Tribute to Adam Lambert

I am posting this in Hong Kong...I wrote the following on Thursday midnight - when the America Idol aftermath was still fresh.. yet I had no Internet access...

Maybe it’s God’s will that my Internet connection can’t be fixed this evening. Maybe it did me good to be distracted from the shocking American Idol finale result this morning.  That’s the problem with me. It’s not just Idol. It could be anything else.  I am one who gets easily addicted, transfixed and even obsessed.

But I just had to write something. And as I am typing this on Word (to be posted on my blog later), I am listening to the MP3 and WinAmp files friends had sent me of Adam Lambert’s performances from A.I.  And I’m never tired of them.

In these four months or so, I’ve grown to be more and more crazy over this guy who has such unique style and enormous talents in singing and performing. He is not just a great singer, but smart, articulate, genuinely amiable and modest. 

Ya, I know I have already dedicated a post to him – claiming him to be the next American Idol.

But I was wrong. It seems America is not ready for such an outstanding, in a friend’s word `in-your-face’ type of artist. They still prefer someone with mass appeal. Just look at the past winners, from 1st season winner Kelly Clarkson to last year’s David Cook – all of them are commercial hotties who have such mass (read: pop) appeal. So this year, although almost everyone from the judges to Adam’s fans and enemies have predicted he would take the title, finally he lost out to the dark horse that is Kris Allen.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not bashing Kris. In fact, I was impressed by his refreshing rendition and arrangement of his music, and his improvement was quite stark in the last month. He is no doubt a talented musician – plays several instruments well - and a copetent singer.  And also cute, humble and nice.  Thus he has attracted a legion of fans who had suddenly grown to huge that their votes managed to topple that of Adam’s.

But you see, if Kris is that handsome dark horse, Adam is the magical unicorn. Ok, this analogy seems strange, even to me but you get what I mean. Adam is such a superb and brilliant artiste that has not failed to mesmerized performance after performances. Some dislike him cos he’s `loud’ – and said he likes to scream. But hey, how many people can actually possess a crazy vocal range like that and able to master it!  He sings with utmost passion, expression and convicting, with the most awesome and often bold showmanship.

I was reading the Net last night after the performance show (ya, Internet was intact then). I already had a hunch when I read many entertainment/news websites that said Adam ‘s talent is superior and did better than Kris in the finale show, HOWEVER, they rightly thought it’s Kris who will win the title. The reason I see it is quite simple. Kris is not more talented, but he has become more popular than Adam. By popular, I mean he demeanour and his brand of music has mass appeal thus garner a large fan base. And although this is just a theory but some people think Danny Gokey’s supporters and voters probably swing towards

I respect people have their own preferences..  you can dislike Adam but to dismiss him as crap or can't sing is either a blatant blindness or lie. And I don’t hate Kris at all. He’s sweet and unassuming. If Adam was not in the competition, he would have been my favourite besides the spunky and talented teenager Allison. Kris as they have more similar background. Whereas Adam is just so different, and in a different league altogether.

It’s quite funny but endearing to see Kris himself seemed to be shocked by winning and had twice mentioned Adam’s name. He blurted out: `but Adam deserves to win~' but the sly Ryan Seacrest quickly interjected and asked him to say how he felt.

Oh well, votes have been cast. It is official that Adam is 1st runner up while Kris is the new American Idol. Earlier, I read many out cries from Adam’s ardent fans that he has been robbed of the well-deserving title. That it is so unjust. But to be optimistic and look beyond the competition, we know Adam did NOT lose to Kris as a singer or performer.  It has happened in the past, not the true best singer/performer take on the crown. In fact, shortly after the announcement when everyone was congratulating Kris, I caught Simon Cowell’s expression – that of incredulous or a sense of unfairness. I don’t know, it’s just my guess.

What I LOVE about Adam is how cool and gracious he is!  Even if and I’m sure he would have felt disappointed, he didn’t show a hint of it. He's NOT the sore loser and from what he said later, he was seemed genuinely happy for Kris.  And I’m sure Kris would react the same too if Adam were `crowned’ (sigh, if only he were!)  

That’s what I love of this season’s A.I. as well – all the contestants were such good friends and genuinely care for each other. I can see that especially in Adam and Allison, and even Adam and Kris who was his roommate before. And remember when Matt Giroud was (not very deservingly) saved by the `Judge’s Save’, all the rest were just ecstatic for him, hugging and jumping around! Never the thought that if he was saved, there would be double the chance of them being eliminated in the following week, came into their minds. 

And I really believe that Adam did harbor any jealousy or ill feelings, although some of his fans (not me) may.  You know, Adam has always been so confident of himself and the artiste that he is. But his head was not in the cloud that he could be sure that he was definitely going to win – especially with the enormous growth of popularity his competitor was getting.  So he must be prepared to not win it after all.. if it’s not meant to be.

But being on American Idol was definitely a platform that propel him to greater heights – now the whole world had known him,  heard and saw how talented and versatile he is, and how he WOWed the audience with his ….(I am running out of adjectives like Paula said) style and showmanship.  So ya, he may not win the title nor get that coveted Idol contract, he is already a superstar in his own right. And his future career is bright. He would be phenomenal.

So, here's my tribute to my one and only American `idol’ - the most remarkable contestant who has brought excitement and excellence to this season’s show that has never been seen.  You might not have won the title, but Adam Lamber, you are already THE WINNER to me, as well as for millions of your fans across the globe.

 post-A.I. finale video shows what a great person Adam is!!