A whole lot has happened lately to the "American Idol" runner-up
Kristina Blake
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Are you ready, Glamberts?
“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert is coming home Saturday. The 27-year-old musician who grew up in San Diego will perform along with the rest of the top 10 finalists in a concert at the San Diego Sports Arena.
San Diego is just one of the many stops for the Season 8 finalists. The “American Idol” 2009 Summer Tour kicked off in Portland, Ore. on July 5, and will run through the summer, culminating on Sept. 15, in Manchester, N.H.
Lambert’s last publicized San Diego appearance was in May, when the top three “Idol” contestants visited their hometowns. Lambert stopped by local radio and television stations. He visited MET2, the Metropolitan Educational Theatre where he developed his performance skills. He also performed at his alma mater, Mt. Carmel High School, where Mayor Jerry Sanders declared “Adam Lambert Day.
Since his last visit, Lambert has been on a nonstop media, marketing and music frenzy. Besides preparing for and performing in the tour, Lambert has made a variety of TV appearances, released music, signed a record deal and worked on new material for his official debut album.
Here are some of the highlights from Lambert’s fast-paced last few months — and a look at what’s to come.
The last thing you might expect from this Green Valley, 40-something professional is that she’d be going to the American Idols Live Tour concert at the San Diego Sports Arena with her husband.
I am surprised myself, as the last stadium concert I attended with floor seating was David Bowie at Madison Square Garden in New York City in July 1983. During that concert they released mylar balloons from the ceiling and chaos ensued. I was thrown backward to the floor, people were walking on my arms and legs and I tried to protect my face. I swore I would never, ever return to the floor of a large concert venue again. I haven’t until now, 26 years later, for this American Idol. Why? To see Season 8 American Idol runner-up and rising star Adam Lambert perform in his hometown.
Why Adam? I, along with a lot of other people of all ages and races can’t seem to get enough of this 27-year-old versatile performer who some characterize as a glam rocker. Adam is known as much for his unique style as for his three-octave vocal range. From his first performance, we knew Adam had star quality. His fiercely loyal army of fans, called Glamberts, Google him daily, download anything Adam on iTunes and call him the next Elvis.
The Glamberts even have sub-groups, like his 30s to 60s female fans called cougars or senior cougars or Gramberts.
I don’t think people expected this openly-gay Idol to have such a large base of devoted older female fans.
“Adam is a very talented singer, is adorable, has a great personality and is going to go far,” said Mary Thompson, 69, of Green Valley. “I was very surprised he didn’t win Idol and felt he should have! He was the best!”
Adam has the uncanny ability to draw people like a magnet. He allows us into his world, and shows us who he is with no filter. This makes him very appealing and makes us feel like we really know him.
Carmen Scarlott, 63, of Green Valley likes that Adam is true to himself.
“Adam, like Elvis, has connected with people from 8 to 80,” she said. “He is a showman who plays to his audience. He is phenomenally talented.”
By all accounts Adam is a polite, humble guy. He shows us it’s O.K. to be different and promotes being positive. Adam holds nothing back in terms of his performance or his personal life.
MEDIA ATTENTION
Since finishing second to Idol winner Kris Allen in May, Adam’s life has been a whirlwind of media attention, awards and accolades. He won the Young Hollywood Artist of the Year Award, was featured in cover stories in Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone magazines, was named one of People Magazine’s Best Bachelors of 2009, had four songs in the Billboard Top 100 charts, landed a record deal with RCA and is writing and recording a solo album.
Not bad for just two months — and by a runner-up.
American Idol, known for launching the careers of Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, David Cook and Daughtry, makes dreams happen.
It’s ironic that Adam was performing in the chorus of Wicked LA and other venues scraping to make ends meet, discouraged and about to give up on his performing career when a colleague suggested he try out for Idol. The rest is history.
You could feel the excitement in the air as we approached the arena Saturday in San Diego (It comes to Glendale, Ariz., on Monday night). The American Idols live Tour encompasses 50 cities in the U.S. and Canada from July 5 through Sept. 15. Singers are paid $100,000 each for the tour. Fans wait in long lines for tickets ranging in price from $40.50 for nosebleed seats to more than $800 resale for front row center. The three-hour extravaganza showcases the top 10 Idols in solo and group numbers. Idol fans dress like their favorite Idols, and I’m not talking about just the teens. The Adam Lambert cougar fans were sporting their black, blue and silver Adam colors and were out in full force!
“I am 61 and am feeling like a teen again,” said Patricia Campana of San Diego. “I was part of the frenzy back in the Elvis days, loved the dramatics, the glitter, the over-the-top talent. Now with Adam it is the same, I am a love-sick groupie again... For me, he reminds me and re-inspires me that no matter that I am 61, that spirit is still alive in me.” Also in the floor seats were San Diego residents Annette Miller, 62, attending with her daughter Stacey and granddaughter.
They have “been talking and blogging about Rock God (Adam) and this concert forever!” she said. “What to wear, etc. I have never, ever become so infatuated, mesmerized, intoxicated with any celebrity as I have with Adam. The last time I purchased anything to listen to was 20 years ago. He is so talented, gorgeous, charismatic.”
Leather chic Toni Meurlot, 60-plus of San Diego, proclaimed, “I have loved Adam since I first saw him in the auditions. He’s hot, he’s smart and very funny. He is also very grounded. I love his sense of style... it parallels my own. I would not miss this concert for the world!”
BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE
From the beginning of Adam’s set, the arena went crazy. Wearing a custom leather jacket resembling a futuristic ringmaster, Adam exploded onto the stage with “Whole Lotta Love.” The performance was intense and electrifying. He took control of the show and never let go.
He shifted seamlessly into “Starlight” by Muse. The arena was bathed in blue light and mirrored balls created countless stars, making it a surreal and magical experience.
That magic continued while a seated Adam reprised his hit from American Idol, the slow and haunting “Mad World.” You could hear a pin drop. Next, pal Allison Iraheta joined him for the high-energy “Slow Ride” and the crowd roared. I couldn’t believe my ears when for the finale of his incredible set, Adam was singing a Bowie medley of “Life On Mars,” “Fame” and “Let’s Dance.” He got the audience on their feet and dancing with him. When Adam finished, the applause was deafening. There was no denying who the star of this show was.
So, a change has come, and everything has come full circle. I’m back on the floor in an arena hearing Adam sing the same songs that David Bowie sang that fateful night 26 years ago. I’ve faced my fear, am proudly cheering for Adam and believing in happy endings. Things are different for Adam, too. He is rocketing into superstardom stalked by paparazzi and adored by his fans. He no longer has to worry about paying his rent, or if people will like or accept him. A change has come indeed, and Adam Lambert is living the American dream.
Review: Adam Lambert shines in San Diego Idols concert
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The “American Idols Live Tour” that rolled into San Diego on Saturday was never livelier or more satisfying than when Adam Lambert was onstage at the San Diego Sports Arena.
Looking like a glam-rock prince and wearing enough guyliner for an entire band, Lambert strutted, gyrated, shimmied and sang, giving his multiple-octave all to songs ranging from “Whole Lotta Love” to “Mad World.” The “American Idol” runner-up radiated his own special charisma, his own mystique.
So never mind that the concert featured Season 8’s top 10 contestants, including winner Kris Allen. For thousands of Lambert fans, known as Glamberts, it might as well have been called “The Adam Lambert Show,” with everyone who came before him almost seeming like participants in a long and varied warm-up act.
After all, this was the triumphant return of San Diego’s hometown musical hero, the 27-year-old performer who graduated from Mt. Carmel High School, developed his skills at area theater groups and inspired San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders to declare May 8 “Adam Lambert Day.”
That may have been his day. But Saturday was his night. Though it was only coincidental that the concert occurred during the San Diego LGBT Pride festival, the timing made Lambert seem like the star of his own pride fest.
San Diego: sdnn-opinion33In San Diego, the 10th stop in the 51-city North American tour, Lambert was the major lure. The concert filled about 75% of the approximately 9,500 available seats, according to the box office. And fans were determined to enjoy themselves.
They bought such merchandise as Adam Lambert photos ($5) and tee-shirts ($35). The screamed when his face appeared on the screens near the stage and shrieked much louder when he performed. One woman in the audience held up a pink, hand-lettered sign that said: “Even moms love Adam!”
Many of the concert-goers were significantly younger.
“It’s my first big concert and I’m a huge Adam Lambert fan,” said Neda Heydari, 14, of San Carlos. “He can sing like nobody else.”
No less enthusiastic was Jamie Dietrich, 17, of Santee, who wrote the word “Adam” in black eyeliner near her neck and carried a sign saying “Adam - You are Wicked,’ a tribute to Lambert’s musical theater background.
“Adam is a new voice - he’s much more theatrical,” she said. “And he brings back glam rock. He’s amazing.”
In the minority in the Land of Lambert was Danny Gokey fan Nanjoo Baik, 21, a university student from Seoul, South Korea. She made her first trip to the U.S. to attend the “Idol” shows in Los Angeles, Ontario and San Diego.
“It’s a little weird to be here with so many Adam Lambert fans,” she acknowledged. “But I love ‘American Idol’ and Danny inspired me to come here.”
Gokey’s sincerity was his greatest strength as a performer. He knew how to connect with the audience, as when he gave advice (”never let your dreams die!”) and poured his passion into the Rascal Flatts ballad, “My Wish.”
All the contestants - including Michael Sarver, Megan Joy, Scott MacIntyre, Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai - were undeniably talented though it’s unlikely that all will achieve lasting success, given the fickle nature of pop music.
Matt Giraud talked about how he used to play the Ray Charles classic, “Georgia on My Mind,” in a hotel lobby for “anyone who would walk by.” On Saturday, he found considerably more receptive listeners for his confidently bluesy interpretation.
By contrast, Allison Iraheta favored a high-decibel, hard-rocking, Janis Joplin-ish approach that was so ear-piercingly loud that - forgive me, Iraheta fans — I stuffed tissue in my ears. Several people sitting near me saw me do it - and requested tissue so they could do the same thing.
Yet she was energetically effective in “Slow Ride,” her duet with Lambert. And nobody tossed women’s underwear on stage during the song, as at the Vancouver concert earlier this month.
When it was finally Kris Allen’s turn, it all seemed a little anti-climactic, at least to this concert-goer. Coming after Lambert’s high-intensity set, Allen was likeable but a bit bland, even in the climactic audience sing-along, “Hey Jude,” which included the other singers and capable backup band. Unmistakably gifted (and really cute), Allen has a cuddly, non-threatening stage persona that makes him the latest in a long line of cuddly, non-threatening pop singers who are especially popular with young girls.
Lambert, on the other hand, is edgier and more artistically daring. Let’s hope future concerts do a better job of highlighting his vocal range and interpretive sensitivity. On Saturday, the sound system was sometimes about as subtle as a sledgehammer.
Still, it was very gratifying to hear Lambert live. His voice was remarkably supple; his sense of rhythm, unfailingly accurate.
He turned the David Bowie song “Let’s Dance” into an irresistible invitation. Muse’s “Starlight” sparkled with the help of swirling light patterns. And “Mad World” was so beautifully paced that the final high note seemed to rocket out of this world.
As the Sports Arena crowd shrieked at every glimpse of Adam Lambert on pre-show music videos and in merch commercials, it was clear the “American Idols Live” tour stop in San Diego on Saturday would be all about the glam rocker who attended Mt. Carmel High.
And for many in the near-sellout audience, it was.
Several fans sported gray T-shirts emblazoned with Lambert's face.
Some hoisted “I love you Adam” signs and others shouted his name.
Nearly everyone screamed when he threw off his black studded and spiked jacket to reveal a sleeveless vest while he rocked his hips and swung a blue feather boa during his David Bowie medley.
Lambert, wearing his signature black eyeliner and nail polish, also sang Led Zeppelin's “Whole Lotta Love,” “Starlight” by Muse and Tears for Fears' “Mad World.”
Although the predominantly female fans went crazy for Lambert, their cheering for “American Idol” winner Kris Allen, who sang Kanye West's “Heartless” and Bill Withers' “Ain't No Sunshine,” was just as loud.
The upbeat three-hour concert, which was divided into halves, also starred the other eight finalists from “American Idol's” Season 8. With a format that counted down to the season's winner, the show's two favorites didn't take the stage until the end of the second half. The audience didn't seem to mind – they sang along and danced to performances by all the contestants (Michael Sarver, Megan Joy Corkrey, Scott MacIntyre, Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai, Matt Giraud, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey, Lambert and Allen). The music ranged from hip-hop to R&B to alternative.
The night flowed quickly from one Idol's solo set to the next. Among the highlights: Lil Rounds' rendition of Beyoncé's “Single Ladies” had some singing along and dancing in the aisles. Desai had the crowd howling “Anooooooop” between songs that included Bobby Brown's “My Prerogative.” Matt Giraud's piano and vocals on “Georgia on my Mind,” complete with a hat and theatrical wipe of his brow, also garnered heavy applause.
A group medley with the top six finalists featured dueling pianos by MacIntyre and Giraud on Billy Joel's “Tell Her About It.”
Iraheta, the 17-year-old little girl with a big voice, rocked Pink's “So What” to start the second half of the show, and fired up fans for the top three who were to follow. She finished off her solos with Janis Joplin's “Cry Baby” and Heart's “Barracuda.” She returned later to duet with Lambert on Foghat's “Slow Ride.”
Although it didn't elicit quite as many cheers as Lambert's dancing, which would follow, Gokey swung his hips to Santana's “Maria Maria” in his second number and finished his set with two Rascal Flatts hits.
The show closed with a choreographed finale featuring the entire crew doing Journey's “Don't Stop Believing” with the crowd singing along – and not a judge in sight.
The Idols have more than 40 stops left on their tour, which ends in mid-September in New England.
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