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Post by sizzling63 on Jan 28, 2018 17:07:59 GMT -5
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Post by girldrummer on Jan 28, 2018 17:27:30 GMT -5
Just my opinion. But if they think there will be flack for casting a gay artist they probably won't cast one. If Adam gets the part, I doubt they will make it all about his sexuality. I could be wrong but I hope not. His fans might tho. When he sang "Girl Crush" on a country award show, there was hardly a peep about his sexuality except from fans. Most were raving (including the country audience) about how great he was. Why do you think his fans would make it all about his sexuality? I certainly don't expect any mention from the JCS peeps, if Adam gets the part, but I thought about the possibility this morning that some religious groups might have something to say. This is pure speculation, of course, and I am probably just overthinking after reading the Huffington Post article very carefully. I don't know about the reaction from religious groups who might have a reaction concerning his sexuality. I would hope they wouldn't. But I would hope that if he gets the role, his voice will be the dominant thing that viewers (and reviewers) will talk about. We have no doubt that the quality of his singing would be a standout in this show. It would draw attention. This show is not on some obscure TV cable station. It's on network TV where anybody can find it. If he gets it, I hope that his voice triumphs over all other pre-conceived opinions and that he gets some positive media attention from it. Exposure. It's a good thing.
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3ku1
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Post by 3ku1 on Jan 28, 2018 17:39:36 GMT -5
The Amas might have hurt his own long term commercial success in the states. But it made him an overnight international superstar. And it also opened the door and made it easier for other LGBT artist. Like Sam Smith, Troy Svan, Frank Ocean e.t.c. Adam was a trailblazer.
I am sorry I Don't agree with Adam playing it safe. Think of all the most iconic artists of all time. MJ, Freddie. Elvis, Prince e.t.c. Did they play it safe? Nope. I don't think Adam should be something he is not just to get the same oppurtunities a Sam Smith has gotten. That is who Adam is, he lives on the edge. Like he said being your self is easier then faking it. He might of compromised his own success. But he made it so much easier for LGBT artists every where. His performance at the Amas was a statement. And I wouldent change it for the world. The road he went down would of not been the same otherwise.
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Post by sizzling63 on Jan 28, 2018 17:51:25 GMT -5
Along those lines, here is an article from 2016 on the rise of Sam Smith. It still stings. And not because it sings the praises of Sam (not jealous of Sam and his success, lol) but because it shows the hurdles Adam had and still has to jump thru. Sam Smith’s Pop Rise: How a UK Soul Man Came Out and Still Became America’s Next Top IdolAdam Lambert hung on to his burgeoning fan base but only had modest success as a recording artist after coming out as a gay man in 2009, three weeks after coming in second on American Idol. Although his second album, 2012’s Trespassing, made him the first openly gay singer to score a No. 1 album on Billboard‘s Top 200 chart, it didn’t even go gold. Frank Ocean earned critical acclaim and Grammy attention after revealing that he’d once fallen in love with a man before the release of his 2012 debut album, channel ORANGE, but that didn’t translate to blockbuster status for the merely gold-selling ORANGE or Jason DeRulo-sized hit singles. But still, why Smith and not Adam Lambert, who at one point seemed to be as poised on the verge as Smith is now? Timing, for one thing. Acceptance of gays has evolved in the five years since Lambert was the American Idol runner-up, with gay marriage no longer an out-of-reach dream but a reality for more than half of all Americans, and television brimming with gay representation. Also, unlike Lambert, Smith undersells himself. There’s no flash, no attention-grabbing antics, no controversy. (Lambert infamously kissed a male member of his band and shoved the face of another into his crotch while performing at the American Music Awards in 2009.) It’s hard to imagine baby-faced Smith making anyone squirm. www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-helligar/sam-smiths-pop-rise_b_5494920.htmlVERY interesting and insightful article. Sam and Adam are totally different. Adam cannot act like Sam and vice versa. But Sam's rather neutral persona is certainly paying off. It's true that times have changed since Adam's Idol year. That's an understatement. Sam may not realize it, but he is reaping the benefits of that "time between" then and now. I was once chastised (not on Atop) for posting that Adam should be more "palatable." I was attacked for suggesting that Adam "fake it" and not "be himself." Personally, I love Adam just the way he is, and I love his overt sexuality and flamboyance. But the music-buying public does judge singers on the persona they present. The AMA thing still lurks in Adam's past as a moment of poor judgement IMHO. It was too early, too presumptuous, too in-your-face for that time and place. "The public" in general had not gotten to know him yet, not seen his humor and engaging personality. Adam also lived an overt, public gay life before Idol and couldn't very well change into a more "gender neutral" public gay man. I don't think Sam ever took that risk. Sam's careful choices have paid off. He fills the arenas, gets the big guest gigs, sells the millions. He played it safe and has reaped the benefits. Adam has to still find a path that makes his music and his persona feel right to people who buy music. girldrummer , I wholeheartedly agree with everything you just said. I remember how Adam mentioned during Idol Tour interviews that he wanted to push buttons, but for me his AMA performance right after Idol was too much too early, as his recording career had not even started yet. Personally, I was also disappointed as none of the things that make him truly special for me were reflected in that performance, but I still wrote that letter to the TV network as I was upset about the double standard. Adam did upset people but he also started discussions that made it easier for other queer artists that followed. He was a trailblazer for others who found success with a "safer" path. I am re-posting the article from two years ago in relation to this discussion. www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-helligar/sam-smiths-pop-rise_b_5494920.html
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Post by plaidearthworm on Jan 28, 2018 17:53:18 GMT -5
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Post by sizzling63 on Jan 28, 2018 17:54:50 GMT -5
I need to run... spent wayyy to much time on Atop today haha. It feels good though to see many members here weigh in on topics that are highly relevant to me.
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Post by bamafan on Jan 28, 2018 18:02:07 GMT -5
I'm on Part 5 of Angelina and Cassie's talk. It's fun just sitting back listening and nodding along in agreement. lol
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sarah
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Post by sarah on Jan 28, 2018 18:04:47 GMT -5
Thank you, everyone, for all the warm welcomes! I don't know how to answer everyone on here yet, but I appreciate it all very much! To answer one question, I have seen Adam in concert three times (two Idol live tours and one in Tampa very early on, either 2009 or 2010--I forget). For the Tampa show, I was with some friends who paid for the small group of us to have a photo with Adam before the show. It was very brief, but he was so sweet for the minute or so that we were posing. I wrote quite a long, silly recap of my Idol live tour experiences once upon a time... I might have to dig that up and relive the moment. His presence felt so much more immense than that stage and that tour; it feels so perfect now to know he is in playing arenas with Queen in front of up to tens of thousands of people. I hope I get a chance to see them, if they come back to the US one more time, and I can't wait for his next solo tour. I hear that tickets are hard to get, so I'm despairing of the chance to see him! haha But maybe it will happen. Fingers crossed! About the conversation on gay artists... I'm so happy for out artists like Sam Smith who are doing extremely well, but it also makes me frustrated and hurt for Adam who really put himself out there at the very start being totally himself in this clear, fearless way that demanded attention. I've seen interviews and articles that talk about how homophobic the industry still is, and we see it certainly with Adam's career. There will always be those who come before, whose shoulders new artists will be standing on. Adam coming out right at the start back in 2009 (really, when he was 18 and the classic, starving artist) was very courageous, even though he didn't seem to register that--he was just being himself and he never thought of living a less than honest life. He's so supportive of new artists, too, in this bubbly, genuinely happy way, that I wish those who have the biggest successes would return the same consideration back around to him. In a way, he's sort of a safety net because of his sexuality, which gives other open artists a guideline to steer clear of. I don't mean his orientation but his sexuality: the general public can't imagine that Adam just wants to hold hands and drink lattes with his boyfriend/husband/whomever; we know they're having sex. Successful artists are much more sexually neutral, like someone said above; if their orientation makes the audience uncomfortable, they can sidestep that and imagine them in the very safe "TV gay bestie" persona of just cuddling or holding hands with their boyfriends and giving their best (girl) friends dating advice. Wherever it was that someone was advised to not be as gay as Adam, I think they are talking not only about his campness onstage (another hot topic in and of itself) but about that open sexuality. I wish he got more recognition for being one of the few (if not one of the only) openly gay artists who are openly sexual about it, but I guess that would mean the more successful artists and the people who praise them as though they are the sole trailblazers would have to examine their own biases a little more closely. I don't think it all comes back around to the AMAs (outside of the US, at least), but the issues at the core of that outrage are still very much a part of his career. Unfortunately. I just keep trusting that long view of history. I hope he's immensely successful in some undeniable way as a solo artist, that an album or a single of his soars into multi-platinum figures at some point, with Grammys and all the rest. But in the meantime and if that never happens, at least it's very nice to know how well-respected and well-loved he is by those who do notice and appreciate him: industry, dedicated fans, and general fans alike. I got such a kick out of watching, for example, Michael Slezak's slow evolution on Adam--from having mixed emotions about his talent while he was on Idol, to becoming such an admirer of his as a guest judge, as an Idol mentor, as an out gay man, as a talent. I think people will come around on him, because he is that good and that genuine, but he might be one of those artists whose greatness is an open secret, as it were, until they retire. (Agree with 3ku1. As difficult as it is for him with the homophobia, he has made things easier for others, and he has also aligned himself with the great artists of before, who were also unpopular at times in their career because of how challenging they were. History recognized them, and I believe it will for Adam, too.) (Sorry for this long post!)
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Post by cassie on Jan 28, 2018 18:05:32 GMT -5
Since we read an article just today or yesterday about singers damaging their voices, I thought I would quote what Angelina said in the soundbath recording: "I genuinely, genuinely, hand on my heart, I would be most shocked if Adam EVER develops vocal nodules. I will not believe that he could. No way." (because of his impressive mastery of his voice and the strong technical base he has)
I have finally listened all the way thru the seven segments of our conversation. Angelina talks in great detail about Adam's voice, his artistry, his background, his performance.... it is so generous of her to share her thoughts with us in this way. I am so lucky I could get her to chat with me about it.
The first couple of parts are about the show and the staging. The rest focus on Adam. Angelina is a huge fan, but she is also deeply knowledgeable about singing and performance at a level that no one else I have heard or read has delved into about Adam. Thank you immensely, Angelina.
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Post by skaschep on Jan 28, 2018 18:06:37 GMT -5
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