(That quote is from Paula to Adam, during judging after his Born to Be Wild performance.)You know that I'm really doing all these Adam posts for myself, right? So I can get my Adam-fix every day, or whenever the craving comes upon me. Well, I wanted to do a post today to show everyone that I'm not the only one with an obsession. I'm going to give some links to the American Idol message board forums, to a few select threads that I've found to be very eye-opening and touching. (A thread is a topic that a user has created for other fans to reply to, I've created about four threads in the last couple days, lol). To give you an idea of the incredible popularity he has, the other contestants have a few thousand threads on their forums. Adam's number? Well, its going on 100,000+.
It seems that Adam's affect on people is massive and widespread. Everyone from tweens, to teens, to young adults, to middle-agers, even "grannies for Adam" (that's a real group formed on the board) -- all these people of all ages, from all walks of life, have something to say about how he has impacted their lives. And its not just all "he's so hot" like you'd expect (although there are millions of comments like that, of course, just look at the guy). For example, one woman left a comment saying that being able to see the sweet, polite, genuinely good-hearted side of Adam enabled her to look beyond her teenage son's own image of pierced-nose-black-nail-polish-mohawk-hair to the person inside; changing the path of anger, confusion, and shame that she was going down onto one of tolerance, acceptance, and love. It was incredibly touching. I'll try to find that comment and quote it specifically, because my words don't do hers justice. (Okay, so after half an hour of searching, I can't find the comment because first of all, I don't remember the thread title and secondly, new threads are added every second, so even though that particular thread was created yesterday, its probably on page 5 by now.)
The first thread I'm going to link to is titled "Adam obsession: A middle-aged woman's ramblings". So many woman in their 40s-50s-60s replied, it was amazing. But the basic theme to all their posts was that, while they can recognize his sex appeal, the main feeling he has inspired in them is a feeling of excitement similar to what they experienced in their youth, that mad rush of emotion that they felt for the Beatles, Elvis, Freddy Mercury, etc. They know, because they've seen and experienced it before in their youth, that we are seeing something truly spectacular happening here, the rebirth of music and the interpretation and expression of it, the re-emergence of a musical talent that understands the importance of "putting on a show" (ala Freddy Mercury, whom Adam is compared to constantly). For years we have been inundated with artists that are created in the studio, reliant on the vocal-perfector machines (whatever they're called). The music all sounds the same, no one stands out, there's no more Kurt Cobains, David Bowies, Ozzy Osbournes that bring about the creation of new musical genres. We've grown to accept this path that music has taken, away from true talent and showmanship. We are used to these artificial artists that rely on background dancers and lip-synching at their live shows to detract from the fact that how they sound live is nothing like their CDs. Yet here we have a man who can bring everyone up out of their seat, screaming with excitement, dancing up a storm in their livingrooms, dying with anticipation each week to see how he will change his image, what song he will perform and make his own, what emotions he will unlock and inspire in us through his interpretations.
But back to the women on the AI thread... They also feel protective of him, because of his background and the struggle he's gone through, its like a mother would feel knowing her child has been bullied. Its somewhat comforting and reassuring to me to know that I'm not the only one dancing around like a nut, pumping my fists in the air, getting hyper because Adam's onscreen and doing his thing.
"Adam obsession: a middle-aged woman's ramblings"
This next link is to a thread that started by quoting something someone said. The original quote was from an older man, a "grandpa" in his own words, who talked about Adam's emotional journey. It is pretty enlightening, to realize that even though Adam's talent and charisma practically screams at you, its taken him years and years to get this far in his career. Adam mostly did musical theatre and cabaret shows, but still dealt with rejection from industry people saying he wasn't what they were looking for. As a kid growing up, he was teased mercilessly for being the way he is, not so much on the gay/bi issue, but because he's a dramatic, out-there (no pun intended) kind of guy. And a lot of people can't deal with that. So from a young age, he had to learn how to look past that, to ignore his critics and tormentors and just be himself, and to be comfortable in his own skin. And despite all the hardship, he's a genuine person; kind, soft-spoken, polite, open-minded, considerate, and above all, incredibly humble. This is a guy who truly deserves the title of the ultimate American Idol. He's changing the perception of what a man is "supposed" to be.
"A grandpa's assessment of Adam's emotional voyage"
One thread was just a link to an article written by Brad Laidman, who writes for BlogCritics Magazine (here's the article). Its a glowing tribute to Adam and his artistry, and includes a couple awesome YouTube clips. One video clip was of the AI Tracks of My Tears performance, which I hadn't actually watched in full until that article. And by the end of the song, I had tear tracks of my own running down my face. When you watch Adam's other, wilder, performances with the screams, growls, lip-curls, hip-shaking, black nail polish, spiked emo hair, dark eyeliner... its easy to forget that he is also capable of stripping a song down to its bare, emotional, vulnerable core with nothing more than his soft, tender voice. No theatrics, no strutting around the stage, no makeup or jewelry, just a man sitting on a chair singing about the aching loss of love. So watching that video gave a new dimension to the Lambertitis I'm experiencing, made me see him as more than a hunky sex god capable of bringing down the roof with his high notes. He creates an emotional connection to the music that we the viewers experience, through him, as well.
On a lighter note, here is one video from the article that is not only awesome in its truth, but pretty cute and funny.
It seems that Adam's affect on people is massive and widespread. Everyone from tweens, to teens, to young adults, to middle-agers, even "grannies for Adam" (that's a real group formed on the board) -- all these people of all ages, from all walks of life, have something to say about how he has impacted their lives. And its not just all "he's so hot" like you'd expect (although there are millions of comments like that, of course, just look at the guy). For example, one woman left a comment saying that being able to see the sweet, polite, genuinely good-hearted side of Adam enabled her to look beyond her teenage son's own image of pierced-nose-black-nail-polish-mohawk-hair to the person inside; changing the path of anger, confusion, and shame that she was going down onto one of tolerance, acceptance, and love. It was incredibly touching. I'll try to find that comment and quote it specifically, because my words don't do hers justice. (Okay, so after half an hour of searching, I can't find the comment because first of all, I don't remember the thread title and secondly, new threads are added every second, so even though that particular thread was created yesterday, its probably on page 5 by now.)
The first thread I'm going to link to is titled "Adam obsession: A middle-aged woman's ramblings". So many woman in their 40s-50s-60s replied, it was amazing. But the basic theme to all their posts was that, while they can recognize his sex appeal, the main feeling he has inspired in them is a feeling of excitement similar to what they experienced in their youth, that mad rush of emotion that they felt for the Beatles, Elvis, Freddy Mercury, etc. They know, because they've seen and experienced it before in their youth, that we are seeing something truly spectacular happening here, the rebirth of music and the interpretation and expression of it, the re-emergence of a musical talent that understands the importance of "putting on a show" (ala Freddy Mercury, whom Adam is compared to constantly). For years we have been inundated with artists that are created in the studio, reliant on the vocal-perfector machines (whatever they're called). The music all sounds the same, no one stands out, there's no more Kurt Cobains, David Bowies, Ozzy Osbournes that bring about the creation of new musical genres. We've grown to accept this path that music has taken, away from true talent and showmanship. We are used to these artificial artists that rely on background dancers and lip-synching at their live shows to detract from the fact that how they sound live is nothing like their CDs. Yet here we have a man who can bring everyone up out of their seat, screaming with excitement, dancing up a storm in their livingrooms, dying with anticipation each week to see how he will change his image, what song he will perform and make his own, what emotions he will unlock and inspire in us through his interpretations.
But back to the women on the AI thread... They also feel protective of him, because of his background and the struggle he's gone through, its like a mother would feel knowing her child has been bullied. Its somewhat comforting and reassuring to me to know that I'm not the only one dancing around like a nut, pumping my fists in the air, getting hyper because Adam's onscreen and doing his thing.
"Adam obsession: a middle-aged woman's ramblings"
This next link is to a thread that started by quoting something someone said. The original quote was from an older man, a "grandpa" in his own words, who talked about Adam's emotional journey. It is pretty enlightening, to realize that even though Adam's talent and charisma practically screams at you, its taken him years and years to get this far in his career. Adam mostly did musical theatre and cabaret shows, but still dealt with rejection from industry people saying he wasn't what they were looking for. As a kid growing up, he was teased mercilessly for being the way he is, not so much on the gay/bi issue, but because he's a dramatic, out-there (no pun intended) kind of guy. And a lot of people can't deal with that. So from a young age, he had to learn how to look past that, to ignore his critics and tormentors and just be himself, and to be comfortable in his own skin. And despite all the hardship, he's a genuine person; kind, soft-spoken, polite, open-minded, considerate, and above all, incredibly humble. This is a guy who truly deserves the title of the ultimate American Idol. He's changing the perception of what a man is "supposed" to be.
"A grandpa's assessment of Adam's emotional voyage"
One thread was just a link to an article written by Brad Laidman, who writes for BlogCritics Magazine (here's the article). Its a glowing tribute to Adam and his artistry, and includes a couple awesome YouTube clips. One video clip was of the AI Tracks of My Tears performance, which I hadn't actually watched in full until that article. And by the end of the song, I had tear tracks of my own running down my face. When you watch Adam's other, wilder, performances with the screams, growls, lip-curls, hip-shaking, black nail polish, spiked emo hair, dark eyeliner... its easy to forget that he is also capable of stripping a song down to its bare, emotional, vulnerable core with nothing more than his soft, tender voice. No theatrics, no strutting around the stage, no makeup or jewelry, just a man sitting on a chair singing about the aching loss of love. So watching that video gave a new dimension to the Lambertitis I'm experiencing, made me see him as more than a hunky sex god capable of bringing down the roof with his high notes. He creates an emotional connection to the music that we the viewers experience, through him, as well.
On a lighter note, here is one video from the article that is not only awesome in its truth, but pretty cute and funny.
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