Monday 20 April 2009

Top 8 - Mad World


The subject of the week's song was so broad, I really didn't have a clue what the contestants were going to sing. I didn't know in which years they were born, as at this point, I hadn't yet rollercoastered into obsession.

My eyes were on Adam once again, and he was wearing a much softer look with light colours, with a Beatles-like hair styling. He looked cute but I wasn't too keen on the scarf.

The introductory clip showed photos of Adam as a young, blonde, freckled child wearing multiple costumes. It revealed that as a child, he loved dressing up and was quite hyperactive, to which his parents responded by getting him involved in theatre. His father wryly mentioned that he wasn't into sports and revealed a very dry sense of humour. I was hit by Adam's honesty in openly admitting that he liked to dress up, perform and be the centre of attention rather than do the usual alpha-male sporty activites.

I didn't know what song he was going to sing until he came on to perform. When it was announced, I was gleeful in anticipation. I really love the Gary Jules version of Mad World, which I remember was a Christmas number 1 in the UK. It's a beautiful song with a very haunting vocals set against simple piano chords

When Adam appeared, he was sat on a chair on the middle of the stage bathed in an ethereal blue light from behind. I couldn't work out what was going on to begin with, because his legs and the seat seemed to merge with the stage. It looked like his whole mid-section was missing, and the top of his torso was perched on two extremely skinny and short legs that were very far apart. There was also something a bit Close Encounters about the blue spotlight.

At the start of the performance, his voice sounded quite breathy and a little restrained, with a very faint echo effect. His face was in darkness for most of it with the focus being on his vocals, but you could really feel the emotion emanating out of his well-controlled, chilling voice and what little of his expressions you could make out. It sounded very much like the Gary Jules version so far, so I wondered how he would put his stamp on it. My question was answered when he sang 'nervous', a truly spine-tingling moment and one that caught me off-guard. He slowly built the song up and gave me a goosebumped heart-stopping moment during his crescendo 'Look right through me'. That 'me' was such a powerful moment which I didn't expect, and didn't exist in the original. The end of the song tailed off in its haunting manner. Even though the last note was ever so slightly sharp before he corrected it, it was a truly mesmerising, moving performance. It felt like a culmination of everything coming together for him on the night. A perfectly chosen song choice that wasn't obvious, not quite mainstream, which suited him. He changed enough of it and improved on the melody and emphasis to make us remember it. He captivated the audience by taking us into his world by understanding and feeling the song. I felt like he sang it from the depths of his heart and he made us empathise with the alienation the song painted, making us believe he felt like an outsider and was never fully accepted. I saw his performance as reaching out to the area of his audience who felt like that, and I thought he became a role model for them.

He gave his bright smile after the performance and seemed happy with it and the audience reaction. When Simon gave him the standing ovation, he seemed a little overwhelmed by it all, taking a few deep breaths. He seemed very earnest in his thanks in reponse to the comments which increased my respect for him. This was a performance that I wanted to watch again.

13 comments:

  1. Birth Week was the first time I tuned into AI this season. My daughter and husband watch from the first episode until the last but I never tune in until later since I only enjoy watching the more talented performers. They also call each other at the end of the episode to compare notes. I only watch TV if it has been taped since it allows me to be in control of how I spend my time. Adam's performance was cut off and I heard my husband ask my daughter "how did Adam do?" since she had seen it. They are both huge Alison fans. My daughter said he did really well as usual and my husband was concerned for his little red-haired rocker. I decided to find the performance online. When I finally was able to watch it I remember saying to my husband and daughter "why didn't either of you tell me that there was this phenomenal contestant on the show this season". They thought he was good but not as good as Alison. I googled and researched until I had seen every AI and non-AI Adam performance. This began my journey into the "vortex of obsession". Here I am several months later thoroughly enjoying your website and re-watching for the uptenth time Adam videos. It is 6:00 in the morning! This has never happened to me. I am 52 years old and even my love of Davy Jones of the Monkeys when I was 10 doesn't even come close to my obsession for this charismatic, charming and brillantly talented young man. My older son is only a few years younger than Adam so I have spent a great deal of time trying to understand my reaction. Your explanation helps me understand the reason for my obsession. Thank you for the time you are taking with this website. It is the first one I go to in my continuous quest to be entertained by this "once in a lifetime" performer.

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  2. Stacey, I love reading comments like yours describing a similar journey to mine - thanks. Like you, this obsession is a first for me too and I'm often baffled by it, finding it both hilarious and absurd. I usually turn my nose up at these karaoke contests but my circumstances brought me to it before Adam hooked me. He is something really special, the effect he has on us is just phenomenal.

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  3. Kathy, (I think that is your name) I am looking forward to seeing Adam, Kris and David Cook live in Central Park on Aug 7th. My husband works in NYC and may even get up at 3 a.m. to drive in with me. I'll let you know how I feel after seeing Adam in person for the first time. I will probably be more obsessed! In May, my husband was walking to work past the NBC studios and heard Adam singing Mad World. He called me just to let me know that he heard Adam sing live first and that he sounded great. He isn't easily impressed so this really meant something. Thanks again for your website!

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  4. Stacey, nope, my name's not Kathy! I'm sure you'll have an amazing time there and hope you're a morning person. Look forward to hearing about your experience.

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  5. OMG Stacey, when I read your comments, I couldn't help thinking back about how I became madly obsessed with Adam starting from his performance of "Mad World".
    I'm in Australia and two years ago, I had attended a local school concert, and a boy had sang Mad World in one of the musical numbers. I thought that it was a pretty nice song (first time I heard of it). So went home and googled it to see who the original singer was etc... watched a few other versions by Gary Jules, Tears for Fears, and also Adam. Wow, the moment I heard that song being sung by Adam Lambert ( the first time i ever heard Adam sing), i was mesmerized, I just couldn't get enough of it. I couldn't get enough of HIM. I searched out everything and anything about this guy on the internet. And the more I find of Adam, the deeper I get. There's no stopping. I also found the community of Glamberts who have similar unexplainable obsessions for Adam. I'm a 43 year old mother of two, and I feel like i'm a teenager again. I've lived through the musical era of Wham, Michael Jackson, Madonna etc... But I've never been so captivated by anyone as much as Adam. And I think this Is going to last a very long time.

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  6. Anonymous, it looks like we all have a similar story to tell - Googling him and the endless hours of hunting down everything of his. I'm glad I got in there early because if I'd caught on now, I'd never get round to seeing everything! Glad you are here for the ride.

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  7. 2 years later.. Still watching the same vids over and over again.. Thanks! :)

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  8. MARTI, Are you still enjoying them the same 2 years later? I guess this is a testament to the timeless appeal of these performances.

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    1. god forbid Freemantle puts out a DVD of all of Adam's performances, do they not ahve a clue of the market there is for this amazing man??

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  9. Here I am again 2 1/2 years later enjoying this performance. My obsession hasn't diminished and grows stronger. I love the new song and can't wait for the next album and getting together again with all of my Adam friends to flail at another concert. Thanks so much for your dedication to our cause and I love the new performance website!

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    1. shafen, thanks for the comments and glad you like the new site! Hope it'll be really useful as the performances continue to accumulate. Can you believe it's been 3 years now since his audition was aired? Looking forward to this exciting new era with you.

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  10. It´s amazing to see how a lot of people share the same feelings I have.At first I was a bit afraid of my obsession,(cause I never had one like this before).Looking forward to Trespassing!!!!

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    1. Stella Centurion, safety in numbers! I find this first obsession of mine downright scary at times too.

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