Thank you so much for this. ITA. You saved me the trouble of writing something very much along these lines. I desperately wanted something monumental. After hearing him sing TSMGO, I wanted something he would always be remembered for - iconic and lasting. But that is not what is going to happen until, as you say, he becomes accepted. The song is catchy and stays in my head but there are people I definitely cannot play it for and say "you see, this is what I mean - he is going to be the most influential artist of his time".
First of all, it is not fair to compare LIVE ADAM to audio, studio Adam. When he performs BTIKM LIVE it will be different. I was not a fan of WWFM until I heard/saw it LIVE. But many non-fans really liked WWFM and bought it -- after hearing it on the radio. It was a "crowd-pleasing" track. IMO BTIKM > WWFM.
Monumental does not often end up on pop radio.
The nice thing about Adam, is that he can do a monumental performance, he can put our complex beautifully crafted music (Broken Open), AND he can put out a pop hit (WWFM).
Queen music was designed for stadium performances, not radio.
BTIKY was designed for pop radio.
Two very different things.
Adam (and no other artist) is going to fundamentally change what radio audiences want and what make a pop hit. And a fan who thinks he is, is setting themselves up for disappointment.
Granted there are a few great songs that standout....
#1 on 12/17/2009 -- "Empire State of Mind" Jay-Z + Alicia Keys
#1 on 12/17/1987 -- "Faith" George Michael
But the #1 song today is "We Found Love" Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris. And none of the #1 pop hits for the past 50 years is monumental.
Check them out here:
www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/12/1217.htmFinally, even in the rock era, which is well past us, Queen's first US hit was a pop song, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 1979. Their monumental rock operatic song, "Bohemian Rhapsody" topped out at #9.
I am very pragmatic -- I want a great album -- but I also want Adam to have a pop hit so he can get more fans and sell a ton of albums and have a big tour.
I have learned that great music rarely becomes pop hits.
No, BTIKM is not monumental BUT it will get played on the radio AND it does sound like Adam Lambert AND it is getting mostly positive response from NON-FANS who are in the right demo.
Finally, this is just the first of probably 18 tracks we will get from this album. I am confident that every Adam fan will have a few songs to love.
