8.20.14 Adam News and Info, Welcome to Perth

I had watched Idol and had seen and heard Adam, but for the first time I REALLY SAW Adam and I realized that he is really excellent singer. His entire presentation is polished to perfection from start to finish. He does not sing too over dramatic, but minimum level of intervention brings up an excellent song and excellent singing voice.

I was at one time sold, and I fell in love to Adam at that moment!

I can never bring myself to delete a song by Adam from any list but here are a couple of thoughts.

RE: Mad World - this is one of my favourite songs when performed by Adam but I have to agree that several other performances of Adam's are much more significant. It is terrific but his entire Idol run was terrific.

The first MW performance was the biggest for me because it was preceded by frantic switching of channels and screaming. The screen went black at 10:00 pm and I had been waiting for Adam to sing all night. The last note was off but I didn't notice at the time. When he stood up halfway through the song, the audience went wild; one of the biggest moments on the entire season. Part of me feels that Adam might have won over a few more fans semi-early in the competition if everyone had seen the MW performance in Top 8. It was so quiet and melodic and haunting and wonderful and unexpected.

The second performance Of MW didn't have the advantage of surprise. From the POV of being truly out-here as his glam self, it delivered, but the Kiss Medley certainly offered that as well. Plus, as people have mentioned, Adam was exquisitely glittery in the KM. When you combine that with the play on words in Beth, it was a brave performance for 2009.

Black or White was a MAJOR MOMENT, imho. As mentioned, there were internet photos circulating that week which might have worked against Adam. He responded with a bravura performance. I watched the whole season (from Tatiana to the bitter end) and didn't notice Adam before BOW except to think that he was too full of himself in Satisfaction (lol!) The performance hit me like a ton of bricks and it was instant love. His final response to the judges re: Michael Jackson ("I love him!") also sparked the realization that he was gay. Another ton of bricks. That voice! That strut! That shift from fierce to vulnerable in less than 5 minutes. I was in.

A lot of people don't tune into Idol until the live competition. Top 12/13 brings in a whole new audience. With B or W, Adam grabbed them by the lapels. If he hadn't survived Top 13, none of the other significant moments would have happened. Pivotal performance.

I believe Mad World was one of the most significant preformances. At least it was for me and apparently most of those watching AI at the time.  Everything about it was so different from all the other contestants.  The fact that it was last and missed by some added to the mystery of "what was that"  I spent the next day googling everything I could about Adam.  I haven't stopped since then.

Adding this very old article:
. ‘Mad World’ singer Gary Jules calls Adam Lambert’s cover ‘unique and beautiful’
By Gina Carbone
gcarbone@seacoastonline.com
April 08, 2009 3:38 PM


‘Mad World’ singer Gary Jules calls Adam Lambert’s cover ‘unique and beautiful’
By Gina Carbone
gcarbone@seacoastonline.com
April 08, 2009 3:38 PM
Gary Jules is a secret “American Idol” fan. So when Adam Lambert sang “Mad World” on Tuesday night’s show, the man who helped make that song famous was watching.
“I was actually sneakily watching it,” Jules told Seacoastonline by phone Wednesday from his home in Asheville, N.C. “I heard the piano line at the beginning — if you’re me, that means ‘time to wake up.’”
Jules didn’t know about the theme of the night — songs from the year the season eight top eight contestants were born. Or that Adam Lambert was born in 1982 and that meant the original Tears for Fears song, “Mad World,” was a possibility.
Still, Jules wasn’t surprised when he heard that piano.
“I said 'I knew he was going to do it.' I knew it! He’s cool and he’s kind of emo-y and has black hair and seems sensitive. That’s who would have that song in their lexicon,” Jules said. “He totally understood the vibe of it and the power of it and delivered it in a unique and beautiful way. ... I think Adam is straight-up the most interesting, for my personal taste, of anyone I’ve ever seen on the show.”


Many reviews mention how MW changed Idol, and that Adam really showed his artistry and upped the game, so I am moving it up...easier to swap it with Ring of Fire

10. Aftermath (acoustic) - Adam Lambert


9. WWFM - Adam returns to Idol as a successful recording artist, blows everyone away.


8. Tracks of My Tears - Adam gets Smokey's seal of approval. WOW!


7. Ring of Fire - Talk about polarizing!!


6. A Change is Gonna Come


5. Black or White. Adam was outed with kissing pics on the internet. He thought he might just have lost his big chance. He was apprehensive about what the audience reaction would be. Instead of folding, he addresses the issue with song choice, nails the performance, gets rave reviews from the judges, and is overwhelmed with relief/joy and fights back the tears during the comment section.


4. Mad World - Tears for Fears. Mad World was the performance that got Adam mass appeal. Still arguably the shows most famous performance, and critics argued its case for changing the entire idea of Idol.

3. Whole Lotta Love - First time Led Zepplin ever approved to have one of their songs used and first time "gimme your love way down inside" was ever sung on the idol stage accompanied by humping of microphone (even though the cameramen showed Adam from waist up = shades of Elvis) oh and all done while dressed like a cross between Johnny Depp's pirate and every second guy in the Castro!


2. We Are The Champions - Queen - Adam's first meeting and performance with Brian and Roger.


1. Bohemian Rhaposody - Queen - When Adam was discovered by millions of Americans, the performance that Brian May first saw. And had fans going "You had me at Ma-Ma!".

While I am here (Yes, "Now I Am Here", and  not much action this morning., I am going to post a picture that I had been trying to get at every concert I attended.  I never got it right so I checked to see if I could get a screen capture  and this is my best one from Tokyo.