If you want to be blown away even more, look up his live performances of Regina Spektor’s “Samson”, Five for Fighting’s “Superman”, or Coldplay’s “Fix You”. STUNNING!

If you didn’t and are curious what you missed, you might read what people – even those who don’t normally like opera – thought about this documentary:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/gp-at-the-met-the-audition/preview-this-behind-the-scenes-documentary/913/

Thanks for the tip Gumbo Girl! I am recording Oprah right now. Sometimes Adam makes me laugh, although I don’t think he is trying to be funny. The man sure can sing! I bet he would be fun to go shopping with too!

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Adam-Lambert-Performs-If-I-Had-You-Video

Sorry I can’t embed.

Mindy, I agree with your extensive (well-written) thoughts about Adam not having an artistic point of view or at least not presenting it in this album. I would have been delighted if Crawl Thru Fire was representative of his pt/view and he’d done an album in that vein. But, alas, he is a man who admits he LOVES pop and dance music. It’s what he listens to. He’s described being torn between what he wanted to do (electronic/pop/dance music) and what he built his following on (classic rock sounds) and so tried to blend the two on this album. Hence, the hodgepodge sound.

I’m willing to bet his career will take some twists and turns and only some of the music he’ll produce will delight me. And I’ll enjoy (most of) the rest of it since it’s his voice and he’ll execute it well, whatever it is.

AOL had an interview with Ellen and Simon, and Ellen said she would be honest with the contestants. She made it clear she will not be warm and fuzzy the way Paula is; nor will she be mean like Simon. My concern is that so much focus will be centered on HER and not the contestants. Four judges did not work well last season.

Also, Randy says there will be more edgy acts like Adam and Allison. What I would love to see is 24 contestants who are truly talented – no comedy acts like last year!

This week, I have been hearing so much about Elvis and appreciating the beautiful voice he had. There will never be anyone quite like him again. This is my personal opinion, I am happy I have been around to hear it all.

Take care everyone and I look forward to some lively conversation from this *cool* group of people posting here!

MCL, are you ready? )

Okay kariann 1, I will admit that I am getting a little excited about season 9, I may watch, but only out of curiosity, HA!!!

MCL, is there a thread for the new season? Only 9 days left!

Take care everyone!

Yes, it was Smooth, I really like that song, I really like Rob Thomas!

Also thought of another name to add to our list! Laura Branigan, What a voice in the 80′s!

SMOOTH! Don’t worry, I’m here to help out. Hopefully, you can do the same for me when my middle-aged brain forgets to work! Anyway, it’s the thought that counts!

I think Elvis and Freddie had a real sense of who they were and what it was all about. They existed in two different eras and were quite different in their vocals and performance style. But what they had in common was a true belief in their music, a strong sense of who they were as artists, and a stage presence that was positively awe inspiring. That is why they are still revered today. Elvis was the true king of rock and roll. No one can ever take that away from him. No one will ever come close to him. Freddie was one of the greatest singers, songwriters, musicians, performers ever to come along. He managed to incorporate opera into his music. He was a true genius. Freddie could do dramatic, over the top outrageous. But when it came right down to it, as in the Live Aid concert in 1985, Freddie was a commanding presence holding an audience in the palm of his hand. He didn’t miss a beat. Elvis also knew what was important when he performed in his many concerts. He came out in those sequined jumpsuits and took control of the audience from the first note. He knew that it was all about his unmatched vocals, his charismatic presence. He was the show. There was no need to have fake gimmicks, artifice. It was all about him.

These two men made history. They were true to themselves. It’s the songs and the voice that survives. The rest is unimportant. What has struck me as I watch Adam Lambert, is that he doesn’t really know who he is as an artist. He has no musical identity. While his attempt to embrace all genres of music on his album, was admirable in concept, in execution it came out as a mish-mash of a bunch of different songs thrown together. There was no vision. I still am waiting for him to articulate a real artistic vision. Now he has the fame that he has sought for so many years. But what will he do with it? Will he write a new page in musical history as legends like Elvis and Freddie did? Maybe that’s an unfair comparison. Adam is not Elvis or Freddie. I know that now. But he needs to find out who he is and what kind of music he wants to sing. That’s what it’s all about, not sexually explicit garbage, giving the audience the finger, doing shocking things just for the sake of it. There has to be a real creative force behind the music.

I may not be a fan of Lady Gaga’s, but I can appreciate the fact that this young woman has an artistic point of view. She knows who she is and what she wants to sing. She understands her fans. She articulated this in an interview with Barbara Walters on her ten most fascinating people special. I dearly wish I could have heard more from this talented young woman. I feel that her stage dramatics detract from great vocals. When she performed on the AMA’s, she smashed glass so that she could get to her piano, which was on fire. Then she sang a gut wrenching ballad so beautifully that it almost brought me to tears. This girl has a great voice and real passion. She writes her own songs. She spoke about her fans feeling like outcasts, weird, not being popular. She said that her songs were for them. She wanted to let them know that they are okay just as they are. Many of her songs have that dreadful synthesized sound that I despise. But she has a great voice. I may not be a fan, but I can respect her for having a unique artistic vision. At least there is a thought process at work in her songs. I can’t say the same for Adam.

Louise,

Thanks so much for the reminder about the incomparable Annie Lennox! She has always been one of my favorites. Now that’s a woman with a voice that is unmistakably hers, instantly recognizable the moment you hear it. She is truly one of the great female singers. I am so grateful that people here keep reminding us of the many great singers. I enjoy celebrating them.

Regarding the discussion about including opera and classical music on Idol, I have to say that I don’t think it will work. Although I respect and admire this music so much, I just can’t see it working. I don’t think most of the contestants would even be able to sing it. These are young people who don’t have the training required to do this music justice.

kariann,

I happen to dearly love folk music. I grew up listening to it as a young girl. I have downloaded many of Peter, Paul and Mary’s amazing songs. They are part of my childhood. I cherish them. It was sad to hear of Mary’s passing. A few singers tried to introduce some contemporary folk music, with mixed results. It would be great to have it as a theme with mentors like James Taylor and Carole King.

Vonnie,

Carlos Santana! I love him! He has been around forever and somehow manages to keep going. I would love to see judges from different genres of music. But I don’t know that they are going to change things up that much on Idol. As it is we will have a new judge in Ellen Degeneres. She sees herself as kind of a people’s judge. She will approach it as someone who isn’t in the music business and is not a singer. We will have to wait and see if this experiment works or not.

I would like to see either the top 24 or the top twelve, have an open artist theme. Let each of the competitors sing what type of music they would sing as an artist. They should have this on the first night of comepetition! It’s so hard to know what kind of an artist most of these kids would be outside of Idol. Adam being a prime example…if he were to openly portray who he wanted to be as an artist up-front, it may have changed some people’s minds about him, but it may have brought alot more people on board for him.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

I have requested a FOLK MUSIC theme which has not been used. Some songs are considered “Camp Fire Songs” but they have the same vibe. Peter, Paul & Mary would probably be in this genre. Sadly, Mary Travers died this year. Many of Bob Dylan’s songs could be used. Pete Seger and others would be part of this theme.

Songs have been used but there hasn’t been a mentor in this field. I have also wanted James Taylor or Carole King as mentors!

May everyone have a happy and safe New Years Eve celebration! Wishing you all the best in the coming year!

And since I scanned some of the posts above, did anyone mention Annie Lenox when referring to wonderful female singers? I love her distinctive voice.

Frankly, I don’t care about Bocelli’s singing opera arias, though I do enjoy his singing romantic pop ballads and popular Italian songs. But I do not consider him an “opera singer”, at least not a particularly good one: his voice sounds too thin to me, his singing too expressionless, too boring, and his ability to project without amplification – a basic requirement for an opera singer – is questionable. In a real opera competition, he wouldn’t have gone too far. He has never been nor would he ever be invited by any of the major opera houses, and his attempts at unamplified opera singing in smaller regional opera houses got pretty bad reviews. Like this one:
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/01/arts/opera-review-a-blind-pop-tenor-takes-on-the-operatic-stage.html?pagewanted=1

BTW – remember a real opera student on AI – Rachel Zevita. I found her opera recordings on YouTube. She uses different last name when she sings operatic selections: Rachel Smyth-Godinger. She is a coloratura.

I know that the show has used him before as a mentor…I think that he could bring alot of common sense per say, to the table!

He also likes to work with non-classical types of voices too! He sings duets with alot of different types of singers.

Also, agree with your concern about the idols singing classical; some may be able to pull it off while others would be painful to the ear! So, I would suggest that they not add a Classical Theme! However, it would be nice to have someone with a well trained ear to be able to REALLY tell when someone is singing correctly, like our own MCL…!!!