6.22.15 Adam at the MMVAs, Week 1 charts, more news

2015 Much Music Video Awards (Toronto)

Adam Lambert on Red Carpet







In the MMVA press room



Adam Lambert appearing at MMVAs

Adam introducing Nick Jonas at the MMVAs.

youtu.be/LifHsuSEs6U




Adam Lambert talks music, fame and pride
The former San Diego singer and 'American Idol' alum discusses his new album, touring with Queen and being older and wiser at 33.
By George Varga6 a.m.June 21, 2015



Goodbye, glam-rock, guyliner, vocal pyrotechnics and glittery, over-the-top theatrics. Hello, musical maturity and comparative understatement.

That may not have been Adam Lambert’s creative mantra, at least not in those exact words, when he was making his new album, “The Original High.” But the 11-song release, which came out Tuesday, is easily the most assured, sophisticated and carefully calibrated work so far by this Indiana-born, San Diego-bred vocal powerhouse. Or, as he declares in one of his new songs: "I'm a grown-ass man."

Lambert, 33, reinforces his artistic reinvention with his impeccably crafted, less-is-more new songs and his straightforward album cover — a no-frills, black-and-white head shot, with stubble in place of makeup, and not a hint of glitter to be seen.

“I think I had gone down the road of doing campier, theatrical kinds of ridiculous, thematic pop on my past couple of albums,” he said by phone from London, where he was on a promotional tour for “The Original High.” It’s his third solo album of new songs since rising to stardom, after his second-place finish on the 2009 edition of TV’s “American Idol.”

“I wanted to steer it back into ‘realness,’ reality, authenticity and things that were universal concepts everybody could relate to,” he continued. “I just wanted to connect with the listeners in a real way.”

But didn’t his two previous albums reflect Lambert’s musical reality at the time?

“They were a conscious choice to go into that theatrical reality,” he replied.

Lambert hasn’t abandoned his well-honed pop instincts or his penchant for dance-friendly beats. Nor has he suddenly adopted a stripped-down, solo acoustic approach, especially not with “The Original High” having being executive produced by Max Martin, whose most recent credits include bigger-than-life hit records by Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Maroon 5.

‘Less is more’

But Lambert, who has no plans to tour this year, is singing with greater attention to nuance and dynamic shading. He’s also leaving more space in his singing, rather than simply belting his vocals out. The impressive results suggest he has grown to realize the notes he leaves out are equally important to the ones he sings.

“That’s a great observation,” Lambert said. “I don’t feel like I’m consciously holding back, but I feel like I’m not trying to show off. I’m trying to simply convey the emotion, in a much less overworked way. And I’ve had success with this in the past; it’s not like I’ve never done a subtle song.

“But, as a whole album, ‘The Original High’ is more grounded. I’ve kind of grown up a bit and realize how powerful it can be when less is more, and that — exactly as you said — sometimes simplicity has more power.”

Asked what he looked for in his collaborators, Lambert replied: "Somebody who will bring ideas to the table, lots of them, and who is open to ideas that aren’t their own. And talent doesn’t hurt."

Lambert's previous album, 2012’s “Trespassing,” teamed him with Pharrell Williams, of "Happy" and "Blurred Lines" fame. Clearly, Williams' approach to producing and recording differs considerably from that of “The Original High” co-producers Martin and Shellback. Lambert spoke highly of all three.

"Working with Pharrell was amazing," he said." I mean, he’s a genius. He’s so smart and I’m a big fan of his work, and have been for so long. Pharrell definitely has his style. It’s his world and vibe, and I was thrilled to step into it.

"With ‘The Original High,’ in contrast, Max and Shellback took a long time with me to figure out what my sound would be and to tailor it to me, so I would have a sonic identity. It’s just two different ways of working. I really enjoyed making both albums. With ‘The Original High,’ I knew the basic, stylistic things I wanted to start with. But it really comes into focus as you’re in the studio, creating music. After you have a handful of songs, you see where the through-line is and then you can fill in the gaps. As you get to the end, you say: 'Oh, I think this song needs to (have more of) this style, or mood, or color."

He has also benefited from his time with Brian May and Roger Taylor of the pioneering English rock band Queen. He performed the band’s epic 1977 song, “We Are the Champions,” on “American Idol” with the two suitably impressed Queen alums. (Lambert had auditioned for the show by singing another Queen classic, 1976’s near-operatic “Bohemian Rhapsody”).

May and Taylor subsequently invited Lambert — a longtime admirer of Queen singer Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991 — to perform with them in 2012 and each year since then. Their joint tours of Europe, North America, Asia and South America were billed as Queen + Adam Lambert. May guests on “Lucy,” a standout song on Lambert’s new album.

The singer chuckled when asked what he learned, not just from performing with Queen, but from chatting with Taylor and May on the band’s tour bus.

‘Don’t sweat the small stuff’

“Obviously, I picked up a lot from them on stage,” he replied. “Their music is unbelievable, and it’s not easy to sing these songs. I’ve learned a ton on a technical level. And, personally, the fabulous thing is — because they are Queen and are rock royalty — they take a jet, not a bus! So that was exciting.

“I think I picked up their sense of the big picture. They’ve been in the business a long time and have lived full lives, so I realized not to sweat the small stuff as much as I did in the past. They see the big picture and take pride in their work. The other thing I’ve picked up from them is that it’s not just the work and career; you also have to pay attention to your life and to your heart.”

Lambert was not yet 10 when he gave his heart to music.

He made his stage debut at San Diego’s Lyceum Theater in a 1991 Metropolitan Educational Theater production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” In 2000, soon after graduating from Mt. Carmel High School, he earned a rave review from San Diego Union-Tribune theater critic Pam Kragen for his Moonlight Amphitheatre performance as Doody in “Grease.”

“You’ve done your research, sir!” Lambert said. “Yea, San Diego!”

His musical epiphany, however, did not come in “Grease” or “Charlie Brown.”

“I think I was about 12 or 13, and had been working with Metropolitan for a while and loving it,” he recalled. “We were doing ‘Fiddler on Roof,’ I think it was at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, and I was the Russian soldier (Fyedka) that does the big vocal feature (‘To Life’). I sat on this table and held this note as long as I possibly could — this big, powerful tenor note.

“I could do it longer, and on key, than any other kid, and I got all this approval. Everybody applauded and I felt good that I made people enjoy the moment. It’s the clearest memory for me to look back on. It was such a learning moment that made me think I did something special.”

Was Lambert inspired that other San Diego-bred music talents had achieved stardom, from Tom Waits and Jewel to blink-182 and P.O.D.?

“When I was in high school, I found out blink-182 was from our area,” he replied. “That was exciting and definitely created a buzz around them at school — that they were from our ‘hood. But I didn’t really have aspirations to go into the music world until later.”

Lambert moved to Los Angeles when he was 18. A subsequent stint as an understudy in a Broadway touring production of “Wicked” soured him on musical theater (“It wasn’t doing for me what I thought it would”). He formed a band and sang anywhere he could.

He laughed when asked to recall his worst day-job in L.A. and if it inspired him to write a song about it.

"I worked retail jobs, thankless retail jobs, early on in my twenties."

He laughed again. "I never wrote a song about it; it wasn’t one of my favorite times in my life. Folding jeans was not a highlight!"

Then, thanks to “American Idol” in 2009, came stardom, his first solo album and tour, Queen and much more. The road to stardom has been fulfilling and challenging, as Lambert readily acknowledges now.

"Oh, man, there are so many things I didn’t realize before getting into it," he said.

"As music fans, it’s really easy to think something goes one way, and then you find out it goes the other way. You find out that what’s most surprising is how much business is part of the music business. There are a lot of politics and financial things involved. It’s more complicated than anyone realizes and I’m still learning my way through this. Luckily, I’ve learned a lot and that you have to have right team around you, and I feel I do now."

Six years after "Idol" propelled him to the limelight, Lambert is older, wiser and more comfortable with who and what he is. He underscores his growth on “There I Said It,” a stirring ballad from his new album that finds him proudly referring to himself in its lyrics as “a grown-ass man.”

“I guess that line makes people giggle,” he acknowledged. “But my saying ‘I’m a grown-ass man’ is a way of saying I’m grown. It’s definitely a little silly, but that song is kind of a defiant anthem about not making apologies for who you are. It’s about standing up and not hiding in the shadows, and being exactly who you are. I’m really happy with that song. It’s the moment on the album that lets me make a statement, and it’s a full-on ballad.”

Was he hiding in the shadows before he achieved fame — and before he very publicly came out as being gay in a 2009 Rolling Stone interview?

“Early on I had my own struggles with who I was and my identity in the music industry,” Lambert said. “And, before that, with auditioning for parts, there was a certain amount of conformity that had to happen. I’d be thinking: ‘Ooh, I have to be this way, or this person won’t like me and I won’t get the job.’ Now, I feel like I’m in a place — and with this song — that I won’t compromise.”

Link: www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jun/21/adam-lambert-interview/?#article-copy



Chart News
6.22.15 by Q3

We are starting to get first week chart results for TOH….and so far the numbers look great.

UK: American Idol star Adam Lambert scores a personal best this week with The Original High landing at Number 8 to give Adam his first UK Top 10 album.
Source: www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/muse-are-number-1-album-for-a-second-week__9878/





Today we will start to get sales numbers for the US. The first thing we will see is sales results from large US retailers via the HDD Building Sales Chart reported today and tomorrow. Then late on Tuesday afternoon, we will get HDD’s Sales Plus Streaming forecast.

On Wednesday, we will finally start to get Billboard chart information. The Billboard charts are the industry standard.




TIME FOR SOME RADIO GAMES!!

Local radio stations - vote from anywhere

Z100 iHeartRadio 9 @ 9
www.z100.com/pages/info/request.html

Q102 Philadelphia: "You Pick The Music"
www.q102.com/main.html

101.3 KISS FM Quad Cities, IA/IL
iHeart Radio Top 5@5 With Todd Alan
www.1013kissfm.com/articles/whats-new-at-1013-kissfm-453463/iheart-radio-top-55-13114563/

iHeartMedia song list – “The Thumbs”
Just type in the first few letters "GH" and Ghost Town will show. Then do a thumbs up.

B104 Allentown, PA “B in charge” www.b104.com/main.html
G105 Raleigh, NC - g105.iheart.com/main.html
99.3 Harrisburg, PA - www.993kissfm.com/main.html
103.1 Spokane, WA - www.1031kcda.com/main.html
Z100 Portland, OR - www.z100portland.com/articles/zvip-benefits-209835/z100-request-a-song-12793608/
>> Check your Local iHeartMedia Station to see if they have this on the home page, most do.

SIRIUS SUBSCRIBERS
Request here: www.mediabase.com/mmrweb/7/stationplaylistrequest.asp?c_let=x003-FM


Don’t Forget MTV!!

Support “Ghost Town” here: www.yourmtvtop20.mtv.co.uk/artists/adam-lambert/musicvideos/ghost-tGo own/m1h93m?utm=share_twitter


VOTE FOR ADAM!! Just for fun!!

Z100 Song of the Summer -- this is totally for fun.
Final Round (Adam vs. One Direction) ends July 2 11:59AM EST and Adam is way behind.

mobile: www.z100.com/pages/contest/artist-of-the-summer/mobile.php#/m
desktop: www.z100.com/pages/contest/artist-of-the-summer/desktop.php#.VXDBPThteO8.twitter



Adamtopia Calendar

USA

June 27, 2015: Logo TV Trailblazer Awards - Adam will be performing

Dates and events TBA: Adam will be performing at some Pride events this summer


Queen + Adam Lambert South America Mini Tour
AKA “Don’t Stop Them Now Tour”
September 16, 2015 Q+AL Sao Paulo, Brazil, Ibirapuera Arena SOLD OUT
September 18, 2014 Q+AL at Rock in Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, City of Rock SOLD OUT
September 21, 2015 Q+AL Porto Alegre, Rio Gande do Sol, Brazil, Bibantinho Arena
September 25, 2015 Q+AL Buenos Aires, Argentina, GEBA Arena
September 30, 2015 Q+AL Santiago, Chile, Athletic Track of the National Stadium

*****

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
Letmeseeyastrut and revlisacat!!