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Post by 4Ms on Sept 20, 2011 15:20:19 GMT -5
POPWATCH BLOG 'American Idols Live' tour review: Kradison rules,
but Matt Giraud impresses, too!by Michael Slezak | Aug 10, 2009 It's a credit to the top 10 finalists of American Idol's eighth season -- or perhaps a discredit to the series' production team -- that... popwatch.ew.com/2009/08/10/american-idol-tour-newark-kradison-matt/
Adam Lambert - Whole Lotta Love - Newark, NJ - August 9, 2009
tuke18
Adam Lambert - Mad World, Newark 2 NJ *IMPROVED VERSION*
lambosessed
Adam Lambert -Starlight HD- from Newark, NJ 8/9/09
playingwithunow
Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta -Slow Ride HD- from Newark, NJ 8/9/09
playingwithunow
Adam Lambert - Bowie Medley, Newark 2 NJ *IMPROVED VERSION*
lambosessed
My one disappointment was seeing Allison restricted to performing only three songs, but thankfully she was back a short while later, during Adam’s set, for a reprise of their duet of “Slow Ride.” As iconic as the performance was during season 8′s Rock Week, the live version was even more chill-inducing, as Adam and Allison stalked the stage (and wrangled discarded bras) with the polish and poise of seasoned vets, not a couple of kids who less than a year ago were performing respectively in a touring production of Wicked and as a headliner at L.A.’s La Curacao department store.
Oh, and on the subject of Adam (not to mention memorable Rock Week performances), let me just say that freed from the watchful eyes of Fox’s five-second delay, his “Whole Lotta Love” was even more scandalous in Newark. I couldn’t help but chuckle watching Adam commit multiple misdemeanors against the mic stand as the first in a series of ladies’ undergarments began their awkward trajectory toward the stage. And did he really thrust his hand lasciviously down his waistband as he snarled the line “way down inside”? You’d best believe it! But in spite of/because of the overt sexuality (choose your side), the performance was one of the best of the evening. By comparison, Adam’s take on Muse’s “Starlight” was lacking in rip-roaring energy, and felt more like a weird detour into thinly disguised musical theater, before things got back on track with a vocally effortless, hauntingly interpreted “Mad World,” that suffered only from the slightly canned sound coming from the band. Adam finished things off with a mashup of Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” “Fame,” and (a sped-up rendition of) “Let’s Dance.” Now I’ve got to admit, I’m not usually a fan of a medley, but the first two tracks in particular were such perfect fits for Idol‘s glam-rock master, I’m hoping he’ll consider a cover of one of ‘em for his upcoming debut album. (An a hat tip to Adam for ripping off his jacket and revealing his bare arms during “Fame,” the better to reignite the screaming masses as he neared the finish line.) Who’d have thunk an Idol alumni would be voted most likely to keep Bowie’s outré performing style alive and resonating over the next decade? Seriously, Mr. Lambert has forever changed the notion of what it means to stand in front of Randy, (not) Paula, Kara, and Simon and ask for a golden ticket to Hollywood.
popwatch.ew.com/2009/08/10/american-idol-tour-newark-kradison-matt/
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 26, 2011 15:12:28 GMT -5
THE MUSIC MIX BLOG Adam Lambert vs. Susan Boyle: Which Nov. 24 record release has you more excited?by Michael Slezak | Oct 2, 2009 Ding, ding, ding, ding! Ladies and gentlemen, let's get ready to rummmmblllle…or at least get ready to mark Nov. 24 on our calendars with big,... music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/02/adam-lambert-susan-boyle-november-24/
Ding, ding, ding, ding! Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rummmmblllle…or at least get ready to mark Nov. 24 on our calendars with big, red ‘Xs.’ How come? Because that’s when two of this season’s most anticipated debut albums will be dropped like scalding plates coming out of the microwave.
In the Simon Fuller corner, it’s American Idol season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert, the man whose rendition of “Mad World” left approximately 20 million Americans sobbing softly on their couches. The man whose boots/jacket combo made the members of Kiss look downright demure at the Idol season finale. The man who caused my Social Security-collecting mother to lasciviously shout “Come to mama!” at the Idol concert tour stop in Albany, NY, in August. The man who managed to top Barbra Streisand and Madonna on Amazon.com’s album pre-sale charts this week — even though fans won’t be able to listen to said record for almost two months.
... I’m more excited for Adam’s set. I’m sure I’m not the only one obsessed with finding out what in the universe Adam’s debut is going to sound like (best guess: probably like nothing currently in said universe), and his list of collaborators to date — including Linda Perry, Max Martin, RedOne, Ryan Tedder, and Greg Wells — indicates his label is leaving no commercially viable stone unturned. What’s more, Randy Jackson told me recently that he bumped into Adam in the hallway of an L.A. recording studio, and what he heard of the still-in-progress disc was “hot, interesting, and cool.” (Okay, that’s not a lot of detail, but at least I scored you something better than a standard-issue “molten-hot lava bomb,” yes?)
Outwardly pretty, but drained of any blood or life or excitement. In the pantheon of “Wild Horses,” Rolling Stones > The Sundays > Susan Boyle. Which isn’t the worst thing in the world, but I have to hold out hope that whatever Adam unleashes on radio in the next week or two will, by comparison, be positively throbbing.
music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/02/adam-lambert-susan-boyle-november-24/
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 26, 2011 15:13:03 GMT -5
HE MUSIC MIX BLOG Adam Lambert's 'Time for Miracles':
29-second leak may cause sweating, palpatationsby Michael Slezak | Oct 9, 2009 As an Idoloonie, the fallow period from June-December has traditionally been a time for ennui, heartbreak, and disappointment. Year after year, we invest ourselves knee-deep.. music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/09/adam-lambert-time-for-miracles-leak/bit.ly/nOvlkHsearch.ew.com/results.html?type=ew:Michael+Slezak;&Ns=p_publish_date|1||p_headline_sort|0&No=490 
As an Idoloonie, the fallow period from June-December has traditionally been a time for ennui, heartbreak, and disappointment. Year after year, we invest ourselves knee-deep in the hoopla (God help me for using that phrase) of taking back the power from short-sighted record labels and forcing them to sign artists who don’t need no stinkin’ autotune. After the confetti falls, though, even in the best of scenarios, we maybe get to witness one or two stops on the Idol summer tour, wallow in the realization that not all of our favorites are getting major-label deals (#signmattgiraud, bitches!), and then brace ourselves for the inevitable sad trombone of songs like Bo Bice’s “The Real Thing,” which have none of the verve or personality or power of the upstart singers we fell in love with on Fox’s ubiquitous talent search.
This year on Idol, however, runner-up Adam Lambert promised us that a change was gonna come. And it may just turn out the man was telling the truth. Indeed, hot on the heels of excellent singles from season 8 champ Kris Allen and third runner-up Allison Iraheta, a verrry brief snippet of Adam’s “Time for Miracles,” a cut from the upcoming 2012 soundtrack, is now streaming at Amazon.com UK, and it sounds like it has the potential to be a power-ballad smash. (For the record, a rep for Adam’s label says “Time for Miracles” won’t be the lead single from Adam’s forthcoming debut disc; a decision on which track they’ll ultimately choose will be made in the next couple of weeks.) UPDATE: A longer, “making of” clip is available via AOL — I’ve embedded it below [Photobucket video above] — and it puts the “edible” in incredible…or somethin’ like that!
But getting back to the Amazon clip, it begins with an acoustic guitar line leading into the last line of a verse, with Adam declaring “So nothing can stop me from trying.” After that, the bombast kicks in — the kind of building, building, building, nod-your-head, power-chordian crescendo you’d expect from what’s rumored to be the closing-credits cut to the year’s big-budget apocalyptic disaster flick, starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, and possibly the destruction of everything ever. Then we hear the start of the chorus — “Baby you know that maybe it’s time for miracles/ ‘Cause I ain’t givin’ up on love/ You know that maybe it’s time for miracles…” — which hints at what’s to come, but ultimately cuts off before Adam can really tear into the track with the kind of gale-force vocalizing his fans have been feverishly waiting to hear for weeks now. [UPDATE: Scratch that, peeps! The AOL "making of" snippet now embedded below gives us 86 seconds, with Adam-on-Adam layers that are destined to make my mother do something drastic. Mr. Lambert, if Polly Slezak approaches you and says she's working on a feature for EW, she is telling a lie!] On the Adam Idol Scale ™, “Time for Miracles” sounds like it’s got a little “Mad World” falsetto, a little “Slow Ride” growl, and perhaps the scope and grandeur of “One.” I’m going to reserve saying anything more till the full track makes its way to the internet, but for now, go forth and check out the 29-second leak streaming at Amazon UK, press play on the embeddable 86-second version here, and vote in our poll below. Then you can share your snap-judgment review in the comments section below. Oh, and do follow me on Twitter to get all my Idol-centric updates @ewmichaelslezak. Yes, folks, I Tweet, therefore I am. trying to hang on to my youthful relevance. Now I’m going to take a cleansing breath, exhale deeply, and then raise the first alcoholic beverage I can get my hands on that no part of the beloved Kradison troika has been saddled with “No Boundaries”-esque pablum. That, in and of itself, proves it’s a time for miracles, no?
music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/09/adam-lambert-time-for-miracles-leak/
2 Recordings mentioned in this article: www.amazon.co.uk/Time-For-Miracles/dp/B002SBPWAC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1255117832&sr=1-4video.aol.com/aolvideo/moviefone/2012-adam-lambert-music-teaser/44269490001 |
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 26, 2011 15:13:42 GMT -5
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 26, 2011 15:14:15 GMT -5
THE MUSIC MIX BLOG Adam Lambert's 'Time for Miracles': What do you think?by Michael Slezak | Oct 19, 2009 Listening to Adam Lambert's "Time for Miracles" is kind of like watching a volcano on the brink of eruption. There's a lot of bubbling and... music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/19/adam-lambert-time-for-miracles/bit.ly/q1EyNq search.ew.com/results.html?type=ew:Michael+Slezak;&Ns=p_publish_date|1||p_headline_sort|0&No=470
Adam Lambert - Time For Miracles Audio only
Listening to Adam Lambert’s “Time for Miracles” is kind of like watching a volcano on the brink of eruption. There’s a lot of bubbling and buildup and anticipation, all leading to the point where things finally explode in a torrent of heat and magma and glory notes. That moment arrives at the 3:30 mark, as Adam exits the bridge and tackles the chorus once more (with feeling), riffing magnificently over the melody as a tidal wave of strings swells up around him. And while the Adam-volcano parallel is an obvious one to make — after all, there’s no use denying the American Idol season 8 runner-up possesses a voice that’s its own uncontainable force of nature — the epic scope and execution of “Time for Miracles” (which hit Belgian iTunes over the weekend, and is embedded below, courtesy of YouTube, or if RCA yanks it, you can listen to it here) never seems forced or ridiculous. Maybe it’s because you expect a track that’s rumored to serve as the closing-credits anthem for the season’s big-budget disaster flick 2012 to have the sort of industrial strength to stand up on its own after two hours of hurricanes and earthquakes and fireballs and global devastation. Or maybe it’s because despite the fact that there’s a whole lot of production going on in “Time for Miracles” — I’m especially partial to the Asian-inspired instrumentation that pops up at the 1:30 mark (coming out of the first chorus) — the melody is so immediate and so simple that (if you’re really, really brave or un-self-conscious) you can sing along after only one or two listens.Oh, sure, it’s as cheesy as a grilled Velveeta sandwich, but who’d say no to that orange, melted goodness right about now?
What’s surprising about “Time for Miracles,” though, is its decidedly old-fashioned vibe. I’ve heard a lot of folks compare the track to Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (from 1998′s Armageddon), and while I’d argue that comparison has more to do with disaster-flick association than musical similarity, I do get the sense that if “Time for Miracles” had been written, say, 20 years ago, its power-ballad-on-steroids sound would’ve made it an obvious choice for Steven Tyler & Co. Lyrically, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” and “Time for Miracles” might be second cousins, too. The opening three lines of both tracks tap into the kind of romantic longing and “I’m conjuring up your smile” sentiments that are byproducts of true love, spatial separation, and/or insomnia.
Compare:
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”: I could stay awake just to hear you breathing/ Watch you smile while you are sleeping/ While you’re far away and dreaming.
“Time for Miracles”: It’s late night at night and I can’t sleep/ Missing you just runs too deep/ Oh I can’t breathe thinking of your smile.
The question remains, however, if two decades from now, “Time for Miracles” will be ingrained in the minds of pop-radio listeners the way Aerosmith’s Armageddon theme still is today. And really, that’s going to come down to two things: whether or not Top 40 radio embraces the Glambert sound, and whether or not Adam can capture the imaginations of folks who don’t sacrifice every Tuesday and Wednesday night from January to May on the altar of Fox’s ubiquitous singing competition. The biggest challenge for Adam, as far as I see it, is there really isn’t anyone quite like him on modern radio — a male singer with a monster-truck-sized voice who isn’t afraid to bring the bombast and the drama to match it. But I’m guessing that Adam — with his vampires-vs.-aliens chic and booming instrument — will be impossible for even the least adventurous radio programmer to ignore.
music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/19/adam-lambert-time-for-miracles/
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 26, 2011 15:14:54 GMT -5
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 27, 2011 15:05:29 GMT -5
NEWS BRIEFS BLOG Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta reveal debut album titlesby Michael Slezak | Oct 19, 2009
Lambert, Idol‘s season 8 runner-up, announced via Twitter that the title of his record, which will be released Nov. 23 via 19 Recordings/RCA, will be For Your Entertainment.
news-briefs.ew.com/2009/10/19/allison-iraheta-adam-lambert-album-titles/
bit.ly/r39JHI
THE MUSIC MIX BLOG Adam Lambert is working with Lady Gaga: Who benefits more?by Michael Slezak | Oct 20, 2009
Adam Lambert announced yesterday in a series of messages on his Twitter page that there’ll be at least one more A-list collaborator on For Your Entertainment, his upcoming debut album: “Yes it’s true: I spent yesterday in the studio w the insanely talented and creative Lady GaGa recording a song that she wrote! I love her.” “Gaga wrote the song a while ago and she thought it would be a good fit for me. It’s a solo track. I feel so honored and lucky to be asked.” “GaGa just gets it, ya know?”
music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/20/adam-lambert-lady-gaga-collaboration/
bit.ly/r39JHI
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 27, 2011 15:17:53 GMT -5
THE MUSIC MIX BLOG Adam Lambert's 'Time for Miracles' video: Spoiler alert! Not everyone dies in '2012.'by Michael Slezak | Oct 21, 2009 What's this? You thought I was going to go 24 hours without posting a Music Mix item about American Idol's beloved eighth- season Kradison trio? Well... music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/21/adam-lambert-time-for-miracles-video-2012/bit.ly/r39JHI
Adam Lambert - Time For Miracles Official Music Video
What’s this? You thought I was going to go 24 hours without posting a Music Mix item about American Idol‘s beloved eighth-season Kradison trio? Well you thought wrong, Blanche! But I obsess not just for the fanboy fun of it, but because, well, every day (and sometimes twice a day) there’s breaking news coming out of the Kris Allen-Adam Lambert-Allison Iraheta camp. Today’s big to-do: The premiere of Adam Lambert’s “Time for Miracles” video. I know, I know, I’m a little tardy for the party in weighing in — just because I make Real Housewives references doesn’t mean I actually watch that messerie, BTW — but because it’s only been 48 hours since I wrote a 781-word essay/review/tone poem about the full-length track, a little distance seemed necessary.
Now, however, without further ado, here are the Top 5 Things That Went Through My Mind While Watching the “Time for Miracles” Video:
1) Yes! Adam moodily posing on a moodily lit rooftop is an image worthy of repeat viewings.
2) Adam moodily strolling in front of a green-screen on which images of global destruction/panic-stricken masses fly by? Not quite as much.
3) I know this video would be kind of a sadtrombone.com if there wasn’t a mood change from the “everyone’s gonna die” theme that dominates the first three-quarters of the video, but I wonder why 2012‘s producers think it’s a good idea to show us what’s seemingly a shot of doomsday survivors emerging from cold storage at the 3:39 mark. Yeah, yeah, we all know a big-budget studio flick will inevitably have a happy ending — “Humanity’s been wiped out…except for the 22 of us!” — but that doesn’t mean we want to see said ending played out as music-video backdrop before we plunk down our $12.50 for the full monty. Actually, on second thought, there’s no way in Wasilla I was gonna pay money to see this flick…so maybe I should shut up and thank Adam and the makers of this video for helping me maintain my pop-cultural literacy with a freebie crib sheet.
4) Adam’s tousled, jet-black mop is a thing of ridiculous beauty, but my mom is going to be totes disappointed that he’s dialed back on the guyliner. Yes, people, sad to say that five months after the season 8 finale, Polly Slezak has not yet managed to perfect the “Glambert eye” she became so obsessed with between February and May of 2009.
5) Those lava bubbles at the start of the video make me think about one of my favorite things in the world to look at: Black-lit jellyfish at the aquarium. And that’s a good thing!
5a) My comrade Leah Greenblatt makes a salient observation: “Cool Guys Don’t Look at Explosions.”
Okay, check out the “Time for Miracles” video for yourself, then post your own review in the comments section. And because I’m shameless, I will once again request that you follow me on Twitter @ewmichaelslezak. Holla! Hey-ey!
music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/21/adam-lambert-time-for-miracles-video-2012/
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 27, 2011 15:39:10 GMT -5
THE MUSIC MIX BLOG Adam Lambert's outre-space 'For Your Entertainment' cover:
What do you think?by Michael Slezak | Oct 27, 2009 Adam Lambert unveiled the cover for his forthcoming debut CD, For Your Entertainment, on his official site this afternoon, and to paraphrase the sadly under-appreciated... bit.ly/ps1E6lsearch.ew.com/results.html?type=ew:Michael+Slezak;&Ns=p_publish_date|1||p_headline_sort|0&No=450music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/27/adam-lambert-for-your-entertainment-cover/atop.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=idolpreformances&thread=23&page=28#97533
Adam Lambert unveiled the cover for his forthcoming debut CD, For Your Entertainment, on his official site this afternoon, and to paraphrase the sadly under-appreciated 2003 single from current Dancing With the Stars contestant Mya: This cover’s like…whoa!
A publicist for 19 Recordings reveals that the image was shot by Warwick Saint in August in New York City. And, to put it mildly, it’s a little more, um, out there than the pensive-yet-ultimately-benign images we’ve come to expect from Idol runners-up. (If you’re not familiar with the show’s post-second-place oeuvre, do check out Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, of course.)
Is America ready for this particular jelly? Some of my EW colleagues aren’t terribly optimistic, but might I remind them, we’re dishing a dude who sailed through Grand Ole Opry week with a hyper-sexual, sitar-infused take on “Ring of Fire.” Anyhow, while the Glambert nation collectively wipes its brow, catches its breath, and attempts to unlock its eyes from Adam’s hypnotic gaze (good luck!), here’s five things I think the cover art reveals about the artist and his debut disc, set to drop Nov. 23.
1) I’m catching homages to Michael Jackson (a single glove on display), Madonna (and a fingerless glove at that!), and Prince (the For Your Entertainment font is more than a little reminiscent of Purple Rain, no?). Clearly, the season 8 runner-up has no shortage of (formerly brunet, now cerulean) ambition, and whether you think Adam is deliciously gutsy or ridiculously presumptuous for subtly inserting himself into that A-list galaxy, at least you can’t accuse him of playing it safe.
2) And anyhow, more likely than not, Adam Lambert is actually an alien from a distant planet. Yes, that planet looks a little bit like it resulted from the collision of a Jem cartoon, The Neverending Story, Starlight Express, and K-Tel’s Power Glam Explosion (hat tips to my colleagues Samantha Harmon, Joe Lynch, Leah Greenblatt, and Mike Bruno for their unfiltered first impressions), but perhaps the extra-terrestrial has come to teach us something? Glam is back. Unicorns are real. And boring people are going to be zapped with giant lasers and turned immediately to dust. (Okay, this paragraph kind of went and did its own thing, but I missed a screening of The Fourth Kind to try to get this item up ASAP, and I’ve got space creatures on the brain. It’s too late to apologize.)
3) Lit properly, Adam Lambert’s locks resemble bird feathers. I won’t lie: That makes me a little jealous. Under similar conditions, all you’d see on my noggin is the unfortunate emergence of male pattern baldness.
4) The suggestion of nudity in this photo is going to make my mom a lot of Adam fans go weak in the knees. Oh, I know, dude might very well be wearing pants in this picture, but fans who threw sex toys at the stage during “Whole Lotta Love” during the Idol summer tour don’t need to know that, do they? Well played, Mr. Lambert!
5) I know Adam came out on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, but any theories/worries/suspicions that he would tamp down the gay while promoting FYE just went the way of the leftover milk in my cereal bowl this morning*. I mean, good, bad, or totally insane, this album cover is outre, playing up Adam’s pouty-lipped, yellow-mascara’d androgyny. America, get ready to taste the rainbow, metaphorically speaking.
What do you think of the For Your Entertainment cover? Share your impressions in the comments below, and to get instant notification of all my Idol scoop, follow me on Twitter @ewmichaelslezak.
* Down the drain; Special K Cinnamon Pecan leaves behind too much residue for a satisfying sip.
music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/27/adam-lambert-for-your-entertainment-cover/
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Post by 4Ms on Sept 27, 2011 17:14:47 GMT -5
POPWATCH BLOG Adam Lambert song snippets:
Let's rank a dozen of 'em from most awesome to not-quite-as-
aweome!by Michael Slezak | Nov 11, 2009 I've added a new subset to my overwhelming American Idol addiction, and it focuses solely on the contestants of season 8! Indeed, thanks to the... bit.ly/pDGVNMpopwatch.ew.com/2009/11/11/adam-lambert-for-your-entertainment-song-snippets/atop.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=idolpreformances&thread=23&page=28#97598
I’ve added a new subset to my overwhelming American Idol addiction, and it focuses solely on the contestants of season 8! Indeed, thanks to the vocal firepower of Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, and Allison Iraheta (not to mention Anoop Desai, #signmattgiraud, Mishavonna Henson, and Deanna Brown), there’s so much news and music and awesomeness making its way to the Internet that some days I barely have time to get out of my pajamas. (For the record, I type this clad in Old Navy sleep bottoms and a promotional jersey I received from the publicist for Fox’s Brothers, a show I have never seen. It’s official: I’m tragic!) Also tragic: Adam Lambert’s For Your Entertainment song snippets leaked to the Internet a week ago, and I’m only weighing in on ‘em now. (Thankfully, EW’s Music Mix blog did not commit such a crime.) But then again, the math is hard: Idoloonie X listens to a dozen 30-second song previews 50 times apiece. If Idoloonie X spends five times as long exploring his innermost feelings about said previews as he does listening to them, how many minutes will it take before he is ready to express said feelings in a ridiculously wordy blog post?
While you ponder that equation (or not), I’m gonna get on with the work of ranking Adam’s 12 new(ish) leaks in descending order from my least- to most-favorite. I won’t cover “Time for Miracles” since I’ve talked that one to death, and I’ll save my tone poem on hot-ass lead single “For Your Entertainment” for a separate post, since it’s not fair to compare full tracks to partial ones. Anyhoo, without further ado, let’s get this party started…
“Pick U Up”: Hands down the least compelling snippet from For Your Entertainment. (For me for you.) I keep pressing play, expecting something to hook me in or stick in my brain — especially since Rivers Cuomo is listed as a cowriter along with Mr. Lambert, and “Undone (The Sweater Song)” is a karaoke jam of mine — but nope. The musical accompaniment sounds like it was mixed from a giant vat of generic arena-rock solution, and Adam’s vocals sound peculiarly overworked. Metaphorically speaking, producer Greg Wells seems hell-bent on making a hot tamale taste like tofu. Why?
“Whataya Want From Me”: The “just don’t give up”/ “please don’t give in” lyrics are a tad high-school-journal for my taste, and the peculiar choice of “whataya” over “what do you” in the title rubs me the wrong way (petty, I know). But then again, the way this clip jumps directly into the chorus without even a hint of verse, it’s hard to dismiss the thought that the whole may be more compelling than this 30-second part. Or maybe I’m desperately hanging on to the hope that a track co-written by none other than Pink won’t just be album filler. Then again, maybe that’s why this track isn’t on her record.
“Aftermath”: Adam’s wail is like a pitch-perfect siren at the start of this snippet, and I cannot shake the urge to draw a vocal comparison to Heart’s Ann Wilson. And while the the beautifully bombastic chorus seems to definitively HeWhoCannot amed the ho-hum verse (“you feel the weight of lies and contradictions”?), I’m not ready to call the match after only seven seconds of the latter. Bottom line: More information needed.
“If I Had You”: Okay, now here’s where I’m starting to get excited, as Adam mixes a little dash of Euro-disco into the glam-rock stew without genericizing (not a word? should be!) his ridiculous instrument in the highly produced mix. The beat sounds like a fierce mid-’90s La Bouche record that crawled into a cocoon and decided to wait out the decade until a worthy vocalist emerged who could handle it. Can we please have a mashup with “Be My Lover“? Immediately, if not sooner?
“Broken Open”: Adam’s patented falsetto, paired with an eerie, echoing beat, gives off some good, solid “Mad World” vibes. And yet even though it’s the same length as the other FYE snippets, somehow the “Broken Open” clip seems like it gives away less information about the sound and tone of the full-length track than its other 30-second counterparts. Color me hungry, but intrigued.
“A Loaded Smile”: The combination of ethereal synths and Adam’s trademark falsetto hint at the kind of track that’s tailor-made for the “repeat” button, especially on a gloomy weekday morning when you’d rather visit the Lambert Dreamscape Experience than your dreaded office. Better still, the Linda Perry-produced/written clip hints at a more personal snapshot of Adam’s life, as the lyrics — “Yeah, I know my life has changed/ But honestly I don’t know if we’ll survive” — seemingly conjure up a promising relationship that may or may not be able to survive the sudden onslaught of Idol-/fame-related lunacy.
“Strut”: Say it ain’t so, Adam! If this track lives up to its leaked snippet, I’ll never again be able to truthfully use the phrase “good for nothin’” to describe Kara DioGuardi (who co-wrote with Adam and Greg Wells). That nasty little guitar line rocks harder than any other FYE snippet, and the rhythm seems guaranteed to turn even the most mundane walkosphere into the listener’s personal runway. Now press play and show us your signature strut. Sashay! Chanté! (And, yes, Adam, you’re correct: “We’re a complicated nation.” Can’t wait to see where the verse goes from there.)
“Sure Fire Winners”: An obvs homage to “We Are the Champions,” with Adam declaring “we are/ we are/ we are the sure-fire winners!” over a wicked “dun-dun DUN, dun-dun DUN” beat. This one contains my favorite post-Idol lyric — “I was born with glitter on my face/ my baby clothes made of leather and lace” — since Fantasia’s “Baby Makin’ Hips.” For reals.
“Soaked”: Call the CSI lab, because I was certain Linda Perry’s fingerprints were all over this one. Nope, dead wrong. It was penned by Matthew Bellamy of Muse, and produced by Rob Cavallo. Either way, I’m digging the lovely Beatles-esque chord progression, the overarching mood of haunted longing, the laser-like focus on Adam’s soaring vocal. Plus, the “and you had enough/ searchin’ for love” bit is like a knife right through the heart. Somewhere, Christina Aguilera is wondering how a debut artist got his hands on her next big hit.
“Sleepwalker”: Sounds like Adam’s got a case of post-coital confusion — “I’m not asleep, I’m not awake/ After the way you love me” — and while this half-minute song clip doesn’t answer how exactly he’s feeling about the sitchuaysh, as a listener I can say it was good for me. (Badum-bum.) Seriously, the Adam-on-top-of-Adam-on-top-of-Adam vocal line is beyond gorgeous, and the even the Ryan Tedder Thunderous Ballad Drumbeat ™ manages to sound fresh here. When does this one go to radio?
“Fever”: Oh how I want to take this track directly to the treadmill without passing the Fatty Snax Deli and without collecting a delicious carb/lard treat. Or maybe see it become the core of a Ryan-Ellenore samba routine on So You Think You Can Dance. The Erasure-esque chorus is the earworm in the delicious Cortland apple I am currently using to fend off a craving for chips. Okay, this paragraph makes sense to me and me alone, but that doesn’t mean “Fever” can’t be part of my late 2009 weight-loss/life-improvement program.
“Music Again”: It’s no surprise this track was written by The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, what with that crazy blast of falsetto and a beat that would make a 90-year-old church organist want to bang her head, and yet at the same time, it’s totally and distinctively Adam: Theatrical, super-sized, vocally effortless. Plus, the message (“oh you make me wanna listen to music again”) could just as easily reflect his fans’ feelings about the season 8 runner-up as they could Adam’s feelings about a new love relationship. If ya like it then you shoulda pressed “repeat” on it. I did! (And so did my mom!)
What do you think of the Adam Lambert FYE song leaks? (You can currently find ‘em here if you haven’t heard ‘em yet.) Are you surprised that it already cracked the iTunes top 10 yesterday, and hit No. 1 on the iTunes pop chart? Which is your favorite snippet? Least favorite? Which one surprised you most? Head on down to the comments section and share your thoughts, and if you missed it, check out my take on the Kris Allen snippets as well. (Oh, and because I can’t finish a blog post without saying it, follow me on Twitter @ewmichaelslezak!)
popwatch.ew.com/2009/11/11/adam-lambert-for-your-entertainment-song-snippets/
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