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 |  Subject: Tennessee Theatre : Knoxville TN : 6/7/10  13.05.11 15:50 | |
|   604 South Gay Street Knoxville, TN ‘Idol' runner-up enjoying a colorful career as musician, showmanIf you are the author or can provide original link then please get in touch - Quote :
- You might have missed him on “American Idol” in 2009.You could even have missed the controversial performance on the American Music Awards that landed him in hot water with all of conservative America.But at the rate glam rocker Adam Lambert is going, you're not going to be able to ignore him (or the highest scream I've heard on a man since the Bee Gees' Barry Gibb) for long.
Break out the platform heels, the glitter and black leather pants because on Tuesday night, The Tennessee Theatre and Knoxville are going to feel a little bit more glamorous, if just for a few short hours, as Lambert brings his “Glam Nation Tour” to East Tennessee.“I always have been fond of, like, the glam rocker title,” Lambert said in an interview recently. “I think glam is a broader term than maybe people realize because I think that there is definitely the '70s glam, there was the '80s glam movement. And then right now with the tour, I think I'm exploring a look that is really inspired by psychedelic rock stars — Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Jim Morrison — and then blended with this whole thing called scheme punk is what they call it.“And what it is, is it's like Victorian-era fashion mixed with modern elements like punk rock mixed with retro kind of historical clothing. It's hard to explain but it's a really, really cool angle.”It's not just the boundaries of fashion that Lambert has been exploring, but the limits of society as well. On “Idol,” he raised eyebrows — and dropped a few jaws — by giving each week's performance a unique and sometimes outlandish spin. It was quickly realized that Lambert was a performer you either loved or hated. Despite his obvious star power, “Idol” fans weren't completely convinced as the flamboyant singer placed second to the more wholesome, boyishly handsome Kris Allen.
His next moves after the “Idol” finale didn't win any more fans. Lambert became one of the first openly gay pop artists on a major label, a move he doesn't regret, despite animosity or the pressure he's dealt with.
“ ... For me I was like, you know what, I'm just going to be who I'm going to be because it'll be a hell of a lot easier and I knew that people would know about my sexual preference and my history being in Los Angeles as a performance artist and somebody that had been out and about,” he said. “So I figured there was no point in keeping a secret. I might as well own it. I'm proud of it and if the audience doesn't like my sexuality then they can find some other artist to look at. It's not a big deal.”His performance on the American Music Awards burned conservatives even more as Lambert not only kissed a man on stage but shoved another's face into his crotch. The kiss was nothing different than we'd seen in the past. Anyone remember the infamous smooch between Madonna and Britney Spears and then Madonna and Christina Aguilera? Exactly. For Lambert, the performance almost proved to be a kiss of death, pun intended, as other performances, including a bit on “Good Morning America,” were cancelled. While Lambert admits the AMA spot might have been a bit extreme, he doesn't necessarily wish he could take it back.
“I think that for me it's like I can't sit and make my decisions and worry about what if people don't like this,” he said. “I feel like that is not art. I think that art is just expressing yourself. And being in the music scene you do have to do it for your audience as well and so I looked to my audience and my fans and the people that I encounter on Twitter and in real life and I see what they like and I learned that over the tour last summer — the American Idols Live tour — that certain things I did the audience really reacted to and so I just kind of stick with that.”
Lambert's debut album, “For Your Entertainment” is as emotionally charged and diverse as the artist himself.
“... For me it was really important for me to have an album that was super diverse, showing different sides of who I am,” he said. “My current single, ‘If I Had You,' I think is a really great reflection of where I'm at currently. I have been fortunate that my singles have kind of been released in the manner that reflect where I'm at in my life at that moment.
“‘For Your Entertainment,' the first single, was definitely about sexuality, and I was kind of in the hot spot on that kind of having recently come out and done a lot of press about that. That felt like an appropriate first single because that's what it was about. And then it subsequently ended up kind of scaring some people as sexuality often does. And then with ‘Whataya Want From Me,' it's like it was a response to that. It was the ‘Hey, I'm human and I'm doing the best I can and thank you for believing in me and this is me being honest and scared.'”
When the Glam Nation hits Knoxville — in a show that sold out in matter of minutes — Lambert says that those turned off by the AMA performance and what he calls “an artistic experience” will feel much more comfortable. He said that while he learned his limitations and what the audience wants to see, the tour is still definitely sexy. But first and foremost, he wants to give his fans not just a concert, but a show. With tour inspirations like Madonna, Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul, plus a background in musical theater, Lambert promises concert-goers a true production that will please their ears and eyes.
“There is like a thematic kind of emotional story running through the set,” he said. “There are visual elements to pull it all into one world. I've been inspired by turn-of-the-century New Orleans kind of a kitschy, glam, black magic, voodoo type concept. And I'm also inspired by things in the show like Dia de los Muertos and Mardi Gras and things like that. So there is a lot of a very festive element, a lot of kind of psychedelic classic rock influence as well. And I think people are really going to be in for a treat.”
Love him or hate him, Lambert's making his mark. Whether with his music or life in general, he's taken the proverbial bull by the horns and doesn't plan on letting go anytime soon.
“I think it's really about making your own opportunities. Nothing is going to come to you. You have to go to it. I think that that was one of the reasons why I decided to audition for Idol, is I thought that's going to be a great platform, a great launching pad for me if I can get through it. And so I'm going to take the risk and go audition and really put myself out there. You have to put your eggs in lots of different baskets.”
- Quote :
Former “American Idol” contestant Adam Lambert may not have been the winner of his final round of the television competition, but by the indication of the fans outside the Tennessee Theatre before his concert on Tuesday, he was still the artist to beat.
Some fans had waited for hours to get a chance to see the performer. The crowd ranged from young women in short dresses in their teens and early 20s to older conservatively dressed couples in their 60s to young men. Stephanie Scalesi and her 13-year-old daughter, Kamiryn, waited four hours for a chance to see the performer. The two had their photo made with opening act Orianthi.  | |
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