It's a Very, Very Mad World
mjsbigblog.com/american-idol-season-8-top-9-performance-video-2.htm
My apologies for not embedding. It's everywhere by now, though, so just check out MJ's blog. It's fantastic anyways. Go ahead and watch the others, but watch Adam's first.
First of all, the song Adam chose this week was just perfect. Mad World... I've never been in love with the song, but I hadn't heard Gary Jules' version until last night. It's so haunting, and the way Adam chose to sing it was simply ethereal.
This performance is a perfect example of why I am in love with Adam Lambert: Dramatic lighting, knowing where the cameras are and how to use them, using his fashion sense to add to the total experience of the song, and then - of course - that voice.
I will be honest and say that I don't know if this was his best vocal ever. I can't tell if he's tired, a touch sick, or was just trying to sing a bit "off voice" and ended up not supporting his tone fully. It just wasn't as effortless as usual for him, but being that effortlessness is a relative thing, he still sang circles around anyone else. He overshot the last note a bit and quickly corrected, and I was a bit bummed he didn't just hang on to that higher note and then resolve it as if he'd done it on purpose, but I understand what performing is like, and what goes through the mind.
Now...that said...
You know what? I realized last night that it doesn't fucking matter if he misses a note, flubs some pitches, etc. It doesn't. It doesn't take away from my experience of hearing/seeing him one bit. I have said that about precious few artists. Josh Groban, at one point, was one of them. It never mattered to me if Josh strained for a high note because with him, it was all about the EMOTION. When you watch an artist who is so emotionally connected to the music, you almost get this uncomfortable feeling, like you're watching something very private and you may disturb them. That's how I felt watching Adam sing Mad World last night. I don't know if he even realized there were people in the room as he sang. Every note, every word, he was feeling it so strongly that we couldn't help but feel it too.
When I auditioned for Star Search, one of the girls in my group sang Jewel's Foolish Games, and she was so emotionally involved that the rest of us got kind of fidgety. But you know what? I was SO jealous of her. I consider that song to be mine, not gonna lie. Ever since my best friend and I performed it in a talent show in high school, it's had a special place for me, but I couldn't have come close to the connection this girl had. Adam does that. He makes me jealous for so many reasons, but most of all he lets himself completely feel. I knew he 'got' every word of Mad World last night, and it was both wonderful and heartbreaking to watch.
[/Adam gushing]
On to the rest...
I don't know why the judges were so hard on Kris last night. They tore up Lil, babied Scott, praised Matt...but Kris? He got no love. I didn't think his song was the most awesome thing in the world, but his voice is damn good, he knows how to use it to the best of his abilities, and he does interesting things with the songs. And he's damned cute. So why the Kris hate? I don't get it.
What do you think, kids? He's at the bottom of DialIdol. If he's cut tonight, think they'll save him?
They've gotta use the save before it gets down to 5... and I don't think that any of the other bottom ones are worth saving so maybe for Kris??? Maybe? Please agree???