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Adam Lambert memorable in Idols show

Quote :: Sure, it was a three-hour show with 10 singers on stage. But in reality, it all came down to that final half-hour when Adam Lambert and Kris Allen took their turns on the stage to answer a lingering question.

Who was the real American Idol -- Allen, the clean cut kid who won the most votes on the TV show, or Lambert, the chameleon-like drama boy who made the cover of the Rolling Stone? Well, it's a tough one to answer. The two are so different in style. But based on their performances last night to a crowd of almost 11,000 at Copps Coliseum, we'll give the edge to Lambert.

The guy was all over the stage, prancing and preening in black leather, delivering a primal rock 'n' roll scream to Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love that would have shivered the timbers of old Robert Plant himself. Lambert then calmed down for a moment to get all weepy for Tears For Fears' Mad World before throwing himself into a sizzling duet with Allison Iraheta for Foghat's Slow Ride. To top it all off, he closed with a pelvic-driven David Bowie medley.

Now, that's a hard act to follow. When Allen took centre stage, standing alone with an acoustic guitar in his hand, he looked like a dear caught in the head lights. The audience's ears were still burning from Lambert's unabashed declaration -- "gonna give you every inch of my love."

Still, he carried himself well as he started into Kanye West's Heartless, the song that won him the Idol crown. But it was no Whole Lotta Love. Allen fared better with The Killers' All These Things That I've Done and its "I got soul but I'm not a soldier" chorus. He even pulled off a nice electric guitar solo in the middle of Matchbox 20's Bright Lights. And, of course, the audience couldn't resist singing along with his closer, Hey Jude. How could anyone?

Allen was great. But he lacked that freakish edge that Lambert attaches to everything he does. Which is why, when the two Idols get their albums released this fall, it'll be Lambert we remember, not Allen.

* Before the show, The Spectator was able to talk to some of the Idols and ask what they did on their day off Thursday in Toronto.

Danny Gokey: "We went to see a movie, the new Adam Sandler one ... Funny People ... This movie probably wasn't his best."

Megan Joy: "I left a toiletry bag in New York, so I had to rebuy a bunch of stuff. Nothing fun. It was me, Lil (Rounds) and Allison (Iraheta). We're really close."

Lil Rounds: "I got my hair done, went to the mall, did some shopping and then went to Fran's diner and ate. I had their wings and french fries. They were really good."

Kris Allen: "I didn't get a day off. I don't think I'm going to get one for about a year. Adam didn't get one, either. He was doing a photo shoot ... I went straight to the studio to work on my new record."

Scott MacIntyre (who lived in Oakville during his early teens): "I went to where used to live. I saw people there ... until about three in the morning. There was a lot of catching up to do."

©The Spec

Adam Lambert - The Rise of the Next Rock God

Rebecca Lester

Quote :: He is the second coming of Elvis, Classic Rock, Bowie, and Hair Metal blazing into the future riding the ass of Emo. He has little girls, adolescent guys, career women, queer folk, retired couples and entire families (Mom, Dad, 2 ½ kids) gathered at his feet, all hanging on the singular hope of witnessing the creation of the blend of music past and music future.

And I saw him. Through the gap in a backstage curtain I caught a vision of 6’1’’ silvery glitter topped with jet-black hair and a streak of blue. It was Adam Lambert. The American Idol 2009 Summer Tour had descended on Copps Colliseum in Hamilton, Ontario but it was the glorification of Adam Lambert as he prepares to ascend into music history that had the crowd unholy rolling.

That night the audience spoke only in the tongue of Lambert. I spotted signs all over the stadium that read, “Adam is the next Elvis”, “Adam is the next King of Pop”, and “Adam is my American Idol”. During the sets of the other Idol singers, an older man sitting beside me kept looking out for Adam. His wife told me that if her husband actually saw Adam he would jump right out of his seat faster than a teenage girl. The mantra of the night was, “Adam, Adam, Adam!” accompanied by the drumming of hands and feet vibrating through the stadium.

Bex Brain Candy