The Adam-Kiss moment just brought back a flood of memories for me.
The Idol producers said they had someone really special for Adam to duet with on the Finale. Fans speculated that it would be Bowie, Queen, Guns n' Roses, Zeppelin, etc. Adam said he was doing his duet with someone really cool. Fans imaginations got ever wilder -- some put forward that it would be Adam + Bowie + Queen.
Then they announced Adam was singing with KISS and I was really upset -- I thought it was a tacky joke. Think about it in the context of Ryan's "the guy next store vs. guy liner" comments. The producers also announced that Kris would be dueting with Keith Urban. Kris fans were so excited about the choice -- except for a few who feared he would go "country" -- they were slated to perform Urban's big hit, "Kiss a Girl".
The response was really telling -- the result more so.
Kris made a public comment that he was not country. Here is what he said as reported on a country blog --- "That's not my cup of music and not the feeling that I want in my album." He went on to say that he respects Urban and enjoyed performing with him. But Allen made it clear that he wants to make music that "moves people." Like country doesn't?
Adam, on the other hand, not only embraced the KISS performance opportunity -- he owned the moment. He got to do a solo showcase with Beth then prove he was a better rock singer than Gene Simmons could ever hope to be. (It is funny that later another "kiss" would make him infamous.) That performance remains one of my favorite Adam performances ever. (I was expecting disaster.)
Then to cap the whole thing off -- the show ended with the Adam+Queen performance. Clearly booked to showcase Adam -- win or not.
Two years later -- Kris' performance with Keith Urban has been mostly forgotten and didn't force him to become a country artist. But did spin off negative PR with country fans.
Adam managed to create a lasting Idol moment out of a performance with a once great lunch-box metal band trying to make a comeback and spin it into a ton of positive PR. Gene Simmons just amped it all up by saying that Adam was not a "rock singer" after the performance and then saying Adam ruined his career by coming out after the RS cover was published.
That one performance is what taught me not to worry about Adam. He is absolutely brilliant about how to turn a situation to his benefit. Does everything work out? No. But mostly, he has forged the way to be successful on his own terms.
(Got to go watch the video of the Adam-Kiss performance again.)
:-/
