Dear flist, I'd like to talk to you about the advantages of accepting Adam Lambert into your life.
So, um. I finally forced myself to watch ALL of Adam's clips from AI8. (That show makes me feel viscerally uncomfortable, but I made it through, and I'm really glad I did, and I don't intend to watch the show ever again.)
And now I have THOUGHTS. MANY, MANY THOUGHTS.
Below the cut, you will find a ton of YouTube links, much detailed flailing in CAPSLOCK, and fangirly squee that's pretty fucking outdated because what, this stuff aired months and months ago and everybody's heard/read/written it all before! But that's OK because this fandom is supernice to newbies like me.
YOU GUYS. YOU JUST TOLD ME HE WAS MAGICAL. YOU DIDN'T WARN ME ABOUT THE META-NARRATIVE.
Disclaimer/context: American Idol freaks me out because the setup consists of ambitious, talented, dreamy-eyed people constructing performances (in a live arena, no less), only to have those performances deconstructed in often very negative ways. As an introvert, I feel there are few things worse in life than trying to communicate your vision of yourself to the public, only to have it shredded, in your face, with millions of people watching (which is a sort of INCOMPREHENSIBLE level of squick for me).
Anyway, I can tell from random clips I've seen here and there that some contestants just fit themselves into the aesthetic of the show itself and, you know, sing. Adam Lambert - NOT SO MUCH. This made me even more nervous about watching him on AI: that he puts forth such elaborately crafted performances and does such an involved job of trying to get the viewers onto his wavelength, that I thought I'd DIE of embarrassment on his behalf if/when the axe falls. I mean, just based on what I'd seen of him FIRST in the media - the video for FYE, the AMA appearance, and that album cover (!!!!!) - I knew he was the kind of artist who puts forth a FANTASY rather than just a show, and tries hard to get the audience to SHARE IT WITH HIM, and... OMG. If it doesn't work, it is extra heartbreaking because I've always felt that fantasies are more personal than any illusion of intimacy and closeness (and the resulting entitlement by some fans) created by the so-called "reality TV" setup. Not to say that the contestants on the show are NOT GENUINE or whatever, but - they are performing, on stage and off, the entire time those cameras are rolling. That's what AI is. The best shot at witnessing "reality" is paying attention at the way they carve out their stage identities.
But enough about that. ANYWAY, I thought I knew what to expect. I thought I was ready to watch and then be done with it, the end.
AHAHAHA OMG. I HAD NO IDEA.
(Btw, I tried to list the clips in chronological order per Wiki listing of performance days/rounds, but if any of these don't match the timeline, please let me know.)
***
First up: AUDITION - in which he's very charming and cute and wow, he can sing, and... that's that. Yeah.
Then there's the group stuff, and while it's fun and his improv sounds terrific and kinda scary-confident in Some Kind of Wonderful... I'm still not invested. Still sounds like an audition. Meh.
And THEN, there's the performance of Believe. By CHER. Which he PICKED for his SOLO. Um. How often do contestants on this show engage in random genderfuckery with their song choices? Is this common?!? And it's not like he selected to sing something by a random female artist; he picked a HUGE CLUB HIT by a DISCO DIVA.
And then he sang it like a freakin' TORCH SONG.
*breathes* OK. OK. At this point I'm thinking, maybe "Believe" was selected because it's got a powerful tune and can show off wild range and vocal control, even moreso in a soft, acoustic arrangement. Maybe he did NOT deliberately pull out the human heart of a disco anthem, placed it in front of the judges, and went guerilla po-mo on a shitload of cultural/identity issues WITH ONE SONG INTERPRETATION. You know, just for kicks, because messing with people's perception and understanding of the world around them is SO DAMN COMMON ANYWAY.
...yeah. OK. Not reading into this too much AT ALL.
(This is where I start to fall. Hard. SURPRISE.)
*
Adam's first performance in front of a live audience and the judges was the Top 36 with Satisfaction by The Stones. And OMG, bless his ultracompetitive socks, he throws in EVERYTHING HE'S GOT. And of course it's too much! Still, he introduces his selection as his mom's favorite band (*HANDS*) and then does the whole rock star overachiever act with such determination on that stage, that... damn, the whole thing actually comes across as adorable. Also, he sings his ass off on one of the world's most recognizable tunes while trying to make it his own. Major points for effort, fewer for execution.
Bottom line: his message to the audience with this performance is basically, "Hey world, I can do ANYTHING. Better look the fuck out. Hi mom!"
OH, ADAM. ♥
*
And then... there's the Top 13 with MJ's Black or White.
This one freaked me out.
It starts out with swagger and crazy!presence and stage confidence that's maybe a bit forced rather than felt, but you can tell this is HIS ecosystem, even if he needs some more time to get used to it. UNTIL he hits that bridge, and the middle of the song nearly COLLAPSES from... jesus, I mean, don't know about you but I hear some anger there. And not the fabricated-for-the-show anger, because there's the theatrical "controlled loss of control" of one's voice, and then there's the stuff that sounds kind of... shaky and too personal and you're not sure if the next note will be anywhere near where it's supposed to be, and OMG THIS MADE ME SO NERVOUS. I just - I cannot TELL how much of this performance is new!big!stage! jitters, and how much is vocal drama thrown in to toughen up an MJ song, and how much might be something else. And FUCKING HELL, it doesn't help that at the end, HE LOOKS KIND OF - DETERMINED NOT TO CRY. (At this point in the YouTube clip, I am hugging the laptop to my chest and rocking and SHUSHING at it.)
This is a song about racism. At the risk of oversimplifying/appropriating, on a broader level, it's also a song about dealing with offensive, direct, damaging, in-your-face prejudice. And he looks OVERCOME when the judges start saying fantastic things about BOTH his singing AND HIM (which is unusual, right?!). I mean, Simon actually SMILES IN AN ENCOURAGING FASHION! (All my knowledge of Simon is second-hand pop culture, but I'm pretty sure he rarely smiles like that. IF EVER.) And... here is where I feel kind of STUNNED and AFRAID, and I don't know enough about the timeline so please help me if you followed the entire season: I know at some point during AI8 the tabloids published pics of Adam with a guy (I think they were kissing?) and there must have been some nasty shit of the "AI gay exposé" variety swirling around him at the time, and... OMG, PEOPLE. If this was happening BEFORE THIS PERFORMANCE, if it MIGHT HAVE informed the song choice AND the way he sang it - well, actually, you shouldn't tell me because I THINK I'D WEEP FOR DAYS.
OMG. I can't even. *hides face*
ETA confirmation, from a comment below:
"Black or White" was actually right after pictures came out of him in drag and kissing boys and being wonderfully, unambiguously gay. So that performance was the first time America would get a chance to vote on him post-"the pictures," and he went out and did that song, and it was so completely a fuck-you to anyone who was planning on voting against him because of it. And then they loved him for it!
BRB CRYING HARD. But I'm also happy, because OMG THE WORLD OCCASIONALLY DOES NOT SUCK and he made it to the next round. *weeps like a baby*
*
Thank the GODS OF CAMP, the next number was Top 11 - Ring of Fire.
This is the clearest demonstration of Adam's "yeah, no, we're gonna have MY FANTASY now, mkay?" attitude when putting together his performances. And it is fucking AMAZING. The song itself... ahahaha, yeah, just LISTEN to the thing. Really, the entire setup - clothes, makeup, jewelry, gigantic FLAMES in the background, lights, movement - is just SCREAMING with self-affirmation, albeit very playful. Btw, that's another thing that probably helps Adam make his viewers a willing participatory audience, make them want to play along with his easily-too-ridiculous shows: he doesn't seem to have an ego as an artist. Or rather, he does but he doesn't channel his sense of self into arrogance when he's performing. The vibe he gives off is very much "I'm here to play! This is so much fun! I totally have a sense of humor about this! COME JOIN ME!!!" which is why, yes, I AM SO THERE.
However, and I think I'm alone in this, but: maybe BECAUSE this is the performance where he uses/codes his body as so deliberately sexual, that the whole thing feels more campy than sexy to me. I mean, he is tall, and dark, and handsome: and he's GORGEOUS and SHINY and REALLY good at moving those hips, and that outfit would stop traffic, and I completely understand the urge to scream when he sort of casually/accidentally lifts the corner of his shirt at one point, but... well. Although his physical presence is quite, ah, striking on its own, this is erotica as performance art - which is why I enjoy it aesthetically more than, um, hormonally.
ALSO: in case the whole "gay exposé" thing was already surrounding him at this point, and the audience either knew or suspected he was gay? Holy cow, what a FABULOUS move. My favorite thing about Adam's public persona is the fact that he's both glittery AND aggressively sexual (omg, glorious top! GLORIOUS!!!), which before him did not even exist as a "category" in the cultural mainstream representations of gay men. And he is very visible, and also REALLY HOT, and... yeah. I hope somebody somewhere is writing a dissertation about the evolution of female desire in the time of Adam Lambert, because - well, he is making history here. I'm not even kidding.
(Btw, I love the rock-star-meets-slutty-pop-star cleavage thing. With all that GOLD, ahahaha. SO MUCH WIN.)
*
And now, for something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
For Top 10, Adam sang Tracks of My Tears. It was an acoustic arrangement for very soft, clean, tender vocals; he wore a suit and no makeup; and the song invited a look at the heartbreak behind the performed happiness of the narrator. The GENIUS of this rendition is that it looks almost painfully personal and genuine, especially after the previous getups and arrangements that qualified Adam in the eyes of the audience as a vendor of stage fantasy. Of course, this IS another performance, as carefully stylized and constructed as any of the others he'd done; but what makes it AMAZING is that at this point, to the audience used to deliberate constructions of the "more is more" kind, the new "less is more" setup doesn't FEEL like a stage act. There is nothing more fascinating than a successful performance of authenticity, and he pulls it off INCREDIBLY WELL with this song. God, just listen to those lyrics. It's PERFECT.
(I've heard many times that what makes certain performers great is their complete belief in what they're doing on stage, as if the act is reality of their lives at that moment, and - well, that might be why even the most outrageous of Adam's performances gain a foothold in the viewer's imagination: of COURSE they're true at the moment when they're happening, and of COURSE we'll follow him into the song. \o/)
*
For Top 9, he performed Play That Funky Music. This is just FUN - yes, close to corny, but (as I mentioned above) it's really the attitude that turns the act into an upbeat, crazy, playful, amped up celebration. You wanna party with this guy.
ETA: I've been thinking about this one a lot lately, actually, and I think a MAJOR part of Adam's appeal is that he makes the cheesy pleasures in life (like this song) feel LESS CHEESY, because he goes for it SO over the top and with such gusto and confidence and determination, that... yeah. We can't help ourselves. *sigh*
*
And oh, then there's Top 8 - Mad World.
Adam went back to the performance of authenticity with this one - the clean, simple, ethereal, "personal" stage act. At a few points, he unravels his voice to that trademark rich and mighty "Broadway" sound that set him apart from the beginning; but for most of the song, he keeps it sort of soft and thin and vulnerable sounding. It's ASTONISHINGLY effective. The lyrics are not as, uh, directly aimed at the performer's persona as in "Tracks of My Tears" but they are striking and poignant, a testimony of isolation and Otherness. The point is that the song requires intimacy at a distance - unlike "Tracks," it's not a conversation so much as a confession - and he NAILS IT.
On a meta level, this is possibly the most incredible work he's done on AI: by now the viewers are aware of his performativity, they have witnessed the overt constructions of his stage work as well as his performances of authenticity, they've seen him go back and forth between the two, and with this song they get to assume the position of, well, sophisticated equilibrium: they get to be the knowing, intimately acquainted, yet distanced audience that has an established relationship with the performer (rather than with Adam as a "person" which is what AI ultimately encourages). I just - I LOVE what this rendition sets up.
Not to mention that he sounds amazing, once again.
*
(OMG, ARE YOU STILL READING?!? I DON'T BELIEVE YOU. FUCK, I DON'T BELIEVE I'M STILL WRITING. HOLY CRAP, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.)
OK. Quick run-through for the next couple of songs, because honestly, they are escalation rather than a qualitative switcharoo (which is OK because there's only so much excitement an audience can handle, I mean COME ON).
Top 7 - Born To Be Wild - pure rock star. Ends the song on his knees, the audience screams itself into oblivion, GOOD TIMES ARE HAD BY ALL. Damn, '70s rock is good for him.
Top 7(1) - If I Can't Have You - disco done slowly and soulfully, a female artist's torch song performed with a very masculine look (suit and tie). This one's reminiscent of his treatment of "Believe" and, more than any other song of his on AI, his voice SHATTERS ME in this rendition. It's extraordinary, pitch-perfect, and... gah, he is SO DAMN GOOD.
*
OK, I need a little more time with this one because Top 5 was Feeling Good, and - OMFG, YOU GUYS. (You know, once upon a time I used to associate this song with feminine hygiene products. That's never gonna happen AGAIN.)
The staging is Rat Pack, classy and masculine and CHARGED, and um. Forget the stairs and the drama and the white suit: by sheer vocals alone, this song MANHANDLED ME INTO BLISS. *shaky sigh* Sure, "Ring of Fire" has its appeal - but IMO, there's nothing more seductive than a performance that REVELS in hedonism, note by note, that flows with perfectly CONTROLLED vocals, powerful and sharp and rich and textured, and then just - flies into exuberance and joy and LUST FOR LIFE and you are STUCK on that ride so you might as well enjoy it while it lasts. *cough*
I've always thought of this song as a declaration of emotional/spiritual optimism, resolve and victory; but DAMN, the way he growls out that first "and I'm feeling... GOOD" - that is literal, and hot, and PURE PHYSICAL PLEASURE. Fandom is already happily celebrating the fact that he is so CARNAL, and I love that this stage act illustrates it perfectly. Damn, this is SEXY AS HELL.
*
Speaking of sexy, for Top 4 Adam performed Whole Lotta Love. I think I'm just going to let this one stand on its own, because it can and it DOES, and his enjoyment of this song is contagious and overwhelming, and... there's really nothing more to say. Pure Robert Plant energy on that stage. (ahahaha, NOBODY CAN TOP THAT, indeed.)
*
Top 4 was the duet with Allison, Slow Ride. More rock, more adorableness, excellent match of rich, textured voices, and. OMG PANTS. (It's 4am; I declare this the shallow time zone.)
*
Top 3 was Simon's choice, U2's One - I'm pretty attached to this song, but I LOVED this cover (possibly because it didn't try to compromise by being innovative in a half-assed way). He starts out pretty clean, but then goes all Mary J. Blige in the middle, and... damn, this really WORKS. Also, after Adam's interpretation and the emotional clarity he injected into it? There's no way anybody would use this song for their wedding again. COME ON.
*
The second Top 3 performance was Adam's choice, Cryin' by Aerosmith. I haaaaate the supporting vocal, but damn, he's having a fantastic time with the song. Rock brings out the husky quality in his voice for these "rough" but stunningly precise performances - they're hot as hell, and he looks very comfortable in leather, and I enjoyed this one to pieces. :D
*
I'm not sure what happens at Top 2 - do contestants get to choose a song to repeat from their season's work? Anyway, he did Mad World again, and it was fantastic (again): polished and gorgeous and RIGHT. I love the artistic persona he assumes here. SIGH.
*
Another Top 2 song - A Change Is Gonna Come - is top notch r&b performance with added dimension of a possible political reading. As a declaration of autonomy, this is an excellent choice to close the show. Dayum.
*
I have no thoughts on No Boundaries. Somehow I doubt anyone's disappointed.
*
Finally, I can't BELIEVE that the people who've seen him on AI could be shocked by his current career (either the FYE video or that AMA performance). Mostly because of his stage acts with Queen and ESPECIALLY with Kiss. (Btw, his outfit for the Kiss performance is my FAVORITE EVER. The wings. The boots. The 'GATOR, motherfuckers.) I just... *flaily arms* HOW CAN YOU BE SURPRISED. REALLY.
(I am not including the final voting clip. I'll just say it's beautiful to see such grace on my TV. Oh, Adam. ♥ )
***
OKAY!!!
At the end of all this AI watching, the most important revelation for me was the diversity of his performative range. You see, I discovered him via FYE video and AMA appearance; then I might have stared for a good 5 minutes at his album cover (ahahaha, the font used on For Your Entertainment is the same as the font on the Dirty Dancing movie poster, and that is TOO AWESOME TO BE A COINCIDENCE, Y/Y? Nobody puts Kris in the corner? ... please don't write this). So I had an IDEA that he could be a performative genius, but I had a pretty small sampling to work with.
And so I tried to CLASSIFY this persona as, well, something relevant to my interests. (By all means, please go laugh at my post about how he totally is a dungeon master, you guys, I'm TELLING you. Because I bought that hook, line and sinker, and I'm still kinda clutching at it a little bit. Um.) Except as soon as I started to learn more about him via interviews and media coverage post-AMAs, I realized that his "default" public persona is a freakin' SWEETHEART. Seriously, how can one person be THAT ADORABLE?!
(At this point, my brain informed me: "You seem to have developed the hots for a BDSM panda. I need to reboot now and possibly stay off until you return to your senses. KTHX.")
Which is why it's AWESOME that I got to see his work on AI because, well, I thought I knew, but now I TRULY GET IT. THIS IS EPIC, YOU GUYS. And I am REALLY EXCITED, because there's NOTHING he can't do, and he has ANY PERFORMATIVE DIRECTION HE WANTS at his disposal because he can do them ALL, and the fandom that's exploded around him can look forward to an INSANE creative scope to interpret and play with because this stuff is... ENDLESS.
I cannot WAIT for the coming decades of his career. IT IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN. LET THE FREEDOM BEGIN! \o/
Okay then.
IF YOU READ ALL OF THIS, I OWE YOU A DRINK. WILL MAKE IT A DOUBLE. MEET ME AT THE BAR AND WEAR SOMETHING SLUTTY.
In conclusion:
*happy sigh*
And now I have THOUGHTS. MANY, MANY THOUGHTS.
Below the cut, you will find a ton of YouTube links, much detailed flailing in CAPSLOCK, and fangirly squee that's pretty fucking outdated because what, this stuff aired months and months ago and everybody's heard/read/written it all before! But that's OK because this fandom is supernice to newbies like me.
YOU GUYS. YOU JUST TOLD ME HE WAS MAGICAL. YOU DIDN'T WARN ME ABOUT THE META-NARRATIVE.
Disclaimer/context: American Idol freaks me out because the setup consists of ambitious, talented, dreamy-eyed people constructing performances (in a live arena, no less), only to have those performances deconstructed in often very negative ways. As an introvert, I feel there are few things worse in life than trying to communicate your vision of yourself to the public, only to have it shredded, in your face, with millions of people watching (which is a sort of INCOMPREHENSIBLE level of squick for me).
Anyway, I can tell from random clips I've seen here and there that some contestants just fit themselves into the aesthetic of the show itself and, you know, sing. Adam Lambert - NOT SO MUCH. This made me even more nervous about watching him on AI: that he puts forth such elaborately crafted performances and does such an involved job of trying to get the viewers onto his wavelength, that I thought I'd DIE of embarrassment on his behalf if/when the axe falls. I mean, just based on what I'd seen of him FIRST in the media - the video for FYE, the AMA appearance, and that album cover (!!!!!) - I knew he was the kind of artist who puts forth a FANTASY rather than just a show, and tries hard to get the audience to SHARE IT WITH HIM, and... OMG. If it doesn't work, it is extra heartbreaking because I've always felt that fantasies are more personal than any illusion of intimacy and closeness (and the resulting entitlement by some fans) created by the so-called "reality TV" setup. Not to say that the contestants on the show are NOT GENUINE or whatever, but - they are performing, on stage and off, the entire time those cameras are rolling. That's what AI is. The best shot at witnessing "reality" is paying attention at the way they carve out their stage identities.
But enough about that. ANYWAY, I thought I knew what to expect. I thought I was ready to watch and then be done with it, the end.
AHAHAHA OMG. I HAD NO IDEA.
(Btw, I tried to list the clips in chronological order per Wiki listing of performance days/rounds, but if any of these don't match the timeline, please let me know.)
***
First up: AUDITION - in which he's very charming and cute and wow, he can sing, and... that's that. Yeah.
Then there's the group stuff, and while it's fun and his improv sounds terrific and kinda scary-confident in Some Kind of Wonderful... I'm still not invested. Still sounds like an audition. Meh.
And THEN, there's the performance of Believe. By CHER. Which he PICKED for his SOLO. Um. How often do contestants on this show engage in random genderfuckery with their song choices? Is this common?!? And it's not like he selected to sing something by a random female artist; he picked a HUGE CLUB HIT by a DISCO DIVA.
And then he sang it like a freakin' TORCH SONG.
*breathes* OK. OK. At this point I'm thinking, maybe "Believe" was selected because it's got a powerful tune and can show off wild range and vocal control, even moreso in a soft, acoustic arrangement. Maybe he did NOT deliberately pull out the human heart of a disco anthem, placed it in front of the judges, and went guerilla po-mo on a shitload of cultural/identity issues WITH ONE SONG INTERPRETATION. You know, just for kicks, because messing with people's perception and understanding of the world around them is SO DAMN COMMON ANYWAY.
...yeah. OK. Not reading into this too much AT ALL.
(This is where I start to fall. Hard. SURPRISE.)
*
Adam's first performance in front of a live audience and the judges was the Top 36 with Satisfaction by The Stones. And OMG, bless his ultracompetitive socks, he throws in EVERYTHING HE'S GOT. And of course it's too much! Still, he introduces his selection as his mom's favorite band (*HANDS*) and then does the whole rock star overachiever act with such determination on that stage, that... damn, the whole thing actually comes across as adorable. Also, he sings his ass off on one of the world's most recognizable tunes while trying to make it his own. Major points for effort, fewer for execution.
Bottom line: his message to the audience with this performance is basically, "Hey world, I can do ANYTHING. Better look the fuck out. Hi mom!"
OH, ADAM. ♥
*
And then... there's the Top 13 with MJ's Black or White.
This one freaked me out.
It starts out with swagger and crazy!presence and stage confidence that's maybe a bit forced rather than felt, but you can tell this is HIS ecosystem, even if he needs some more time to get used to it. UNTIL he hits that bridge, and the middle of the song nearly COLLAPSES from... jesus, I mean, don't know about you but I hear some anger there. And not the fabricated-for-the-show anger, because there's the theatrical "controlled loss of control" of one's voice, and then there's the stuff that sounds kind of... shaky and too personal and you're not sure if the next note will be anywhere near where it's supposed to be, and OMG THIS MADE ME SO NERVOUS. I just - I cannot TELL how much of this performance is new!big!stage! jitters, and how much is vocal drama thrown in to toughen up an MJ song, and how much might be something else. And FUCKING HELL, it doesn't help that at the end, HE LOOKS KIND OF - DETERMINED NOT TO CRY. (At this point in the YouTube clip, I am hugging the laptop to my chest and rocking and SHUSHING at it.)
This is a song about racism. At the risk of oversimplifying/appropriating, on a broader level, it's also a song about dealing with offensive, direct, damaging, in-your-face prejudice. And he looks OVERCOME when the judges start saying fantastic things about BOTH his singing AND HIM (which is unusual, right?!). I mean, Simon actually SMILES IN AN ENCOURAGING FASHION! (All my knowledge of Simon is second-hand pop culture, but I'm pretty sure he rarely smiles like that. IF EVER.) And... here is where I feel kind of STUNNED and AFRAID, and I don't know enough about the timeline so please help me if you followed the entire season: I know at some point during AI8 the tabloids published pics of Adam with a guy (I think they were kissing?) and there must have been some nasty shit of the "AI gay exposé" variety swirling around him at the time, and... OMG, PEOPLE. If this was happening BEFORE THIS PERFORMANCE, if it MIGHT HAVE informed the song choice AND the way he sang it - well, actually, you shouldn't tell me because I THINK I'D WEEP FOR DAYS.
OMG. I can't even. *hides face*
ETA confirmation, from a comment below:
"Black or White" was actually right after pictures came out of him in drag and kissing boys and being wonderfully, unambiguously gay. So that performance was the first time America would get a chance to vote on him post-"the pictures," and he went out and did that song, and it was so completely a fuck-you to anyone who was planning on voting against him because of it. And then they loved him for it!
BRB CRYING HARD. But I'm also happy, because OMG THE WORLD OCCASIONALLY DOES NOT SUCK and he made it to the next round. *weeps like a baby*
*
Thank the GODS OF CAMP, the next number was Top 11 - Ring of Fire.
This is the clearest demonstration of Adam's "yeah, no, we're gonna have MY FANTASY now, mkay?" attitude when putting together his performances. And it is fucking AMAZING. The song itself... ahahaha, yeah, just LISTEN to the thing. Really, the entire setup - clothes, makeup, jewelry, gigantic FLAMES in the background, lights, movement - is just SCREAMING with self-affirmation, albeit very playful. Btw, that's another thing that probably helps Adam make his viewers a willing participatory audience, make them want to play along with his easily-too-ridiculous shows: he doesn't seem to have an ego as an artist. Or rather, he does but he doesn't channel his sense of self into arrogance when he's performing. The vibe he gives off is very much "I'm here to play! This is so much fun! I totally have a sense of humor about this! COME JOIN ME!!!" which is why, yes, I AM SO THERE.
However, and I think I'm alone in this, but: maybe BECAUSE this is the performance where he uses/codes his body as so deliberately sexual, that the whole thing feels more campy than sexy to me. I mean, he is tall, and dark, and handsome: and he's GORGEOUS and SHINY and REALLY good at moving those hips, and that outfit would stop traffic, and I completely understand the urge to scream when he sort of casually/accidentally lifts the corner of his shirt at one point, but... well. Although his physical presence is quite, ah, striking on its own, this is erotica as performance art - which is why I enjoy it aesthetically more than, um, hormonally.
ALSO: in case the whole "gay exposé" thing was already surrounding him at this point, and the audience either knew or suspected he was gay? Holy cow, what a FABULOUS move. My favorite thing about Adam's public persona is the fact that he's both glittery AND aggressively sexual (omg, glorious top! GLORIOUS!!!), which before him did not even exist as a "category" in the cultural mainstream representations of gay men. And he is very visible, and also REALLY HOT, and... yeah. I hope somebody somewhere is writing a dissertation about the evolution of female desire in the time of Adam Lambert, because - well, he is making history here. I'm not even kidding.
(Btw, I love the rock-star-meets-slutty-pop-star cleavage thing. With all that GOLD, ahahaha. SO MUCH WIN.)
*
And now, for something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
For Top 10, Adam sang Tracks of My Tears. It was an acoustic arrangement for very soft, clean, tender vocals; he wore a suit and no makeup; and the song invited a look at the heartbreak behind the performed happiness of the narrator. The GENIUS of this rendition is that it looks almost painfully personal and genuine, especially after the previous getups and arrangements that qualified Adam in the eyes of the audience as a vendor of stage fantasy. Of course, this IS another performance, as carefully stylized and constructed as any of the others he'd done; but what makes it AMAZING is that at this point, to the audience used to deliberate constructions of the "more is more" kind, the new "less is more" setup doesn't FEEL like a stage act. There is nothing more fascinating than a successful performance of authenticity, and he pulls it off INCREDIBLY WELL with this song. God, just listen to those lyrics. It's PERFECT.
(I've heard many times that what makes certain performers great is their complete belief in what they're doing on stage, as if the act is reality of their lives at that moment, and - well, that might be why even the most outrageous of Adam's performances gain a foothold in the viewer's imagination: of COURSE they're true at the moment when they're happening, and of COURSE we'll follow him into the song. \o/)
*
For Top 9, he performed Play That Funky Music. This is just FUN - yes, close to corny, but (as I mentioned above) it's really the attitude that turns the act into an upbeat, crazy, playful, amped up celebration. You wanna party with this guy.
ETA: I've been thinking about this one a lot lately, actually, and I think a MAJOR part of Adam's appeal is that he makes the cheesy pleasures in life (like this song) feel LESS CHEESY, because he goes for it SO over the top and with such gusto and confidence and determination, that... yeah. We can't help ourselves. *sigh*
*
And oh, then there's Top 8 - Mad World.
Adam went back to the performance of authenticity with this one - the clean, simple, ethereal, "personal" stage act. At a few points, he unravels his voice to that trademark rich and mighty "Broadway" sound that set him apart from the beginning; but for most of the song, he keeps it sort of soft and thin and vulnerable sounding. It's ASTONISHINGLY effective. The lyrics are not as, uh, directly aimed at the performer's persona as in "Tracks of My Tears" but they are striking and poignant, a testimony of isolation and Otherness. The point is that the song requires intimacy at a distance - unlike "Tracks," it's not a conversation so much as a confession - and he NAILS IT.
On a meta level, this is possibly the most incredible work he's done on AI: by now the viewers are aware of his performativity, they have witnessed the overt constructions of his stage work as well as his performances of authenticity, they've seen him go back and forth between the two, and with this song they get to assume the position of, well, sophisticated equilibrium: they get to be the knowing, intimately acquainted, yet distanced audience that has an established relationship with the performer (rather than with Adam as a "person" which is what AI ultimately encourages). I just - I LOVE what this rendition sets up.
Not to mention that he sounds amazing, once again.
*
(OMG, ARE YOU STILL READING?!? I DON'T BELIEVE YOU. FUCK, I DON'T BELIEVE I'M STILL WRITING. HOLY CRAP, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.)
OK. Quick run-through for the next couple of songs, because honestly, they are escalation rather than a qualitative switcharoo (which is OK because there's only so much excitement an audience can handle, I mean COME ON).
Top 7 - Born To Be Wild - pure rock star. Ends the song on his knees, the audience screams itself into oblivion, GOOD TIMES ARE HAD BY ALL. Damn, '70s rock is good for him.
Top 7(1) - If I Can't Have You - disco done slowly and soulfully, a female artist's torch song performed with a very masculine look (suit and tie). This one's reminiscent of his treatment of "Believe" and, more than any other song of his on AI, his voice SHATTERS ME in this rendition. It's extraordinary, pitch-perfect, and... gah, he is SO DAMN GOOD.
*
OK, I need a little more time with this one because Top 5 was Feeling Good, and - OMFG, YOU GUYS. (You know, once upon a time I used to associate this song with feminine hygiene products. That's never gonna happen AGAIN.)
The staging is Rat Pack, classy and masculine and CHARGED, and um. Forget the stairs and the drama and the white suit: by sheer vocals alone, this song MANHANDLED ME INTO BLISS. *shaky sigh* Sure, "Ring of Fire" has its appeal - but IMO, there's nothing more seductive than a performance that REVELS in hedonism, note by note, that flows with perfectly CONTROLLED vocals, powerful and sharp and rich and textured, and then just - flies into exuberance and joy and LUST FOR LIFE and you are STUCK on that ride so you might as well enjoy it while it lasts. *cough*
I've always thought of this song as a declaration of emotional/spiritual optimism, resolve and victory; but DAMN, the way he growls out that first "and I'm feeling... GOOD" - that is literal, and hot, and PURE PHYSICAL PLEASURE. Fandom is already happily celebrating the fact that he is so CARNAL, and I love that this stage act illustrates it perfectly. Damn, this is SEXY AS HELL.
*
Speaking of sexy, for Top 4 Adam performed Whole Lotta Love. I think I'm just going to let this one stand on its own, because it can and it DOES, and his enjoyment of this song is contagious and overwhelming, and... there's really nothing more to say. Pure Robert Plant energy on that stage. (ahahaha, NOBODY CAN TOP THAT, indeed.)
*
Top 4 was the duet with Allison, Slow Ride. More rock, more adorableness, excellent match of rich, textured voices, and. OMG PANTS. (It's 4am; I declare this the shallow time zone.)
*
Top 3 was Simon's choice, U2's One - I'm pretty attached to this song, but I LOVED this cover (possibly because it didn't try to compromise by being innovative in a half-assed way). He starts out pretty clean, but then goes all Mary J. Blige in the middle, and... damn, this really WORKS. Also, after Adam's interpretation and the emotional clarity he injected into it? There's no way anybody would use this song for their wedding again. COME ON.
*
The second Top 3 performance was Adam's choice, Cryin' by Aerosmith. I haaaaate the supporting vocal, but damn, he's having a fantastic time with the song. Rock brings out the husky quality in his voice for these "rough" but stunningly precise performances - they're hot as hell, and he looks very comfortable in leather, and I enjoyed this one to pieces. :D
*
I'm not sure what happens at Top 2 - do contestants get to choose a song to repeat from their season's work? Anyway, he did Mad World again, and it was fantastic (again): polished and gorgeous and RIGHT. I love the artistic persona he assumes here. SIGH.
*
Another Top 2 song - A Change Is Gonna Come - is top notch r&b performance with added dimension of a possible political reading. As a declaration of autonomy, this is an excellent choice to close the show. Dayum.
*
I have no thoughts on No Boundaries. Somehow I doubt anyone's disappointed.
*
Finally, I can't BELIEVE that the people who've seen him on AI could be shocked by his current career (either the FYE video or that AMA performance). Mostly because of his stage acts with Queen and ESPECIALLY with Kiss. (Btw, his outfit for the Kiss performance is my FAVORITE EVER. The wings. The boots. The 'GATOR, motherfuckers.) I just... *flaily arms* HOW CAN YOU BE SURPRISED. REALLY.
(I am not including the final voting clip. I'll just say it's beautiful to see such grace on my TV. Oh, Adam. ♥ )
***
OKAY!!!
At the end of all this AI watching, the most important revelation for me was the diversity of his performative range. You see, I discovered him via FYE video and AMA appearance; then I might have stared for a good 5 minutes at his album cover (ahahaha, the font used on For Your Entertainment is the same as the font on the Dirty Dancing movie poster, and that is TOO AWESOME TO BE A COINCIDENCE, Y/Y? Nobody puts Kris in the corner? ... please don't write this). So I had an IDEA that he could be a performative genius, but I had a pretty small sampling to work with.
And so I tried to CLASSIFY this persona as, well, something relevant to my interests. (By all means, please go laugh at my post about how he totally is a dungeon master, you guys, I'm TELLING you. Because I bought that hook, line and sinker, and I'm still kinda clutching at it a little bit. Um.) Except as soon as I started to learn more about him via interviews and media coverage post-AMAs, I realized that his "default" public persona is a freakin' SWEETHEART. Seriously, how can one person be THAT ADORABLE?!
(At this point, my brain informed me: "You seem to have developed the hots for a BDSM panda. I need to reboot now and possibly stay off until you return to your senses. KTHX.")
Which is why it's AWESOME that I got to see his work on AI because, well, I thought I knew, but now I TRULY GET IT. THIS IS EPIC, YOU GUYS. And I am REALLY EXCITED, because there's NOTHING he can't do, and he has ANY PERFORMATIVE DIRECTION HE WANTS at his disposal because he can do them ALL, and the fandom that's exploded around him can look forward to an INSANE creative scope to interpret and play with because this stuff is... ENDLESS.
I cannot WAIT for the coming decades of his career. IT IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN. LET THE FREEDOM BEGIN! \o/
Okay then.
IF YOU READ ALL OF THIS, I OWE YOU A DRINK. WILL MAKE IT A DOUBLE. MEET ME AT THE BAR AND WEAR SOMETHING SLUTTY.
In conclusion:
*happy sigh*