Adam seems to get unbalanced feedback wherever he goes. It is not just his weight and the complete nonsense said about that over the years. It was the same with his skin, which people wrote on and on about it during idol (both AI fans as well as the media), it's like that about the extent of make-up, his clothes, his walk, his singing and on and on it goes.
Adam seems to divide the world into supporters and haters where-ever he goes, and often those lines are already drawn before he even enters the scene. The gay guy, an American idol karaoke kid, the Hollywood hippie high on mushrooms, the theater kid, the list goes on and on. Add 'Queen protege' to that list, which we are going to get to hear latest in April, when he starts to wrestle for his 4 minute share of radio waves. Just wait and see.
What people seem to build up in their heads, before ever giving him a chance, and what they seem to quite persistently stick to, even against all evidence, seems massive.
And then, on occasion, you see someone fall over. All of a sudden. Like a tall tree who stood for hundreds of years and then falls within seconds, every once in a while, it happens. Adam has felled some trees along the way, for sure, but it is one at a time, and it seems hard to come by and quite arbitrary, when it happens. This is true of individuals, who happen to fall, whenever they personally seem ready to do so, like some Freddie only - fans. Or it happens to a whole group of people at once, like the UK media, who clearly right now, fall over themselves in their laud, as if to make up for the six years of silent treatment that they gave Adam previously.
And no, this did not start with these shows now, who clearly deserve the praise they are getting. This strangely started on Nov 30, 2014 with the X factor performance. Of course, he did well with that STL performance, no one is denying that. But that is when the tree fell. The praise was exuberant and way bigger than this one song. I am not trying to take anything away from that performance, but there is no intelligent reason, why this performance was hailed, while the MTVEMA performance was ignored by the same media that now are falling over itself. The BBC wanted nothing to do with Adam for 6 years, yet now, NYE the tree fell. Has it also fallen for any work he does without Queen? We will still have to see, but I am cautiously optimistic, that the answer is yes.
The word 'prejudice' means pre-judging, and that is exactly what Adam encounters everywhere he steps. The judgement seems to say more about the person doing the judging than about what is being judged. People have agendas, people have insecurities, people have false ideas. But it rains down on Adam as reflection of his work or appearance, when in reality it is not. It is a reflection of the person doing the talking or judging.
Why do people behave that way with him? I don't think I know all the answers, but I think, one factor is fear. Adam is powerful, and people anticipate that he can bring about change. Change within themselves, in a whole group, or even bigger, within society. So people batten down the hatches and try to wait out the storm. You hear them say i.e. his 15 min of fame will be up soon, he will be eliminated before long, his work with Queen will be just these 6 concerts and then go away, his fans are only a few old ladies...
So, the Adam storm arrives and many times, he just does not get through to folks who have set themselves up to brace him, rather than to invite him in or to enjoy the ride. There is of course this miracle, that happens, once Adam finally gets through to somebody, or sometimes to a whole country. Once you open up these hatches, it turns out this Adam storm is neither fatal nor unpleasant. No it does not destroy Queen's legacy, no it does not destroy American family values, well, it may have destroyed idol, but that is a different story. The Adam storm does change things. We all feel changed because of him, in our interests, in our thinking, and in lots of what we feel. But there is nothing negative out that. People don't know that, I suppose.
But back to this unbalanced judging and commenting. It must mess with his mind, in some ways. Maybe it is what gave him the thick skin to overcome, rather than to shrink in the face of criticism. But, I am sure, it costs a lot of energy, to tune out those voices. Especially, when as an artist, you need to at the same time retain your sensitivity that you need for your craft. It always amazes me, that Adam is able to walk that line successfully. I think he has done so by not letting any accolades go to his head and by bracing himself for the bad stuff at all times. That is also the price he pays. Unfortunately, I wish at times he could hear the love and praise more, he so deserves it. He so should not feel insecure about his looks, but we all know he often does. He should so know, that he deserved better on radio than he got, or the cold reception he got in Britain prior to what has happened now. Instead, he gets these hot and cold showers all the time. I really admire his resilience and hope he stays strong for the battles still ahead of him.
Europe awaits him, and I think many still have those hatches down. I can't read everything in that German newspaper article that was posted here today, but the title 'rock gods plus a casting show finalist' pretty much says it all. There are many more trees to fell.
... I always like her style 
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