind the dull folkie Kris Allen, whose edges came pre-sanded), Lambert carried on in a similar fashion, trying on a succession of ready-made identities. There was a glam-rock album, a flirtation with ’80s electro-funk, even a collaboration with Queen in which he more or less played the role of the late Freddie Mercury.
You could feel that pressure to conform — to live up to someone else’s expectations — Saturday at the Orpheum Theatre, where Lambert played the first of two sold-out concerts to end a U.S. tour in support of his latest record, “The Original High.”
Released in June, it’s his best album by far, and also his most modern, with songs shepherded by Max Martin and Shellback, the Swedish pop wizards known for their work with Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. In smart, slick tunes like “Ghost Town” and “Another Lonely Night,” he’s still following rules, of course, adhering firmly to current ideas about tempo and texture.
But for the first time since his early days on “Idol,” Lambert seems to be singing from his own perspective — and singing, not coincidentally, without much reliance on the vocal acrobatics that came to define him.
What a bummer, then, that his audience at the Orpheum appeared less interested in this refreshed individual than in the cartoon of yore.
Lambert's show Saturday was the first of two at the Orpheum to end his current U.S. tour. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
Sure, fans cheered Lambert’s assured performance of “Ghost Town,” which sets thoughts of romantic desolation over a throbbing dance beat, and “The Original High,” a coolly wistful synth-pop track about that “summer back in Hollywood.” And plenty in the crowd stood when Lambert announced, “Now we’re in the club,” as his band revved the harsh but euphoric groove of “The Light.”
Yet he drew a far more enthusiastic response with his older, comparatively generic material: the disco throwaway “Fever,” in which he sounded like the world’s most overqualified wedding singer; “Runnin’,” a stock arena-rock stomp; or the title track from his 2009 debut, “For Your Entertainment,” whose let-me-please-you message didn’t exactly discourage anyone from looking at Lambert as a mere object of amusement.
His beyond-tired rendition of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” — a signature number from the later “Idol” days — got a hearty reception too, even as it made you consider what Lambert might give to never have to sing it again.
Adam Lambert
Lambert performed songs from his latest album, "The Original High," along with older material, on Saturday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
To finish the show, he did his 2012 song “Trespassing,” a muscular little protest number about how uncontainable he is. The fierce lyrics and the propulsive music were setting you up for a renunciation of all the borrowed gestures he’s been encouraged to learn — an explosion of true Lambert-ness, in other words.
But then the band segued into Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” and the place went crazy.
Twitter: @mikaelwood
Link: www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-adam-lambert-orpheum-theatre-review-20160403-story.html
The Original High Tour – North America
Wed, Feb 24 7:00 PM Boston, MA House of Blues Boston
Fri, Feb 26 8:00 PM New London, CT, The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino
Sat, Feb 27 9:00 PM Atlantic City, NJ, Caesars Atlantic City
Sun, Feb 28 7:00 PM Bethlehem, PA, Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Tue, Mar 1, 8:00 PM, New Brunswick, NJ, State Theatre
Thu, Mar 3 7:00 PM New York, NY, Terminal 5
Sat, Mar 5 7:00 PM Washington, DC, Lincoln Theater
Sun, Mar 6 8:00 PM Charlotte, NC, Fillmore Charlotte
Tue, Mar 8 8:00 PM Atlanta, GA, Tabernacle
Thu, Mar 10 7:30 PM Nashville, TN, Ryman Auditorium
Sat, Mar 12 8:00 PM Hollywood, FL, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Sun, Mar 13 7:00 PM Orlando, FL, Universal Orlando Resort
Fri, Mar 25 8:00 PM Detroit, MI, The Fillmore Detroit
Fri, Apr 1 7:30 PM Las Vegas, NV, The Foundry at SLS
Sat, Apr 2 8:00 PM Los Angeles, CA, The Orpheum Theatre
Next, Adam will be heading to Toronto to film his part of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Wed, Apr 13 the European leg of the tour begins.
*****
Adamtopia Calendar
The event calendar is located here: adamtopia.com/calendar
If there is a missing event or error, please send a Personal Message to cassie
*****
The Adamtopia guidelines are quite simple. To be a member of Adamtopia...1. You must be an Adam fan.
2. You must be respectful of other members. Feel free to express your opinion, but be glitterier and golden.
3. Strive to be funny, entertaining or informative when you post. Avoid posting something that has already been posted.
4. Never question anyone's right to post, the appropriateness of a topic or define the proper way for an Adam fan or Adamtopia Member to behave. Let the moderators do their job.
More rules will be added if the need arises but, if everyone follows these rules, we will not need a lot of rules.
*****
Happy Birthday
aromalily, eyecandy, feilong, flamingolady,
gill, lightloveadam, lliillaa, mkc1989 and moriapolonius!!
Happy Birthday
aromalily, eyecandy, feilong, flamingolady,
gill, lightloveadam, lliillaa, mkc1989 and moriapolonius!!