We had this interview from China in Chinese on November 16, they just posted the English version.
e.chinambn.com/show-304.htmlWash off idol mark, Adam Lambert needs true selfZhishuo Xu | China Music Business News | 2015-11-26 01:54
Talking about Adam Lambert, most people will think of his smoky makeup, exaggerated stage performance and wonderful singing.
Talking about Adam Lambert, most people will think of his smoky makeup, exaggerated stage performance and wonderful singing. As a singer from the talent show American Idol, Adam has been paid much attention, for his sexual orientation, fashionable appearance and varied singing skills. He is not only the most controversial singer in American Idol, but also the most popular candidate.
As a talent show singer, Adam Lambert is excellent in singing, stage performance and always being the controversial topic. His fashion style and inspiring experience are what fans pay most attention to. But his singing skill on rock, electronic, pop and punk music are the essence that attracts fans. “Brave, inspiring, and wonderful singing” are the labels that fans give to Adam. Honestly, Adam explains the definition of idol in many aspects.
However, as most signers from talent shows, Adam has been frequently criticized: lack of creativity and masterpieces. For many people, the so-called idols are those who can sing and dance, but lack of creating ability. Lots of talent show singers gain popularity through a series of packaging. But in short of creativity, they step down from the music market after being famous, which is also the common problem for most talent singers. In American Idol, except for Adam Lambert, Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood, few names can be remembered by people. As for the Chinese talent show market, after Super Girl and Super Boy have promoted popular singers such as Li Yuchun, Zhang Jie and Wei Chen, we also question where the other singers from the talent shows are. Their popularity fades when the show comes to the end. In the Voice of China, only candidates who enter the final have some popularity. Others were consumed in the commercial shows.
Adam is now in a very special period. Though with fans and fame in the world, he has few representative songs except Whataya Want From Me. If he doesn’t work hard in creating, his popularity would decrease. Actually, judging from charts, we can have some ideas. In 2012, when Adam Lambert’s second album Trespassing launched, it ranked first on Billboard in the first week. However, this year, his third album The Original High performs not so impressive.
Washing off the mark of idol in the talent show and transferring to a musician who is good at both singing and creating, is the direction that Adam and his team’s goal recently. Since his second album, Adam Lambert had joined the whole creating and producing of his songs. To our surprise, Adam Lambert tried new elements such as rock and electronic in the recent two albums. And the quality of the album also has been improved.
For Adam Lambert who has gone through the polish of talent show, the most important change is mental state. Idols usually cater to fans. However, for creative musicians, the first principle is the inner mind. In the interview, Adam mentioned that talent show provided them the opportunity to show their real selves. But Adam now still wants to know fans’ ideas and produce music which is loved by fans. This might be a bottleneck for talent show singers. Thus, for Adam, the most important point in transformation is creating the music that he desires.
The following part is from the interview with Adam Lambert, who talks about talent show and artist transformation:
CMBN: Your new albumThe Original Highis highly acclaimed. So what do you think of is the biggest draw of this album?
Adam: I think one reason is that I work with very good producers. They help me to produce music and improve the sound effect. They are some of the best in the business. Max Martin and Shell back know how to produce great music that reaches the heart, and it’s so catchy.
CMBN: You have put a lot of element like EDM into album. And as EDM has become one of the trends of American pop music, how do you think about it? What do you think of the future of pop music?
Adam: Well, I think I’ve explored dance music a bit in my last album Trespassing as well. But it was different. I think I also explored some darker, kind of moody pop on the last album. But I think with The Original High, we’ve refined it a bit more. We’ve improved upon it a bit more. It borrows a lot from the 90’s in this album as well. The dance music is definitely the House style from the 90’s. I think it is very important for pop music to be aware of the trends and to be aware of what people love. Because in order to connect all the good ideas that we come up with in the songs and good emotions, you have to put it into a sonic context that people might response to.
The future of pop music must be very exciting. There’s something for everybody, on matter where you are, who you are. There’s definitely a thing here in China. And music is becoming more and more global. And I love being here. I love being connected with my fans.
CMBN: Would you like to try some Chinese music element in next album?
Adam: Who knows. I mean everything is possible.
CMBN: You became popular and establish your career by attending American Idol, so how do you think of talent shows today?
Adam: I think they are an amazing platform for young performance. Though people might not be totally aware of how this sort of business works, because it is kind of complicated. What’s nice about this talent competition show is that it put you in front of lots of people and allows you to show your talent to the world. Then, hopefully, you got what it takes and some business people stand up and introduce themselves to you. So, it makes work a little bit easier.
CMBN: We noticed that you’ve use a lot of original songs in your latest albums. What do you think is the most important things for talent show singer transforming to creative musician?
Adam: You know, it’s not the easy thing in the world. It’s a little bit tricky. I don’t know how it works here in China. But in U.S, there’s only a handful of us, who come from American Idol are still out there. And I don’t actually know what the secret is. I think it’s a combination of being at the right place at the right time, and having talent, understanding what you are musically. Having the right team around you is really important, and making good business decisions. I think people don’t always think about it, but they quite through authenticity. I think the artists come out of the show are pretty up front about who we are.
CMBN: As a global pop star, how do you manage your own music career?
Adam: I don’t manage it. If it were left to me, it would be a mass! I have an amazing team and I think it’s part of success as well in the music industry, as knowing who to surround yourself with who to help you. Get to where you want to go.
CMBN: You will come to China for touring next year. What’s you expectation? What do think of your fans here?
Adam: Yeah, I love my fans here in China. I came on tour to Shanghai a few years ago and it was very exciting. Great response from the audiences. And I’m working very hard on my new tour. I have some new ideas. I have a couple of new songs that people haven’t heard before. Definitely doing a lot songs form this new album The Original Highand some of the old hits.
I love my Chinese fans. Every time I landed the airport here in China, I always see so many fans and they’re so sweet. I see like great drawings and little handicrafts they gave me. It’s feels like a really good connection here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxVc0sxItb0&feature=youtu.be2015-11-16 Adam Lambert interview via China Music Economics
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well, there are worse things that could happen.
