Holst
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Post by Holst on Aug 20, 2014 8:17:21 GMT -5
OK, I have a stupid question, so bear with me - What was SO very extraordinary about the Mad World performance? Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I don't watch American Idol (I only saw Adam's performances on youtube), so I don't get why Mad World was so "Idol-changing"... can someone explain it to me - from the performance standpoint, what exactly was the 1st time ever, apart from Adam changing up the song? was it his staging, his use of lights? had that never been done before, or what? Well its not that lighting and smoking on stage hasent been used before. Its their for contestents to use, clearly David Cook influenced him. It was the way he used the lighting, smoking, the stairs, gis costumes. He changed idol from a very karoke competition to almost a dramatic berlesique, almost a mini Adam Lambert concert. But the performance of MW challenged contestents and arguably future contestents to think about arrangements and being a relevant artist. For s8 anyway he changed the game, and forced contestents to step up their game to a required lvl to compete with Adam. So in essence MW was game changing. Plus, there was the collective "gasp" when he stood up at the perfect time. Other people have stood up after sitting on a stool or chair, but not to that effect. I think this is his most well-known performance. If people know anything about Adam's music, they know this performance. |
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Holst
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Post by Holst on Aug 20, 2014 8:21:06 GMT -5
mmadamimadamm 5m AWWW!!!! RT @caseyy_5sos: @adamlambert met him! yes yes yes  She needs Brian's selfie stick. |
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finkfan
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Post by finkfan on Aug 20, 2014 8:34:54 GMT -5
Mad World is how I became a fan, period. I didn't watch the show, but heard a contestant might be gay which I thought was cool, googled him, watched the Mad World video, and that's all it took. Beautiful, emotional, heartfelt ... still gives me chills to this day when I see it.
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Post by cassie on Aug 20, 2014 8:35:42 GMT -5
Mad World was significant in several ways.
1. Up to that time, Idol was not known for staging. Performances were fairly straight forward "stand at the mic and sing". For variety, you got "stand in the mosh pit and sing." Whatever staging was done, was done by producers. Adam brought his many years of stage craft to the show and created a mood that was creative, compelling and memorable.
2. Simon gave him a standing ovation. Yes, the song deserved it 100%. I believe, tho', that Cowell did that because the show ran long and they were pressed for time. It was the most succinct way to review the performance. Had Adam sung it as number 4 instead of number 8, we probably would have gotten five minutes of the judges frothing all over themselves, but no Cowell standing O. The one and only time in the history of the Idol contestant competitions.
3. Because the show ran long anyone recording it for future viewing missed the performance. By then Adam had captured the interest of enough folks that they CARED that they hadn't heard him sing. This sent many onto the internet and to this thing called "YouTube." I know I, for one, knew of YT, but had no idea what a thorough resource it had become. Folks discovered the performance and were blown away emotionally by it. By Adam. And, since they were on YT for perhaps the first time, it dawned on them to see if Adam had other performances on that thing. Which lead to the Upright Cabaret material and CTMBTM. Which, for many of us, led to a rabbit hole we still are down regarding Adam and regarding the internet as a source for music and performance in general.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 8:36:11 GMT -5
Does anyone have the quote from Adam's childhood voice coach, Lyn Broyles, about Mad World? It is beautiful! She says how it made her cry because she knew Adam was singing about himself.  |
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Post by csquared on Aug 20, 2014 8:44:18 GMT -5
I was going to say, I want one of those! I love it too! But at $580, I don't think I'll be buying one any time soon... |
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Holst
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Post by Holst on Aug 20, 2014 8:44:32 GMT -5
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. Again, I must be in the dark (as I often am with popular culture). Are you saying that only a gay man would love MJ? I remember in the 80's when he was at his height, people of all different types were being drawn in and fascinated by him--even people like me who weren't into pop music. But I didn't know lots of things before my Adam obsession--like only gay men like musicals (not in my world), Cher is a gay icon, men who dress with a sense of fashion are gay. I know a fair number of gay men. I, personally, never assumed Adam was gay on AI (didn't surf the internet for info on him until after the finale. There wasn't anything that screamed "gay" at me, except I thought "Feeling Good" performance would come off a bit "gay" to the audience. |
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nic42
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Post by nic42 on Aug 20, 2014 8:48:52 GMT -5
Kristy Symonds @twistedkristy 1 min.
Queen are in the audience at #artRAVEPerth at @pertharena. Just got standing ovation from audience as @ladygaga pointed them out.
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FanOfTheMan
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Post by FanOfTheMan on Aug 20, 2014 8:51:26 GMT -5
OK, I have a stupid question, so bear with me - What was SO very extraordinary about the Mad World performance? Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I don't watch American Idol (I only saw Adam's performances on youtube), so I don't get why Mad World was so "Idol-changing"... can someone explain it to me - from the performance standpoint, what exactly was the 1st time ever, apart from Adam changing up the song? was it his staging, his use of lights? had that never been done before, or what? 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! His performance was both raw and subtle at the same time. It still has the same deep emotional impact on me today as it did that night - chills and choked up - amazing forever performance from deep within the soul of this beautiful man.  |
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nic42
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Post by nic42 on Aug 20, 2014 8:57:00 GMT -5
Lol! Was lazily watching the #artraveperth unfold on twitter with one eye, because I should be doing something very boring right now. And then after Adams "I'm here" tweet the timeline just explodes.
Loads of people going 'wtf! two of my favorites in one room!'
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