Filling Freddie Mercury’s shoes must rate as rock’s most daunting situation vacant. Fronting a performance by Queen, to be seen by a TV and internet audience of millions, with only one week’s notice is certainly a challenge few established singers would be willing to accept. Tarnish their memories of Mercury and Queen’s fans will never forgive you; try to outdo the flamboyant front man and you’ll fail.
At the European Music Awards in Belfast last month, the former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert not only took up the challenge, but pulled off a performance so perfect, plans are already afoot for further shows. Both Roger Taylor and Brian May have regularly spoken of their love of Lambert. Taylor recently described him as a phenomenal performer with an unequalled range. May, meanwhile, has been comparing the Californian to Mercury since the 2009 American Idol final, when Queen backed Lambert singing We Are the Champions in a voice that summoned the spectre of Freddie.
The sophomore slump is something that every artist has to worry about at some point, but the chances of falling victim to it are especially high for Idol alumni. Once all the hype dies down and the next batch of talented hopefuls hit TV screens, old favorites are quickly forgotten and replaced with fresh faces, and thus the wheel keeps turning.
Adam Lambert may have outsold Kris Allen, graced the cover of Rolling Stone, and become the biggest star that American Idol has produced in the past five years, but now is when the hard work really begins. With a hit album behind him and Idol now a distant memory, Lambert and his slickly-gelled quiff are now in the big leagues competing against the Katy Perry’s and Rihanna’s of the world, and anything less than pure pop perfection will simply not be good enough.
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