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Post by pi on May 28, 2020 17:30:49 GMT -5
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Post by pi on May 28, 2020 17:38:12 GMT -5
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Post by pi on May 28, 2020 17:39:06 GMT -5
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Post by pi on May 28, 2020 18:25:17 GMT -5
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Post by pi on May 28, 2020 18:26:29 GMT -5
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Post by lurleene on May 28, 2020 18:27:23 GMT -5
lurleene, Thanks for the nice overview of the difference between Samantha's time and Adam's time. In 2009, until Adam, most gay singers weren't even asked about their sexuality. Or if they were, the subject was kind of side-stepped. But Adam WAS asked, and he was willing to talk about it. That was a pretty big difference. Adam also lived openly in the gay community, while other gay singers either didn't live in the gay community or kept it very quiet. Once again, Adam was open about it from the get go, not really bringing it up himself, but wiling to answer questions when asked. So the interviewers went quite overboard with him. He said, "It's all they want to talk about." He could have chosen to stay quiet about it, but he decided to be frank and honest and actually quite informative. I learned a lot from his early interviews. I think many people did. He was a ground-breaker when it came to talking in mainstream interviews about his sexuality. I think the results have been mixed. If he had done what many other gay singers did (get a big hit first, talk later), he might have had more general acceptance. But he did things his own way and still is. Samantha is reaping the benefits of Adam's choices. Her sexuality is just a side issue, not THE issue. Hope for her sake that she can sustain a following in the coming year. It hasn't happened for many Idol winners, regardless of their talent. Adam is quick and smart and has an incredibly engaging personality. It has helped him a lot. Being a successful singer is not just about the music. I agree. I wish her well but not holding out much hope that she will do much better than than the winners of late. But hopefully she will build a career and will no longer need to busk in the NY subways to survive.
Being the first LGBT winner is a wonderful accomplishment but I don't think it has the impact it would have at a more difficult time. She was out before the show, and chose not to announce it on the show (and there is no reason you should have to), but I doubt the viewers knew. There certainly were no religious types begging voters to vote for the Christian and not the gay guy. There was no Bill O'Rielly holding up pictures of her kissing an ex on national tv in the middle of a competition. Even if there had been that kind of backlash, with a 5 person finale it would have made it impossible to vote against her, as they could do in a 2 person race. And none of the 5 had more buzz or potential than another so it could have gone either way. There wasn't any great excitement from the media around any of them actually. Besides even tho Adam didn't win, his impact and visibility have been huge. He went on to be the most successful, high profile and richest male Idol worldwide. The Queen frontman. One of the Idol success stories. The first out artist to have a number 1 album. And more publicity and attention than all the Idols (even the top two winners) if you factor in the international press. So hurricane and attention stealing Adam Lambert is a tough act to follow on Idol, for straights and non-straights lol.
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Post by pi on May 28, 2020 18:34:08 GMT -5
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Post by sizzling63 on May 28, 2020 19:24:02 GMT -5
I think Adam has come a long way. He had an incredible platform back then on Idol and he was given many opportunities soon after. There was a strong interest in him and he chose early on to not be a "safe" gay. Of course it shaped his career path. He wasn't "out" on Idol but he was "colorful" and he pushed buttons at times, and soon after the show wrapped he gave that Rolling Stone interview to more or less "confirm" things. It was totally up to him what he wanted to talk about but he chose to lay it all out. That's Adam, and we saw it again at the AMAs that re-introduced him to the public post Idol. Of course the media picked up on it even more from then on. However, I refuse to see Adam as a victim that others reap benefits from. Each artist in the LGBTQ+ community has to figure out their own journey and artistic endeavor, and I think there's no blueprint how to do it right, so comparisons are tricky. Adam did it his way. And he was a trailblazer by choice. More than a decade later we have an Idol winner who kept her sexuality quiet and a non issue, also in the way that she presented herself on the show. The coming out after seems more like an afterthought. Clearly, times have changed, also for Adam. He is a respected representative in the gay community by now and annoying interview questions have ceased for the most part. Work still needs to be done but Adam is part of this movement. We are hopefully also talking about tougher issues now, like acceptance of the trans community for instance, and how to stop violent crimes against them.
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Post by pi on May 28, 2020 19:32:38 GMT -5
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Post by pi on May 28, 2020 19:36:11 GMT -5
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