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Adam gets an American Idol wake-up call
by Allison Waldman, posted Apr 30th 2009 3:36PM
When Ryan Seacrest did the results from the voting last night on American Idol and put Adam Lambert in the bottom three, my reaction was like Kara's. It was a jaw-dropper. How was it possible that Adam, who's been flying through week after week and has been wowing the judges, was suddenly on the short end of the votes? Being just a tad suspicious, my first thought was that the producers had manipulated the votes or something to make it more dramatic.And it was! Not only was Adam in the bottom group, so was Kris and Matt. I expected Matt to be there because he's been hanging by a thread for weeks, ever since the judges used their new rule -- the Judges' Save -- to keep him in the competition. So, Matt made sense. Kris was quickly moved to the top group, so sweating over him wasn't in the cards.
That brings it back to Adam. What was really going on? Well, here's my theory. Adam went to the well once too often with the outre rock stylings. The show a salute to Rat Pack era music, standards and classics from the likes of composers George Gershwin ("Someone To Watch Over Me"), Harold Arlen ("Come Rain or Come Shine") and Rodgers & Hart ("My Funny Valentine"). Even Kris's choice was an Oscar-winning ballad from the 1936 Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movie Swingtime, "Just the Way You Look Tonight." All those songs were familiar and comfortable.
Instead of singing something from the '30s or '40s, Adam chose "Feeling Good." On the surface, it seemed like a standard, but it's a Broadway song. It's from The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newly. That was a hit in 1965. Anthony Newly, a very over-the-top singer in his time, made it a minor hit. Others have followed.
But even Randy recognized the theatrical nature of the song, calling it too Broadway. Adam's take on the song was his dramatic rock style and it came off as an imitation of Adam. It was like watching Adam do an impression of Adam. He's becoming a caricature of himself and that's not a good thing.
But it is a good thing for Adam and his fans that this happened now. This can be a wake-up call for Adam. Next week, when they sing rock 'n roll, Adam should do traditional rock. Maybe Buddy Holly or Elvis. Stay away from Freddie Mercury and Kiss.
Go mainstream, Adam, and course correct while you're still in the race. It's like politics, run to the middle to consolidate your power. Everyone knows you can do the wild stuff; now show us you can do the quiet stuff, too.
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