I am so pumped up by Adam's performance tonight that I can't go to sleep. So, here is my review.
"But it's been no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. I consider it a challenge before the whole human race, and I ain't gonna lose! We are the champions."
Adam Lambert burst onto the national stage in the 2009 season of Idol. An example of how talent can be discovered, molded, and created by the program, and then, go on to a successful recording career. ...... NOT!
Adam's whole life, since the age of ten, has been focused on being a performer and artist. He studied his craft for years, he pounded the pavement, he knocked on hundreds of doors which were mostly slammed in his face. He was undaunted. He continued to build his voice, build his performance skills, build his knowledge of music of all kinds. He had the talent, he had the training, he had the experience, he had the vision, he had the determination and perseverence.
At the EMA awards show on November 6th, Adam dug down deep and called on everything in his impressive arsenal and gave us a quintessential performance. This is not an emerging artist. This is not an effemeral pop singer here today and gone tomorrow. What we witnessed, what we heard, what we saw, was Adam claiming his place as a world class performer with confidence, skill and power.
The vocals were amaaaazing. He used all his technique, all his knowledge of his body, and produced a sound that was strongly influenced by his classical training and background. It was much more than singing the right pitches, hitting the right notes. The sound evoked the power and finesse of an opera tenor, while modifying it to fit the classic rock numbers. His articulation was crystal clear. His attack, his subtle bending of notes and phrases gave the performance the emotions inherent in the songs.
He claimed the stage with his posture, his presence, his prowling. At the same time, his performance was in service to the tribute to Queen, never elevating himself above the song or the members of the band. He started his ethereal vocals in shadow, as if saying, "Who I am is not important. What I am singing, what we are creating, what we are paying homage to is key."
He threw the focus repeatedly to Brian May, encouraging him, acknowledging him, egging him on, enticing him onto the catwalk with him, leading him out front to his fans. He at once threw himself into the performance with total abandon and fearlessness, subsuming who he was into the greater total of what was being created. Yet, by doing that, and by doing it so masterfully, he was also being quintessentially himself. I do believe that only Adam Lambert could have accomplished that performance that night.
Adam has arrived. Adam has claimed his power and his place. It is magnificent to see and hear.
