It was David Bowie who first cannily reasoned that if you look and act enough like a rock star, you might actually become a rock star.
The same thinking paid off in spades for last season's American Idol runner-up, Adam Lambert. He might have lost the final vote to Kris Allen, but his attitude, his charisma and his gift for playing rock 'n' roll dress-up – not to mention a supple voice that can really wrap itself around the high notes – marked him as one of the few true, born entertainers ever to grace the series. He arrived a star. He just needed a venue.
Granted, Lambert's cockiness has since cost him a few fans on the "family values" side of things. Two days shy of the release of his debut album last November, the neo-glam extravaganza For Your Entertainment, he earned the ire of puritanical TV viewers and conservative pundits when he kissed a male keyboardist and shoved a male dancer's face into his crotch during a live performance of the title track on the American Music Awards. One of the most ridiculously overblown epidemics of gay panic this side of Brüno erupted, and America still hasn't completely gotten over it.
"The TV networks have been punishing me for it. They wouldn't let me do any live TV. They still haven't," says Lambert, 27 (until Friday), reclining beneath a painting of Marilyn Monroe in a trendy Ossington Ave. boite. "I'm not bothered by it anymore. It is what it is and I do think it'll blow over. Time heals and people are fickle and all that. But it's even made some other networks nervous about other projects, ones I shouldn't talk about for `political' reasons.
"It's too bad. Especially because, I feel, the media has a responsibility to progress society. It would be really nice if the media tried to open their minds and desensitize certain parts of the U.S. to certain things. I see straight people kissing all the time, so why is two men kissing obscene?"
Lambert – in town this week for a Monday MuchMusic appearance and some interviews before he heads to the Grammy Awards Sunday night as a fashion correspondent for Entertainment Tonight – has earned innumerable cool points by refusing to apologize ever since. Still, there's been some speculation that For Your Entertainment has stalled about 40,000 copies shy of gold status in the States because of lingering homophobia.
For his part, Lambert is just incensed that 1,500 angry letters to the FCC in a nation of 300 million can have such repercussions. Team Lambert, for instance, is still trying to figure out what scale of tour it should mount this year, if any.
Ideally, of course, he'd love to go big and theatrical, with "costumes and video and lighting and explosions: the whole thing."
What he'd prefer not to do in the meantime is become a crusader for gay rights in pop music. "On the one hand, I think it's cool because there isn't a lot of visibility for a young, gay, male musician. But ... I do resent slightly the fact that when I'm presented in the media, it's `openly gay singer and American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert.' ... My occupation is not `openly gay guy.' I'm a singer. My sexuality should be a sidebar, if anything."
Showing posts with label David Bowie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Bowie. Show all posts
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Adam Lambert gets half-hour Fuse interview show
Fuse will run a half-hour On the Record interview with Adam Lambert as part of its "Idol AllStars Takeover" programming Monday, the night before the American Idol season premiere. In the interview, Adam talks about middle school, collaborating with Pink, coming out of the closet and his album cover.
"People saw that cover and they were like, 'He looks a little feminine to me, I don't understand.'" Adam says on the show, which premieres at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. "I'm, like, yeah ... I had so much airbrushing on that picture on purpose. The Hunky Dory cover that [David] Bowie did, Boy George and Motley Crue and Prince -- like all these artists that did this over-the-top lipsticky glammy thing. The minute someone Idol does it, who's actually gay, it's like, 'Oh No!'"
"People saw that cover and they were like, 'He looks a little feminine to me, I don't understand.'" Adam says on the show, which premieres at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT. "I'm, like, yeah ... I had so much airbrushing on that picture on purpose. The Hunky Dory cover that [David] Bowie did, Boy George and Motley Crue and Prince -- like all these artists that did this over-the-top lipsticky glammy thing. The minute someone Idol does it, who's actually gay, it's like, 'Oh No!'"
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Adam Lambert talks about his New Album “For Your Entertainment,” Working with Lady Gaga, and His Appeal to Women
Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood might want to watch their backs. Adam Lambert, the Season 8 “American Idol” runner-up, is poised to become one of the reality show’s biggest break-out stars. The glamtastic rocker released “Time for Miracles,” the closing credits song for this Friday’s disaster porn epic “2012.” And his first solo album, “For Your Entertainment,” drops Nov. 23, one day after he’s scheduled to perform at the American Music Awards. Lambert talked to Speakeasy about his music, his fans and why he’s so appealing to women.
The Wall Street Journal: On your Twitter feed, you said Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” video “melted my brain.”
Adam Lambert: Oh my god, I love it. It’s so out there. She’s so brave in her artistic freedom; she’s an inspiration.
WSJ: She actually contributed a song — “Fever” — to your new album.
AL: Yeah, I really wanted to work with her; she’s just one of my favorites right now. She had an old demo — I think she said she got signed with that demo to her first label deal — and then she never produced it and got it done. I think that it’s a really catchy melody; the lyrics are really fun and silly. Overall, I really enjoyed the process of recording with her. She was on the other side of that glass, just egging me on. She was constantly like, ‘Go crazier! Go higher! Go louder!”
WSJ: If and when you make a music video for “Fever,” would she cameo?
AL: I’d love it. Of course I’d ask her. We’ll see if she’d actually want to do it. She has a lot on her plate right now.
WSJ: You seem so at ease with fame. What do you attribute that to?
AL: I think it helps that that I’ve lived in L.A. for the last eight years and I’m a little older. I’m 27, seen a lot of s—, met a lot of people. I’ve certainly been on the sidelines of paparazzi barrages, like, I’ve been out at a club with various reality show acquaintances and they get that kind of attention. So I’ve been near it, which helps me not to be thrown off by it. My M.O. is just do what you do and don’t feel like you have to make apologies for it. I’m sure there will come a point when I have to apologize for something, but not yet.
WSJ: A lot of big stars go out of their way to hide the fact that they’re gay, but you’re happily out and women still throw thongs at you — what do you think you’re doing differently?
AL: I think it’s a testament to just owning yourself, owning your stuff, and just being comfortable in your skin. It took me some time to get to that point and the timing of “Idol” was appropriate because [that's] when I realized, you know what? I love myself and I am a good person.
WSJ: What do you think your appeal to women is?
AL: I’m not sure — to be honest, that’s one of the more surprising elements about this whole thing. I’m like, really? I honestly don’t know — maybe it’s because, whatever the sexuality thing, I’m a friendly person, and maybe there’s a safety thing involved, in that I’m not threatening.
WSJ: How much say did you have in creating your album cover?
AL: That was pretty much my call. When we got to the point of doing the photo shoot, I just wanted to go super androgynous glam, kind of campy and outlandish. I love imagery like that — that’s why I love the Lady Gaga video. It’s just funny, because the second a guy starts doing things out of the box, people get all freaked out. But women do it all the time, so it’s an interesting double standard.
WSJ: Bowie seems to have been an obvious inspiration.
AL: Yup, Bowie, Jagger, Boy George, Prince, and Michael Jackson — all those guys who would put make up on and look glamorous. Some of the Michael Jackson covers are amazing, like “Dangerous,” where it’s just his eyes and the entire thing is just super frosted and touched up and perfect. And pictures of Bowie back in the day, like the “Hunky Dory” cover where he’s just pretty and in soft focus. I love that look and think it’s cool that not a lot of guy are doing it, so that’s how I’m going to style myself. It’s part of my persona and has been consistently. That’s why I find it so funny that people were surprised by the cover. I mean, didn’t you see me onstage with KISS and the glitter boots and the rhinestones around my eyes [on "Idol"]?
WSJ: Still, do you ever feel trapped in any way by the glam image?
AL: No, I don’t feel trapped. I’m the one who put on those clothes; it’s my own making. I feel like when I want to, I can change it up like I did on the show. I try not to get trapped in any one musical or visual style at all. I mean, that’s part of what I was really trying to do on “Idol” — change it up week to week, like variety tray. A veggie platter, if you will.
WSJ: Were you upset when tracks of your album were leaked online earlier this month?
AL: To be honest, yeah. I would have rather it not been, but that’s how you sell a CD on the internet. It’s hard, because people jump to conclusions based on 30 seconds, and I don’t know how fair that is. It is what it is.
WSJ: Which song pushed you the furthest vocally?
AL: “Sure Fire Winners” is pretty vocally acrobatic. It’s crazy — but they all kind of go crazy. Artistically, I think the Linda Perry song was a departure for me because it was a little out of my obvious comfort zone — vocally, it sits in this falsetto space, and lyrically, if you really listen to it, it’s complicated. The lyrics contradict themselves, which was done on purpose — Linda and I really talked about it.
There are two different interpretations: one is that it’s about two members of a relationship, and what’s going on in their heads when they’re with each other. One partner is loving every moment and in bliss, while the other person is feeling empty and not satistfied. The other way to look at it is that it’s about one person, going back and forth about a relationship in their head. Like one day, we feel like we love this person to death, the next, what the hell. It’s emotionally complicated, which makes it special.
WSJ: Speaking of “Sure Fire Winners,” it sounds like an homage to “We are the Champions.” Is it?
AL: It wasn’t intentional, and I didn’t write that song. But yeah, that’s totally the vibe. I don’t know if the writers did that on purpose or not. But it is like a “we rock” kind of anthem.
WSJ: How closely do you follow the forums on your site and read what people tweet at you?
AL: I breeze through Twitter — I look at the mentions, the pictures, the videos. But I try not to get too wrapped up in message boards because it’s crazy. When the fans are supportive, that’s super positive. On the flip side, when message boards are filled with negativity, I find it sad that people have nothing better to do than hate on others online. It’s not a good vibe.
WSJ: Have you heard Kris Allen’s album?
AL: I haven’t heard his album, but love his single. I’ll be one of the first to get a copy, I’m sure.
WSJ: Are you going to return to “American Idol” to perform during the new season?
AL: If they want me to perform, I’d love to.
WSJ: Would you have liked to see Ellen DeGeneres as a judge?
AL: No, I wouldn’t change my experience at all. I love Paula and think she’s amazing. She was one of the first believers [in me], if you know what I mean. She really had my back. As for Simon, he really has nothing to do with me at this point. I mean, he’s a judge. He is also a producer, but he’s not the automatic “Idol” producer. He’s producing Leona Lewis, but that’s his project. Going back to the Internet thing, it amused me how people can be so misinformed. When I read certain things, I just want to tell them, you have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s an endless source of entertainment for me.
The Wall Street Journal: On your Twitter feed, you said Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” video “melted my brain.”
Adam Lambert: Oh my god, I love it. It’s so out there. She’s so brave in her artistic freedom; she’s an inspiration.
WSJ: She actually contributed a song — “Fever” — to your new album.
AL: Yeah, I really wanted to work with her; she’s just one of my favorites right now. She had an old demo — I think she said she got signed with that demo to her first label deal — and then she never produced it and got it done. I think that it’s a really catchy melody; the lyrics are really fun and silly. Overall, I really enjoyed the process of recording with her. She was on the other side of that glass, just egging me on. She was constantly like, ‘Go crazier! Go higher! Go louder!”
WSJ: If and when you make a music video for “Fever,” would she cameo?
AL: I’d love it. Of course I’d ask her. We’ll see if she’d actually want to do it. She has a lot on her plate right now.
WSJ: You seem so at ease with fame. What do you attribute that to?
AL: I think it helps that that I’ve lived in L.A. for the last eight years and I’m a little older. I’m 27, seen a lot of s—, met a lot of people. I’ve certainly been on the sidelines of paparazzi barrages, like, I’ve been out at a club with various reality show acquaintances and they get that kind of attention. So I’ve been near it, which helps me not to be thrown off by it. My M.O. is just do what you do and don’t feel like you have to make apologies for it. I’m sure there will come a point when I have to apologize for something, but not yet.
WSJ: A lot of big stars go out of their way to hide the fact that they’re gay, but you’re happily out and women still throw thongs at you — what do you think you’re doing differently?
AL: I think it’s a testament to just owning yourself, owning your stuff, and just being comfortable in your skin. It took me some time to get to that point and the timing of “Idol” was appropriate because [that's] when I realized, you know what? I love myself and I am a good person.
WSJ: What do you think your appeal to women is?
AL: I’m not sure — to be honest, that’s one of the more surprising elements about this whole thing. I’m like, really? I honestly don’t know — maybe it’s because, whatever the sexuality thing, I’m a friendly person, and maybe there’s a safety thing involved, in that I’m not threatening.
WSJ: How much say did you have in creating your album cover?
AL: That was pretty much my call. When we got to the point of doing the photo shoot, I just wanted to go super androgynous glam, kind of campy and outlandish. I love imagery like that — that’s why I love the Lady Gaga video. It’s just funny, because the second a guy starts doing things out of the box, people get all freaked out. But women do it all the time, so it’s an interesting double standard.
WSJ: Bowie seems to have been an obvious inspiration.
AL: Yup, Bowie, Jagger, Boy George, Prince, and Michael Jackson — all those guys who would put make up on and look glamorous. Some of the Michael Jackson covers are amazing, like “Dangerous,” where it’s just his eyes and the entire thing is just super frosted and touched up and perfect. And pictures of Bowie back in the day, like the “Hunky Dory” cover where he’s just pretty and in soft focus. I love that look and think it’s cool that not a lot of guy are doing it, so that’s how I’m going to style myself. It’s part of my persona and has been consistently. That’s why I find it so funny that people were surprised by the cover. I mean, didn’t you see me onstage with KISS and the glitter boots and the rhinestones around my eyes [on "Idol"]?
WSJ: Still, do you ever feel trapped in any way by the glam image?
AL: No, I don’t feel trapped. I’m the one who put on those clothes; it’s my own making. I feel like when I want to, I can change it up like I did on the show. I try not to get trapped in any one musical or visual style at all. I mean, that’s part of what I was really trying to do on “Idol” — change it up week to week, like variety tray. A veggie platter, if you will.
WSJ: Were you upset when tracks of your album were leaked online earlier this month?
AL: To be honest, yeah. I would have rather it not been, but that’s how you sell a CD on the internet. It’s hard, because people jump to conclusions based on 30 seconds, and I don’t know how fair that is. It is what it is.
WSJ: Which song pushed you the furthest vocally?
AL: “Sure Fire Winners” is pretty vocally acrobatic. It’s crazy — but they all kind of go crazy. Artistically, I think the Linda Perry song was a departure for me because it was a little out of my obvious comfort zone — vocally, it sits in this falsetto space, and lyrically, if you really listen to it, it’s complicated. The lyrics contradict themselves, which was done on purpose — Linda and I really talked about it.
There are two different interpretations: one is that it’s about two members of a relationship, and what’s going on in their heads when they’re with each other. One partner is loving every moment and in bliss, while the other person is feeling empty and not satistfied. The other way to look at it is that it’s about one person, going back and forth about a relationship in their head. Like one day, we feel like we love this person to death, the next, what the hell. It’s emotionally complicated, which makes it special.
WSJ: Speaking of “Sure Fire Winners,” it sounds like an homage to “We are the Champions.” Is it?
AL: It wasn’t intentional, and I didn’t write that song. But yeah, that’s totally the vibe. I don’t know if the writers did that on purpose or not. But it is like a “we rock” kind of anthem.
WSJ: How closely do you follow the forums on your site and read what people tweet at you?
AL: I breeze through Twitter — I look at the mentions, the pictures, the videos. But I try not to get too wrapped up in message boards because it’s crazy. When the fans are supportive, that’s super positive. On the flip side, when message boards are filled with negativity, I find it sad that people have nothing better to do than hate on others online. It’s not a good vibe.
WSJ: Have you heard Kris Allen’s album?
AL: I haven’t heard his album, but love his single. I’ll be one of the first to get a copy, I’m sure.
WSJ: Are you going to return to “American Idol” to perform during the new season?
AL: If they want me to perform, I’d love to.
WSJ: Would you have liked to see Ellen DeGeneres as a judge?
AL: No, I wouldn’t change my experience at all. I love Paula and think she’s amazing. She was one of the first believers [in me], if you know what I mean. She really had my back. As for Simon, he really has nothing to do with me at this point. I mean, he’s a judge. He is also a producer, but he’s not the automatic “Idol” producer. He’s producing Leona Lewis, but that’s his project. Going back to the Internet thing, it amused me how people can be so misinformed. When I read certain things, I just want to tell them, you have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s an endless source of entertainment for me.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Adam Lambert on the Demons and Dance Behind "For Your Entertainment" - Rolling Stone Interview Part 1
Adam Lambert tells Rolling Stone how whiskey and David Bowie influenced his debut album, For Your Entertainment. American Idol's first real rock star also opened up about working with Muse and writing one of the record's most tender ballads. Here's more from Jenny Eliscu's conversation with the man RS dubbed a glam-rock sex god during his fantastic Idol run:
Tell me about the process of making this record.
We did some recording on tour, not that much, though. What we ended up doing was conceptualizing on the road, and then just collecting as many demos and ideas as possible. Before the tour started, I did write for like a month. Over the course of the tour, we collected a lot of different music and found what resonated with us. The cool thing about the whole process was that we took a lot of the songs from demos and really developed them and tried to tailor them to the vibe that I was going for on the album, which was to blend old and new, to take classic rock-sounding track and say, "How can we modernize this, how can we give it an electronic edge?" I think it went pretty well.
Going into it, before you heard a single demo, what were the things you were certain you wanted it to be?
I wanted to do somehow not a classic and Eighties rock thing, the stuff I got credibility for on Idol. I wanted it to be dance, I wanted it to be pop, I wanted it to be international — these were our check boxes. I really wanted to do a new pop glam thing. I didn't want to create an album that was cohesive, because that's not my personally, I wanted something that was all over the map, because that's the kind of music I like to listen to, and I like to sing a lot of different styles of music, and there should be something different for every mood you're in.
Do you think your look will go through different phases?
I love dress-up, I love costume, I love make-up and all that shit, so I have a feeling that I'm going to tailor a look for each song. I kind of think that for the first single, "For Your Entertainment," we're going to go for more of an old Hollywood look, like 1930s style, but influences of Berlin, kind of dark, black and white, opium den, old glam? I want it to look like Valentino, old movie star, like black and white, pencil moustaches — that kind of vibe.
You've spent a lot of time absorbing lots of music. Do you have a large record collection?
Yeah, I'm a freak with iTunes, I'm constantly fucking buying music. I love listening to whatever's new and fresh, and I'll go back and explore. I went through a period of time where all I was listening to was stuff from the late Sixties, the whole flower power fuckin' psychedelic hippie-type music, like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Beatles. I remember at one point I was listening to a lot of disco. I love disco music, anyone who doesn't love disco, I don't know?
Every generation has some kind of music they have baggage about.
Yeah. I love dance music, I've always loved dance music. I think anything with a good beat that makes you feel like getting ready for the evening, going to work, in the gym, it's inspiring, it makes you feel good. It makes you move and it makes you want to feel sexy and flirt with somebody and have a drink. There's a lot of that on the record, because I love that.
What was it like working with Lady Gaga? She brought you a demo from a few years ago?
We just talked about the direction of which way it would go, and she said, "I really want to make more current than the demo is, and dance it up, make it a little more disco-y, and I was like, "Yeah, let's do it." I think we accomplished it.
Did you do more work on it with respect to lyrics? How much did it change the song itself from the demo?
On American Idol, I tended to interpret things vocally, there's a lot of ad-libbing and stuff going on. It was a simple melody before, and we made it a lot more in your face and over the top.
What about "Music Again," the song Justin Hawkins from the Darkness contributed?
It has a classic rock riff to it that I thought was so sexy. Another band that was a major reference was Queen. You hear that influence in a couple different songs, and the chorus of that song, I wanted the harmonies to sound like Queen, I wanted it to be really full. Also, bands like Sweet used to do that with their vocals, glam bands. I just wanted to show people I had a sense of humor with this shit. It's fun, it's supposed to be kind of campy.
Tell me about the process of making this record.
We did some recording on tour, not that much, though. What we ended up doing was conceptualizing on the road, and then just collecting as many demos and ideas as possible. Before the tour started, I did write for like a month. Over the course of the tour, we collected a lot of different music and found what resonated with us. The cool thing about the whole process was that we took a lot of the songs from demos and really developed them and tried to tailor them to the vibe that I was going for on the album, which was to blend old and new, to take classic rock-sounding track and say, "How can we modernize this, how can we give it an electronic edge?" I think it went pretty well.
Going into it, before you heard a single demo, what were the things you were certain you wanted it to be?
I wanted to do somehow not a classic and Eighties rock thing, the stuff I got credibility for on Idol. I wanted it to be dance, I wanted it to be pop, I wanted it to be international — these were our check boxes. I really wanted to do a new pop glam thing. I didn't want to create an album that was cohesive, because that's not my personally, I wanted something that was all over the map, because that's the kind of music I like to listen to, and I like to sing a lot of different styles of music, and there should be something different for every mood you're in.
Do you think your look will go through different phases?
I love dress-up, I love costume, I love make-up and all that shit, so I have a feeling that I'm going to tailor a look for each song. I kind of think that for the first single, "For Your Entertainment," we're going to go for more of an old Hollywood look, like 1930s style, but influences of Berlin, kind of dark, black and white, opium den, old glam? I want it to look like Valentino, old movie star, like black and white, pencil moustaches — that kind of vibe.
You've spent a lot of time absorbing lots of music. Do you have a large record collection?
Yeah, I'm a freak with iTunes, I'm constantly fucking buying music. I love listening to whatever's new and fresh, and I'll go back and explore. I went through a period of time where all I was listening to was stuff from the late Sixties, the whole flower power fuckin' psychedelic hippie-type music, like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Beatles. I remember at one point I was listening to a lot of disco. I love disco music, anyone who doesn't love disco, I don't know?
Every generation has some kind of music they have baggage about.
Yeah. I love dance music, I've always loved dance music. I think anything with a good beat that makes you feel like getting ready for the evening, going to work, in the gym, it's inspiring, it makes you feel good. It makes you move and it makes you want to feel sexy and flirt with somebody and have a drink. There's a lot of that on the record, because I love that.
What was it like working with Lady Gaga? She brought you a demo from a few years ago?
We just talked about the direction of which way it would go, and she said, "I really want to make more current than the demo is, and dance it up, make it a little more disco-y, and I was like, "Yeah, let's do it." I think we accomplished it.
Did you do more work on it with respect to lyrics? How much did it change the song itself from the demo?
On American Idol, I tended to interpret things vocally, there's a lot of ad-libbing and stuff going on. It was a simple melody before, and we made it a lot more in your face and over the top.
What about "Music Again," the song Justin Hawkins from the Darkness contributed?
It has a classic rock riff to it that I thought was so sexy. Another band that was a major reference was Queen. You hear that influence in a couple different songs, and the chorus of that song, I wanted the harmonies to sound like Queen, I wanted it to be really full. Also, bands like Sweet used to do that with their vocals, glam bands. I just wanted to show people I had a sense of humor with this shit. It's fun, it's supposed to be kind of campy.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Lambert Way - Adam Lambert: Cool, Calm and Eclectic (part 2)
As Adam Lambert plays the role, a rock star doesn't have to be an angry punk, a brooding post-grunge puritan or a hair-metal style macho dude in a dress. These approaches all have their purpose, but Lambert projects something different: outrageousness that's totally at peace with itself.
He does this by connecting countercultural ideas -- values he learned as a kid touring Germany in a production of "Hair," the musical that first brought rock's spirit to Broadway -- with a trouper's sense of artistic performance as work, which takes brains and a certain sharpness as well as talent.
"His No. 1 challenge, which I think he'll pass, is stay true to himself and to roll with the punches as they come," said Rob Cavallo, who has worked with artists from Green Day to the Dave Matthews Band and produced four tracks on "For Your Entertainment." "He's going to have successes. He might have people against him. Which is exactly what happened to Elvis, the Beatles, to Prince. . . . There will be controversy, and there will be opinions. If he stays true to himself he will be one of those great artists to watch over the years."
Lambert readily admits a huge debt to David Bowie, whom he describes as "my favorite," and other glam and classic rockers such as Mick Jagger and Marc Bolan of T. Rex. (More surprisingly, he repeatedly cites both Prince and Michael Jackson.) Lambert's efforts to succeed as a rocker will hinge on his ability to tap into the legacy Bowie and those others represent. His "emo" side, linking him to bands like Fall Out Boy, also helps. But it's hard to know if the rock world -- and rock radio, in particular -- will embrace him.
"When bands like Fall Out Boy and All American Rejects first came out, they got airplay on modern-rock stations," noted Leslie Fram, a rock radio veteran who's program director of New York's 101.9 RXP FM and co-host of its morning show with Matt Pinfield. "But when they crossed over to the Top 40, it was the nail in the coffin. They went over to the pop side, image-wise, and modern-rock radio wanted nothing to do with them."
Lambert's trying something even these bands didn't attempt -- to succeed in both the rock and pop camps at once. He loves his glam, but he admits that in terms of today's stars, he has more in common with Beyoncé than with Chris Daughtry.
"People look at me and immediately say, 'Oh, he's doing the musical-theater thing,' " he said. "But if you look at most female pop stars right now, how are they any less theater? Beyoncé is doing 'Single Ladies' with two girls in character shoes and leotards, doing Fosse choreography from 'Sweet Charity,' and 'West Side Story.' "
Lambert obviously learned some of his moves from his youth in the theater, but he's also always credited the friends he made through Burning Man, the annual festival of makeshift art that turns a patch of the Nevada desert into its own magic kingdom. If "Hair" introduced him to the language of the counterculture, Burning Man showed him how people spoke it every day.
"There's a community here in L.A. that's part of Burning Man," said Lambert, a San Diego native who moved to Hollywood after high school. "It's an underground community, and when I found out about it I was so much more excited about living here. The people I was meeting were a lot more interesting, more original. And happy, just happy.
"Los Angeles can be a really sad city. If you go to the clubs you meet a bunch of people trying to be actors and not fulfilling their dreams, and they're bitter and sad. . . . But in [the Burning Man] community no one cares. You're living your life, and you feel fabulous about it, and you might be doing it on $5 a day."
Lambert is certainly enjoying his bigger budget now -- especially the "expensive, beautiful and weird" clothes -- but he seems to have preserved the perspective he gained hanging out with serious bohemians.
He does know how to play the music industry game. He raided the executive suites for collaborators on "For Your Entertainment": Its songwriters include ubiquitous hit-makers Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, Linda Perry, Dr. Luke and "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, and his producers include big names like RedOne and Rob Cavallo.
"Adam is unusually confident in my mind but not in a pretentious way," Tedder said in an e-mail. "He has the confidence of a guy that absolutely knows who he is to the core, both musically and personally. He spent four days in Denver working with me and was as laid back and comfortable in my studio as he was being swarmed by fans when we went to dinner. For a first-time artist, he definitely had more control creatively than I've ever seen a new act given, but Adam is the kind of person that would rather not put out anything than put out something that was less than 100% his vision."
Pinfield, Fram's co-host on WRXP and a defining force within alternative rock as an MTV host during the 1990s, thinks his eclectic approach could work for Lambert. He might have a tough time on rock radio, Pinfield said, but the singer's fans might not care.
"There was a different world before, with the rock 'n' roll thing," he said. "Today, the same kids who love the Beatles and the Stones and Zeppelin could love Radiohead, and Adam Lambert. Young people today are not as worried about being genre specific."
In the studio, Lambert enlisted hot ingénues Pink and Lady Gaga as writers while securing some of that fabled rock cred by covering material by Justin Hawkins, formerly of English glam revivalists the Darkness, and Muse, a band that he loves.
"I listen to crazy, robust rock music where they sing their faces off, and soul music, which can be similar," Lambert said. "But I also listen to a lot of dance music. I love that style. I was a Paula Abdul fan, a Michael Jackson fan, a Madonna fan. When Christina Aguilera came out when I was in high school, that was a great example of someone taking the pop-dance feel but who could really sing. Pop stars have done it; it's just not a lot of guys have done it. Maybe it's a question of masculine persona."
He does this by connecting countercultural ideas -- values he learned as a kid touring Germany in a production of "Hair," the musical that first brought rock's spirit to Broadway -- with a trouper's sense of artistic performance as work, which takes brains and a certain sharpness as well as talent.
"His No. 1 challenge, which I think he'll pass, is stay true to himself and to roll with the punches as they come," said Rob Cavallo, who has worked with artists from Green Day to the Dave Matthews Band and produced four tracks on "For Your Entertainment." "He's going to have successes. He might have people against him. Which is exactly what happened to Elvis, the Beatles, to Prince. . . . There will be controversy, and there will be opinions. If he stays true to himself he will be one of those great artists to watch over the years."
Lambert readily admits a huge debt to David Bowie, whom he describes as "my favorite," and other glam and classic rockers such as Mick Jagger and Marc Bolan of T. Rex. (More surprisingly, he repeatedly cites both Prince and Michael Jackson.) Lambert's efforts to succeed as a rocker will hinge on his ability to tap into the legacy Bowie and those others represent. His "emo" side, linking him to bands like Fall Out Boy, also helps. But it's hard to know if the rock world -- and rock radio, in particular -- will embrace him.
"When bands like Fall Out Boy and All American Rejects first came out, they got airplay on modern-rock stations," noted Leslie Fram, a rock radio veteran who's program director of New York's 101.9 RXP FM and co-host of its morning show with Matt Pinfield. "But when they crossed over to the Top 40, it was the nail in the coffin. They went over to the pop side, image-wise, and modern-rock radio wanted nothing to do with them."
Lambert's trying something even these bands didn't attempt -- to succeed in both the rock and pop camps at once. He loves his glam, but he admits that in terms of today's stars, he has more in common with Beyoncé than with Chris Daughtry.
"People look at me and immediately say, 'Oh, he's doing the musical-theater thing,' " he said. "But if you look at most female pop stars right now, how are they any less theater? Beyoncé is doing 'Single Ladies' with two girls in character shoes and leotards, doing Fosse choreography from 'Sweet Charity,' and 'West Side Story.' "
Lambert obviously learned some of his moves from his youth in the theater, but he's also always credited the friends he made through Burning Man, the annual festival of makeshift art that turns a patch of the Nevada desert into its own magic kingdom. If "Hair" introduced him to the language of the counterculture, Burning Man showed him how people spoke it every day.
"There's a community here in L.A. that's part of Burning Man," said Lambert, a San Diego native who moved to Hollywood after high school. "It's an underground community, and when I found out about it I was so much more excited about living here. The people I was meeting were a lot more interesting, more original. And happy, just happy.
"Los Angeles can be a really sad city. If you go to the clubs you meet a bunch of people trying to be actors and not fulfilling their dreams, and they're bitter and sad. . . . But in [the Burning Man] community no one cares. You're living your life, and you feel fabulous about it, and you might be doing it on $5 a day."
Lambert is certainly enjoying his bigger budget now -- especially the "expensive, beautiful and weird" clothes -- but he seems to have preserved the perspective he gained hanging out with serious bohemians.
He does know how to play the music industry game. He raided the executive suites for collaborators on "For Your Entertainment": Its songwriters include ubiquitous hit-makers Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, Linda Perry, Dr. Luke and "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, and his producers include big names like RedOne and Rob Cavallo.
"Adam is unusually confident in my mind but not in a pretentious way," Tedder said in an e-mail. "He has the confidence of a guy that absolutely knows who he is to the core, both musically and personally. He spent four days in Denver working with me and was as laid back and comfortable in my studio as he was being swarmed by fans when we went to dinner. For a first-time artist, he definitely had more control creatively than I've ever seen a new act given, but Adam is the kind of person that would rather not put out anything than put out something that was less than 100% his vision."
Pinfield, Fram's co-host on WRXP and a defining force within alternative rock as an MTV host during the 1990s, thinks his eclectic approach could work for Lambert. He might have a tough time on rock radio, Pinfield said, but the singer's fans might not care.
"There was a different world before, with the rock 'n' roll thing," he said. "Today, the same kids who love the Beatles and the Stones and Zeppelin could love Radiohead, and Adam Lambert. Young people today are not as worried about being genre specific."
In the studio, Lambert enlisted hot ingénues Pink and Lady Gaga as writers while securing some of that fabled rock cred by covering material by Justin Hawkins, formerly of English glam revivalists the Darkness, and Muse, a band that he loves.
"I listen to crazy, robust rock music where they sing their faces off, and soul music, which can be similar," Lambert said. "But I also listen to a lot of dance music. I love that style. I was a Paula Abdul fan, a Michael Jackson fan, a Madonna fan. When Christina Aguilera came out when I was in high school, that was a great example of someone taking the pop-dance feel but who could really sing. Pop stars have done it; it's just not a lot of guys have done it. Maybe it's a question of masculine persona."
Monday, October 19, 2009
Adam Lambert Tells all about his Fashion Style
Nowadays Hollywood hot commodity Adam Lambert has opened up to In Style magazine about some of his favorite stuff. In an interview featured on the print media's November issue, the rock singer mentions some fashion brands that he likes the most, naming such lines as of Gareth Pugh, Skin Graft, Brian Lichtenberg, Diesel Jeans, and Loree Rodkin jewelry.
Talking about fashion, the runner up of "American Idol" season 8 admits he looks up to David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, Prince and Michael Jackson as his style icons. He claims those stars have "big influences" on the way he dresses.
In related topic, Adam tells In Style that some of his beauty essentials include OPI nail polish, MAC Smolder eyeliner, and Bed Head styling products. On top of all, the 27-year-old music star confesses that he likes getting manicures. "Often I paint my own nails, but on tour there's a manicurist on-set and she does a much better job," so he claims.
Aside from his fashion style, Adam Lambert also tells all about his favorite drink, gadget, and scent. Some other topics that he addresses are his music project and what he would be if he didn't audition for "American Idol".
- From AceShowBiz
Talking about fashion, the runner up of "American Idol" season 8 admits he looks up to David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, Prince and Michael Jackson as his style icons. He claims those stars have "big influences" on the way he dresses.
In related topic, Adam tells In Style that some of his beauty essentials include OPI nail polish, MAC Smolder eyeliner, and Bed Head styling products. On top of all, the 27-year-old music star confesses that he likes getting manicures. "Often I paint my own nails, but on tour there's a manicurist on-set and she does a much better job," so he claims.
Aside from his fashion style, Adam Lambert also tells all about his favorite drink, gadget, and scent. Some other topics that he addresses are his music project and what he would be if he didn't audition for "American Idol".
- From AceShowBiz
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Adam Lambert sings David Bowie medley: Life on Mars, Fame and Let's Dance
Adam Lambert sings a medley of David Bowie songs -- Life on Mars, Fame, Let's Dance -- on opening night of the American Idol Tour on July 5, 2009.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
American Idols Live set list: Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert finished second? You couldn't tell it from this crowd, which greets the explosive sounds and strobing lights with shrieks. Adam kicks off his set with Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, and the stage fills with smoke. He's wearing a blue-and-black metallic-looking studded jacket that comes down to his knees, along with a sleeveless black T-shirt and black pants. The crowd may have been dancing for Allison and Danny -- for Adam, they're screaming. Suddenly we've gone from the world of AC pop into a real rock show.
Second song is Muse's Starlight, and the six disco balls hanging above the stage turns the Rose Garden into a planetarium. It's Adam's typically impressive song choice -- for the arrangement, imagine Erasure's Andy Bell fronting the Sisters of Mercy -- and he sings it flawlessly, beautifully, slipping in and out of falsetto. (I wonder if this begins to approach what his album will sound like -- you wouldn't hear me complaining if it did.) Matt's version of Hard to Handle was pretty cool, but this is the first of the new numbers I'd lay down cash money to hear again.
Low-level fog creeps in, as Adam takes a seat on a stool to sing the Tears for Fears/Gary Jules song Mad World. The crowd is still on its feet, and they've brought out their cameras -- you could practically read in here, the flashes are so steady. Some people are singing along; most of them just look entranced.
The guitarist cranks out the opening chords to Slow Ride start, and the audience knows what's coming -- or, rather, who. Allison Iraheta walks on stage, and the place goes ballistic.
Now, he's doing the David Bowie medley he promised, which starts with Life on Mars (and the big red planet is behind him on the video screen). As he slides into Fame, the crowd shrieks again, but it's not for the song: Adam has shed his jacket, revealing the sleeveless T underneath. He's obviously been working with JaQuel Knight on choreography, too; he's moving lithely across the stage in a way Idol viewers never saw. The third number, Let's Dance, assumes a pulsing, throbbing club rhythm under his command, barely resembling the pseudo-horn-band arrangement of Bowie's original.
He finishes, then descends on the center-stage lift.
(From USA Today Blog)
Second song is Muse's Starlight, and the six disco balls hanging above the stage turns the Rose Garden into a planetarium. It's Adam's typically impressive song choice -- for the arrangement, imagine Erasure's Andy Bell fronting the Sisters of Mercy -- and he sings it flawlessly, beautifully, slipping in and out of falsetto. (I wonder if this begins to approach what his album will sound like -- you wouldn't hear me complaining if it did.) Matt's version of Hard to Handle was pretty cool, but this is the first of the new numbers I'd lay down cash money to hear again.
Low-level fog creeps in, as Adam takes a seat on a stool to sing the Tears for Fears/Gary Jules song Mad World. The crowd is still on its feet, and they've brought out their cameras -- you could practically read in here, the flashes are so steady. Some people are singing along; most of them just look entranced.
The guitarist cranks out the opening chords to Slow Ride start, and the audience knows what's coming -- or, rather, who. Allison Iraheta walks on stage, and the place goes ballistic.
Now, he's doing the David Bowie medley he promised, which starts with Life on Mars (and the big red planet is behind him on the video screen). As he slides into Fame, the crowd shrieks again, but it's not for the song: Adam has shed his jacket, revealing the sleeveless T underneath. He's obviously been working with JaQuel Knight on choreography, too; he's moving lithely across the stage in a way Idol viewers never saw. The third number, Let's Dance, assumes a pulsing, throbbing club rhythm under his command, barely resembling the pseudo-horn-band arrangement of Bowie's original.
He finishes, then descends on the center-stage lift.
(From USA Today Blog)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Adam Lambert, Kris Allen Hit the Stage Again as American Idols Live Tour Kicks Off in Portland
In true Robert Plant style, Adam Lambert made his arrival known, punctuating his three-octave howl on “Whole Lotta Love” with pelvic thrusts and microphone straddling, then quickly switched gears for the haunting “Mad World,” showing off his crystalline falsetto against a moody backdrop of smoke and twinkling lights. After reprising “Slow Ride,” his energetic duet with “little sister” Allison Iraheta, Lambert closed his set with a medley of Bowie songs, then sunk down into the stage to the loudest cheers of the night.
Marked by explosive bursts of noise and color, the countdown culminated in Season Eight champion Kris Allen, who eschewed theatrics for a straightforward set of Idol favorites, from the soulful, percussive “Heartless” to his stirring piano-and-vocals interpretation of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Calling for a sea of cell phones and lighters, Allen finished his set with a plaintive rendition of “Hey Jude,” bringing the rest of the Idols back on stage to close out the show with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”
Full Rock Daily article
Marked by explosive bursts of noise and color, the countdown culminated in Season Eight champion Kris Allen, who eschewed theatrics for a straightforward set of Idol favorites, from the soulful, percussive “Heartless” to his stirring piano-and-vocals interpretation of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Calling for a sea of cell phones and lighters, Allen finished his set with a plaintive rendition of “Hey Jude,” bringing the rest of the Idols back on stage to close out the show with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”
Full Rock Daily article
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Adam Lambert Talks New Moon and Glee Rumors, Bowie Medley and New CD
Rumor of the week: Adam Lambert will appear on Fox's new musical show Glee. "That's the first I'm hearing of it," he tells us. "I love rumors. They're really good these days, and they're getting better."
Next rumor to address is that that he's going to contribute a song to the next movie in the Twilight franchise, New Moon. "That's just another rumor. That would be really cool. I should [do it]." Hmmm. Hello New Moon music supervisor, are you reading this?
Read the full EOnline.com Exclusive
Next rumor to address is that that he's going to contribute a song to the next movie in the Twilight franchise, New Moon. "That's just another rumor. That would be really cool. I should [do it]." Hmmm. Hello New Moon music supervisor, are you reading this?
Read the full EOnline.com Exclusive
Friday, June 19, 2009
Adam Lambert working on six songs with RedOne on his debut album
RedOne is the producer behind three of Lady Gaga’s biggest hits — “Poker Face,” “LoveGame” and the Grammy-winning “Just Dance.”
“I want to go rock — David Bowie and Queen, but make it more easy for people to get,” RedOne said of his plans for Adam Lambert. “It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle to it, you know? You’ll like it.”
Link
“I want to go rock — David Bowie and Queen, but make it more easy for people to get,” RedOne said of his plans for Adam Lambert. “It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle to it, you know? You’ll like it.”
Link
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