It doesn't help that when I hear his voice, I think of Margaret Dumont.
Posted on 05/18/2009 11:53:48 AM PDT by lewisglad
I am a greenhorn in the music world. If you gifted me an Ipod, I’d probably mistake it for a remote control. Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift are names I have heard, but faces I could not place. I can’t operate a CD player and have always thought of concert-going as an activity other people do.
Until now. American Idol contestant Adam Lambert seems to have awakened my long lost music gene. It happened on a Tuesday in March when I coasted by the family room TV on my way to nab cashews from the kitchen. This male Elvira had cool, black nail polish, a Clark Gable confidence, an androgynous sex appeal and the ability to emote like I’ve never seen.
Heck, this is a concert I could attend, I thought.
With an alluring combination of pure talent, charisma, unpredictability and eccentricity, Lambert will no doubt go down in history as a superstar, not to mention American Idol’s greatest success story.
Commentators call Lambert a polarizing figure: you love him or you hate him. Could this stem largely from the partisan divide in America?
Lambert is a blue state. He is Hollywood, glamour and bigger than life. Using struts, vocal acrobatics, and bizarre song renditions, he sticks it to 'the man' and orthodoxy. He upsets society, chastising manners and mores, much the way Elvis Presley did on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. Lambert is a comic book hero for those with an anti-establishment bent, such as 70’s children like me who learned early on to distrust government and convention.
His competitor, Kris Allen, is a red state. He is good ole boy from Arkansas who attends church and married his longtime sweetheart. On stage, he is as placid as a lake, even against the raging waterfall, Lambert. Allen is humble, casual and could live in Pleasantville. Lambert would be the Picasso of Pleasantville, upsetting the status quo.
In many cases, Lambert clearly transcends the red-blue divide, as evidenced by the statistics presented on 'Dial Idol' and other websites that estimate the percentage of votes each competitor receives by state. But I have to wonder if some of his angry detractors are those with a deep-seated dislike for all things liberal and idiosyncratic. .
The controversy surrounding Lambert’s sexuality also plays into this theory. Bill O’Reilly, for example, thought it newsworthy to ask his Fox News viewers if they thought the singer was gay. Successful same-sex marriage initiatives are sweeping this country, and opponents may see Lambert as a poster boy for alternate lifestyles and as a threat to conservative values.
Could an Adam Lambert victory represent a new level of acceptance for difference? Would a Kris Allen win reinforce communitarian values and the familiar? Some may see this season’s contest as a battle of hope and change pitted against tradition and custom.
Win or lose, Lambert will be a music icon. And win or lose, I guess I’d better figure out what those shapes on the CD player mean.
________
Charlotte Laws, Ph.D. is a Los Angeles TV host and the author of the book, Meet the Stars, which explains how to hobnob with the rich and famous.
My two teenaged daughters and one teenaged son are completed creeped out by Adam. Yeah, we all know he is gay but so is Elton John and we love his music. Something very dark and weird about Adam, I predict Kris will win it all.
Well as long as we don’t know, there is still hope.
It is possible for a man to like black nail polish and eye liner and not be gay.
Isn’t it?
During Country Music week, Adam Lambert sang a bizarre version of “Ring of Fire”. I’m still expecting zombie Johnny Cash to rise from the grave and so he can strangle Adam during the finale.
True, I love Elton John’s music. I find Adam a little creepy too...but very talented.
The queer one can’t hold a candle to the overall talent level of Kris. Lambert will win only if it’s a politically correct driven decision. He’s one dimensional, whereas Kris is multi-dimensional. That’s the one reason I’ve never followed American Idolators. They usually pick the one that can scream into the microphone the loudest.
Haven’t watched one episode this season. AI lost its appeal. Yet, I’ve seen the gay singer splashed all over the media. It’s just more gay agenda promotion. This story needs a hurl alert.
ADAM Lambert was stealth and will show his gayness if he wins!!! Ha Ha!!! We defeated American Idol and it’s all American viewers.....It was deceptive, and I think well planned by the prince of the airwaves and the Left!!!!
I will be voting not for Chris, but against what Adam stands for....yes it is political.
Has anyone else notices young kids dont care anymore they will celebrate his gayness!!! DIVERSITY HAS DONE ITS JOB, SCHOOLS HAVE WON OVER THE PARENTS....WELCOME TO THE NEW AMERICA...WE TRULY HAVE PUT IDOLS BEFORE OUR GOD.... SYMBOLIC I THINK SO!
So, you’ve missed the pictures of his tonguing another man on the internet?
Round and round she goes and where she stops nobody knows.
It doesn't help that when I hear his voice, I think of Margaret Dumont.
What?
I am deeply saddened!
I will now vote for the other guy!
I think Kris has the teenage girl vote. Never underestimate the power of 12 yr. old girls with a crush!!
Adam is a brilliant performer. He is akin to Freddie Mercury or David Bowie. He probably is gay,but, he refuses to address his sexuality, much to the dismay of the “Gay Mafia” that is the mass media. If you don’t like Queen or Bowie you won’t like Adam Lambert.
LOL. You can’t possibly be surprised.
and ...
I used to think that, but if 12 year old girls really controlled the vote, David Cook would never have won over Archuletta last year.
Did you feel the same way about Clay Aiken?
On the internet? That's a body part I'm not familiar with.
;-)
Adam is amazing...both I and my 70 year old husband will travel to see him. When he sings, he moves me. He has never discussed his sexual identity...the movement is using him. He’s a performer, first and foremest, and there are those here who would be very surprised to know that some of their favorite performers are gay. WHO CARES?
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