My level of obsession has hit unearthly levels

Posted 2009-05-01 (金) 午前11:14 by terra

When I found out Adam Lambert had hit the bottom two this week I felt sick in my stomach. I hadn’t even watched the episode because I got my news through the grapevine.

I’ve never been an American Idol fan; never will be. This is the first season that I’ve been following dutifully and the only reason that got me into it was when I first heard his ethereal version of “Mad World” by accident when I happened to turn on the telly that day and thought to myself, oh my god this guy, he’s pushing the limits of what’s supposed to be a popularity singing show for the masses.

I went to check out his previous performances, the first of which was Ring of Fire, which I thought was amazingly cool, channelling a sort of new millennia Jeff Buckley. But when I saw his other performances including non-Idol ones I realised he was a crazy amalgamation of all my favourite rock singers – Buckley, Plant, Mercury, Bowie &ndash. What was even more breathtaking was not only could he rough up his voice rocker style while maintaining an ungodly level of vocal control, when he veered into different genres such as jazz and musicals, he had the clarity and range of one of the purest singers I’ve ever heard.

I don’t think I need to write further about why the rankings of the results show was so disturbing to me, this article sums it up perfectly for me. But let me say how disturbed I was when the evil powers-that-be tried to make a mockery out of their only star by turning him into the Huff of the night. Not funny guys.

Conpiracy theories nonwithstanding on why Lambert was in the bottom two last night, I only hope that America makes the right choice next week. Next week is Rock Week which he should fare well in. Personally, I think that even if he doesn’t win he’s already a star. But I’m rooting for him to win. If Lambert gets voted off, I’m tuning off American Idol for good, and probably so will the millions of fans out there. I don’t have the power to vote, so America, don’t ruin it for the rest of us out there.

A list of some of my favourite Lambert recordings because they really showcase his range (I didn’t list video recordings to prove my point that he’s more than just a good stage performer):

Feeling Good (studio version)

Come to Me, Bend to Me (from Brigadoon)

I Just Love You (Five for Fighting cover)

Mad World