I guess the folks at Entertainment Weekly find the rest of the Idol finalists kinda boring, because it’s only Adam Lambert who graces the May 11th issue.
What’s more, the cover story appears to focus on the burning question of whehter OMG! an openly gay contestant can win American Idol. They name check Will Young and Clay Aiken as gay Idols who came out of the closet after their Idol runs.
Interestingly, they don’t mention Canadian Idol’s reigning winner, Theo Tams. Openly gay, he was permitted to discuss his life and his relationships in a frank and honest way while competing on the show last summer. Didn’t seem to hurt him any. And from what I could tell, there weren’t screaming headlines in the Canadian press wondering if a gay guy could win Canadian Idol…
In 2009, with so many openly GLBT peeps represented across the entertainment industry, including many reality shows, I’m not getting why this is such a big damn deal.
From the press release:
New York, NY à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ There is nothing more valuable to the health of an eight-year-old TV series than a surprise, and for American Idol, it rarely happens. But once in a very long while, someone arrives who doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t just dominate American Idol, but challenges and even changes it. And that has happened with the current seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s contestant Adam Lambert. With his mop of glam-rock cobalt-blue-on-dyed-black hair, his hearing, his sneering, and his unambiguously ambiguous sexuality, Adam would have probably been brushed off early on. And there was also a time, more recently, when Adam would have made it to Hollywood but been dismissed as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“too Broadwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“too musical theater.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
Then in walked this 27-year-old from San Diego, a chameleon of a singer who was unashamedly everything that the Fox reality show thought America didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want. And he flattened the competition. He has been able to morph from a quasi-punk whom the judges accused of being à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“like something out of Rocky Horrorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ to a Rat Pack sharpie to a grown-up crooner. Other contestants who have tried this on Idol routinely get accused of lacking identity.
Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s always been a fracture between how you succeed on Idol and how you succeed beyond Idol once you enter a world in which being the cookie-cutter product of a network series is a liability. But Adam has taken a battering ram to that aesthetic. And heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s doing so while playing out the big issue à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ the gay question à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ with a complicated mixture of caution and shrewdness. Though Adam is widely assumed to be gay, the most he would say to EW about the public scrutiny is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I know who I am. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m an honest guy, and Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just going to keep singing.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
Now the question is whether an openly gay contestant can win American Idol? The question is being considered everywhere from fan blogs to The New York Times à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ but weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re still one openly gay contestant short of a test case. Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sexuality offers a fascinating challenge to the showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s status quo. Is Idol ready for a gay winner? Possibly. After all, its British forebear Pop Idol crowned a contestant, Will Young, who came out shortly after he won. And Idol itself came close when Clay Aiken, then closeted but somebody who even house plants surmised was gay, finished second. But is Idol ready for this gay(ish) winner? Perhaps not. Clay, after all, never sang à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m gonna give you every inch of my loveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ while wearing skintight pants and green glitter guyliner.
Unlike his counterparts, who commodify their lives on their sleeves, Adam isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t talking about it. Maybe ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s still too costly to say who you are. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s certainly costly not to. Does he feel he canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t? Does the show feel he shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t? Is his choice personal or strategic? Will it pay off? And does any of this represent progress? (Cover story, Page 24)
Do I detect a note of hope in your post? LOL. I’m sure many would like to see that, but of course artfully done with not everything shown. A PETA ad, or the cover of Vogue.
I would never think that if someone didn’t vote for Adam, it had to do with his sexual orientation. I would assume he wasn’t their cup of tea.
I have no trouble understanding why people don’t vote for Adam or anyone else, but I have trouble seeing how people DO vote for someone like Danny.
However I had a shock last night. Talked to my brother, an ultra-liberal, in the midwest, he is watching Idol for the first time this year, and his favorite is Danny! His enthusiasm waned though when I mentioned that he was a big fundamentalist.
I asked him why he liked Danny and he said “it’s not that the’s the best singer, I just like his personality and the way he performs.” My brother is educated and as I said, a non-religious liberal. So to my surprise, some people don’t see him as arrogant or smirking, I guess they like his smile. I still think it’s the religious voting bloc keeping him in the top though. My brother, for instance, has never voted and would never vote more than 1 or 2 times if he did.
For half the country it is a non-issue and for the other half, it is a big issue. Unfortunately the entire country votes for Idol contestants, so the question asked by EW is, will the country vote for a flamboyant theatrical gay man and let him win? Fair question.
“No but American Idol is. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the most popular (hence the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“popà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ in pop culture) television show in the US. At least 44 million people watch the show every week.”
It’s the epicenter of pop culture? Is that why we get Neil Diamond nights and Dolly Parton nights and Andrew Lloyd Weber nights and Rat Pack nights and Disco nights and over-the-hill Rocker nights?
You’re right, most people watch Idol and don’t read about it online or visit blogs or message boards.
I think people vote for all kinds of reasons. Mostly because they simply like a contestant and what they represent to them. I admit I have liked people who were not the strongest vocalists but they spoke to something inside me.
But there are definitely many people who vote based on their cultural and religious beliefs. However that didn’t help Mandisa. It did help Phil and Chris Sligh, I believe, get as far as they got. But obviously Danny has something going for him besides just religion because that alone wouldn’t get him this far, and the judges see something in him too. Though I suspect in their case the producers told them in the beginning that they wanted Danny in the finale and thus they better pimp him from the get-go. Yes I truly think that’s possible.
It would be a travesty to me if Danny won because he is not a good singer. He has a decent voice but he totally doesn’t know how to use it. MJ describes him aptly as a bull in a china shop. He has little sensitivity or artistry, just a voice, which he ruins by singing too gruffly half of the time. If he wins I will think he was the worst Idol winner in history.
If there is a gene that makes you recognize Danny’s talent, I must be missing that gene.
Its only on the internet blogs and forums that there is much hate for Danny…Many people i talk to dont have that perception of him…..they watch the show, enjoy the performances and switch off……..My Sis for instance likes him a lot, and thinks he has a great attitude(She was complaining about Lil’s mouthing off and used Danny as an example of how to comport yourself when being critiqued!!!) and i was like … :jittery_tb:
she hasnt watched tuesday’s episode yet though :mrgreen_wp:
I totally agree. 22 million watch the show each week, you can’t double that, lol. No way.
Maybe because we know more about what’s really going on and we aren’t as innocent in our knowledge LOL. We aren’t as susceptible to the pimping or the manipulation.
maybe,LOL..i’m still wondering if that’s a good or a bad thing though……..I miss sometimes just watching the show without pre-conceptions about all the behind the scenes gimmicks etc…..enjoying the show and shutting off…
But i just love the internet, cant help myself!!!
Sometimes ignorance is bliss
I watched the first season without the internet and it was not less stressful though, I wanted to throw shoes at Simon. At least I can get online and find others who share my feelings. But it does take away some of the magic.
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Add [Archieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s] charming personality, his thoughtfulness, and his gorgeous smile and it gets even better, and he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need guyliner or makeup. His skin is perfect.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s also a better singer.
This ^^^^^^ lol
Archie don’t need no artificial makeup. He is naturally good looking. Yea he is young, but that gives him the edge. How many old people try to look younger? lol
la la, I saw on one of the fan sites that Archie has written us another tune.
“Nobody Knows’
I think Soundscene you told us. :cool_wp:
Dang i wanna hear that tune.
Don’t know if anyone has seen it, but Perez Hilton has posted a story on his page about Adam. It’s a collage of all the drag and kissing pics someone is circulating thru the net. The collage is headlined (and I’m paraphprasing here) Really America? Is this who you want for your next American Idol? So yes there are some out there who are not ready.
Random… but I was just looking at MJ’s Twitter and I thought this was funny. Look at the tinyurl adress for this post. Now sound it out…
:laugh_tb:
It is what it is. Pop culture is a pretty wide net. And when you’re talking music – it can span decades and still be considered popular/populus. Dolly Parton is still selling albums and filling arenas and so is Neil Diamond. Frank Sinatra is STILL considered ICONIC…just anecdotally, my husband who wouldn’t be caught DEAD watching Idol and has a few choice derisive words for my hobby (although since he’s lately been a beneficiary of my obsession he’s stopped complaining a bit…) – anyways – he goes through a phase about once a year where he becomes interested again in Rat Pack music – Keely Smith, Louis Prima, Dino, etc…. I think more people return to that music than you make think.
About the 44 million comment I made upthread…I think it’s statistically important to note that TVs are tuned to AI 44 million times…we dont even KNOW how many people per household are watching. (Or do we? I dont know how Nielsen calculates or however this number is arrived at). But viewership is calculated per night. Also about voting – even if the voting is done by 6 million people (I would think that sounds about reasonable if 64 million votes came in – 6 mllion being 10% of the total number of votes) – that’s significant and represents a cultural force. To deny that AI represents a chunk of pop culture would be to deny Ed Sullivan or Wonderful World of Disney or any other iconic family TV show. What comes through the box, for better or worse, shapes the lens through which we view the world and experience music, art, film, sports, books, etc. All of it. TV is powerful. Popular TV is VERY powerful.
“It is what it is. Pop culture is a pretty wide net. And when youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re talking music – it can span decades and still be considered popular/populus.”
Idol may be a popular reality show but it is to pop music what McDonald’s is to fine cuisine.
Well, folks,Mr. Lambert just won Idol. GlamRock all the way!
“Well, folks,Mr. Lambert just won Idol. GlamRock all the way!”
If only we were back in the seventies…(sigh)
mj, Theo Tams did not discuss his sexuality during the run of Canadian Idol and has never discussed it publicly, to my knowledge (and I followed the show pretty closely last summer. Thanks to you, by the way!).
On the show when he performed the song, Apologize, he said (answering a question by the host, Ben Mulroney), he was in a realtionship and he “just had to tell ‘em,” it’s too late to apologize. As far as I know this was the only “admission.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huecVWc3uFs
Oh, you are so right about this. This year more than ever, religious beliefs may actually determine the results. When pastors tell parishioners that morals are part of the decision to vote for Danny (or Kris), then it has started to get ugly.
I am positive that Adam will be in the Finale. Danny and Kris share many of the same demographics, so a good portion of the eliminated contestant’s fanbase may pass along their votes. “American Idol” becoming a part of a sermon is disturbing.
Now, I am wondering what would have happened if Adam was an active church goer? Would all of this become more of a non-issue?
So have this edition on the shelf yet? anybody seen it ?