Adam Lambert

I can't figure out why people think/assume Adam's gay. And I sure as hell wish it didn't matter. Even if those in the midwest haven't ever seen metrosecual styles, they have seen glam rock. Maybe glam rock gives them the heebie-jeebies too...?

I kind of figured Adam's fan-base grew complacent which allowed Kris to win.

I don't recall Adam doing rap (and I'm not sure I would want to hear that, so if he did, I blocked it out) and Kris rather pointedly stayed away from a current country sound and comes off as a soft rock folk combo. He isn't the seasoned performed that Adam obviously is but I think he's going to refine and improve his style with the reed-like timber of his vocal tonality, while Adam has got those brass-like timbres down pat. They both can get into the range and timbre of a sax.

It still boils down to personal preference and if Danny's performances on the finale are any example, he needs more vocal polishing with some more coaching -- he hit some noticeably, as Randy would say, pitchy notes.

adam Lambert and Queen would be a match made in heaven.

Glam rock is, of course, from the early 70's, a British reaction to the rock of the then past hippie era. It did influence David Bowie, Queen, Kiss, Elton John, Boy George, and many others to incorporate some of the trend but they have survived and the artist like Gary Glitter and T. Tex have faded into the past. Is it time for a revival? Nope -- I don't think so and Adam's course is the right one in which he did not even try to classify himself, least of all by coming out. It is a big "so what." I think he goofed when he said anything about metro-sexual and eye liner. Glam rock hasn't been in the public mind since the mild success of "Velvet Goldmine" in 1998 and even that is still a cult movie. The only way to win American Idol is to have some universality.

Has everyone forgot that the teen pop idols today are the Jonas Brothers and Zac Efron, not anyone remotely like Adam? That could be a good thing for Adam and he did rake in votes after all, but it's obviously good for Kris Allen who fits the profile.

I do agree that the panel should stay away from endorsing a contestant as the ultimate winner, even by inference -- it has produced complacency in the past and probably in the area of multiple voting.

I don't watch American Idol unless my mom is in town so I don't know about the whole gay v. Christian angle.I went and looked at some videos though.

Adam looks like the guy from Good Charlotte. His appearance shouldn't have hurt him one bit. He does have a beautiful, clear voice. I agree with Bear, "Queen" would be a good match, or some Meatloaf type stuff.

I usually don't like modern country music but I like that Kris guy a lot. He sounded a little gruffer and I like that. I probably would have voted for him.

As far as I'm concerned, the wrong people faced off in the final round. It should have been Allison and Danny.

Lambert's screecy high tones - yuck!

As in the past, time will tell, and recording companies have to put an investment in those who didn't make the finals, let alone win. Let's see if they want to hand out a career to any of the thirteen -- I think there will be more who end up with singing as a profession than any previous AI.

The "Midwest" thing has come up a couple of times so let me say that my Adam-fan friends who are appalled that Kris won are all Midwesterners...!

Re: why people think he's gay, I happened across something saying he was gay at some point -- Andrew Sullivan? I have no idea, but it was mostly approving, as in "this guy is gay and America isn't freaking out about it!" -- and followed links and it seems like there's not much question. There are the pictures DrewDad alludes to (Adam kissing a guy -- agreed with DrewDad's comments there) and then also he's apparently been coy about it in an "of course I am but I can't just SAY it if I have a hope of winning" sort of way. Maybe he'll come out soon, or maybe it'll become "of course I am but I can't just SAY it if I have a hope of striking while the iron's hot and getting a real career out of this."

At any rate, I don't think it's just about how he looks.

Reyn, Alison had my vote right on through.

Yup, us, too! I thought she was amazing.

There were other people as well that we thought deserved to stay in longer, like Anoop.

I'll also say that non-vocal issues have played into how much I liked some of the singers.

I found the sleeve tattoo a huge distraction, for example.

On the other hand, I don't vote on the singers....

The good news is that getting jobbed as an amateur doesn't seem to affect professional careers much. Anybody here remember the names of the guys Roy Jones or Evander Holyfield "lost" to in the olympics??

For my money Dancing with the Stars is a better show. In fact, a spectacularly good show and a legitimate contender for best thing which has been on television since they took Have Gun Will Travel off the air in 59.

Thanks for the responses everyone! I have a better sense of the whole thing and it sounds like reasonable people can disagree, and that Kris' win isn't necessarily a travesty.

This article is right in line with what most of you have been saying, though it is quite pro-Adam:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/arts/music/22idol.html

I voted for Sanjaya.

I just gave a simple comparsion between two types of music - not meant to compare the actual singers - I didn't know that Kris was country either by the way.

Kris probably hasn't found his genre yet. The NYT article was pretty good.
I also thought that Danny had an excellent voice - reminds me so much of
Joe Cocker and nowadays you very seldom hear such a deep, rich voice in
singers.

Adam is a flamboyant performer, yes, but so were others. Just think of
Jimmy Hendrix and Jim Morrison. Hendrix did wear eyeliner too, long
before it became a trend with performers. Based on his talent, Adam
definitely will make his mark in the music industry, now probably even
more so.

It has been suggested that if Kris did go into country music he would do quite well. I think he wants to be free with this style and remain as a pop singer with the nuances of country and folk. Pop is the largest section in the CD departments of Target and Walmart, and the largest selection of all the genres at Amazon. Rock is second, but soft rock usually gets displayed in the pop section and I don't think Kris is altogether headed in that direction.

We're talking time travel here -- although older rock and pop artists come back in concerts and make a CD here and there, the flamboyant performers are basically gone. Can Adam light the fire? He's switched consistently into comfortable pop, even toning down the glam. Hard to say what record label handlers will advise him to do.

My God I LOVE Adam's voice. I hardly ever hear talent on American Idol, but that guy more than made up for it. In one of his songs he sang something like a TOP E, not in falsetto!!!! I didn't even know that was possible!? His tone is amazing, his musicality is incredible and his performance is flawless. HE DESERVED TO WIN!!

postscript:

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/adam-lambert-finally-confirms-i-m-gay/23594?nc