Adam Lambert article in an Israeli teen magazine
Due to popular demand, the scarcity of Hebrew speakers with translation abilities and myself wanting to return the favor, I translated the article that was published in Maariv La'noaar (Israeli teen magazine) today.
Here are the scans of the article, uploaded by mokasosex to the Israeli Adam Lambert forum:
cover:
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4083/1148867774.jpg
article:
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/5720/1148867998.jpg
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/3258/1148868351.jpg
pictures:
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/6278/1148868109.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2824/1148868175.jpg
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/624/1148867890.jpg
I tried my best with the translation. I did not proof read this so sorry for any embarrassing grammar or spelling mistakes.
The eighth season of American Idol was labeled by many as a war between conservative America and liberal America. On one end, Kris Allen, the good, modest Christian guy with a pleasant voice. On the other end, Adam Lambert, the charismatic, wild, theatrical guy with the huge voice and ambiguous sexual identity. Although Adam came out officially only after the show had ended, backstage his sexual orientation was out in the open. The black nail polish, the stylish outfits and the makeup that were all part of his performances on the show, left little room for doubt- the guy was not straight. Pictures of him kissing guys that were revealed during the show, did not aid the concealment of his secret from America, but did contribute, however, to the surging buzz around him. The liberal media compared Adam to Barack Obama, and hoped that the unusual contender, like the first black president, would manage to win the American conservativeness against all odds. Throughout the duration of the show, Adam kept mum about his sexual orientation. On the night of the finale, the judges urged the audience profusely to vote for the singer with the superior vocal ability. In other words, to vote for Adam Lambert.
Despite that, over 100 million viewers ultimately preferred the boring Kris Allen and even though Lambert hugged Allen right after the announcement, a feeling that something unfair had happened was prevalent. Adam, the most talented guy that has ever competed in all seasons of American Idol, had lost and along with him, the show. American Idol lost its buzz and its audience who falsely believed that in America anyone can succeed, mo matter his personality or sexual orientation. The fact that weeks before the finale the Christian right in America supported Kris Allen, while claiming the victory of Adam Lambert would be disastrous, only exacerbated the feeling of unfairness.
But you did not let it happen again. You know what you love and you chose Adam as the number 1 star in our international stars chart. He has knocked Robert Pattinson (number 4) out of the top spot and surpassed "Casi Angeles" (South American telenovela- E.L) and Justin Beiber (number 19). So why exactly did you choose Adam Lambert? Probably because of his uniqueness, because he works hard for his art and because, in a way, we can all identify with the feeling of being an outsider and being different.
Rock Star?
Adam was born on January 29th 1982 (and will very soon celebrate his 29th birthday) and grew up in San Diego, California. Just like the cliché about the boy who would rather wear his mom's clothes, Adam too preferred to wear a costume- a Halloween cape- and sing in front of the mirror, rather than run after a ball in the park. He discovered his love for music after browsing through his father's old records collection. Adam's father was, not surprisingly, a DJ in his younger days. The collection included many Glam Rock albums from bands such as Queen. While Adam's liberal parents cultivated his performance arts talents and enrolled him to a kids' theater group, Adam started feeling uncomfortable next to his classmates in junior high. "I started to realize I was not like any other kid and that it's all in my head. It drove me crazy, said Lambert in an interview. "I did not want to be naked and vulnerable and I was so afraid of my sexuality. In high school, Adam kissed a few girls, but very soon realized it was not for him, and so did his parents, who had always suspected their son was not exactly straight. The walls of silence between him and his parents collapsed after he had graduated from high school, in a moving monologues night he attended with his mother. "One of the kids spoke dramatically about his parents turning their back on him, after finding out he was gay and that he almost died because of it", tells Lambert about that night. "On the way back to the house, I noticed my mom was worried, and at some point she asked me: 'do you have a girlfriend?', I said no, and then she asked: 'do you have a boyfriend?' I said no again, and she asked: 'do you want one?', 'yes', I said, 'that would be nice', and since then she knows".
Adam found comfort on stage, of course. At a young age he attended acting classes and was part of many school and professional productions. Not surprisingly, dropped out of college after five weeks in favor of pursuing a career on stage. As part of his endeavors to fulfill his goal, he even worked in theaters in Germany, where he had gone through the major change of his life that shaped him into the person we know today. He started to experiment with his sexuality, used drugs for the first time and dyed his red hair to dark black. After coming back to the US, Adam embraced his new lifestyle and socialized with the hippie group of "Burning Man" festival. The group was composed of young people who were drugs, astrology and freedom of expression enthusiasts, and was the perfect environment for the special and eccentric Lambert. Alongside them, he evolved musically, learned how to write songs and started performing as the lead singer of a hard rock band. Among the members of "Burning Man", he met his first love. "I evolved spiritually when I was with him", told Lambert about his relationship with said guy, "we treated our relationship like a workshop, and we talked to each other about the ways in which we want to grow and evolve". Other than his true love, Adam owes his decision to audition for American Idol, to "Burning Man" as well. "I was having a psychedelic experience. I looked at the clouds and said 'WOW!'. I suddenly realized that everyone in the world has their own power and no matter how complicated what I want to do with my life is, I'm the one that need to make it happen". And so he decided to audition for the show. From there, his road to the top 12 was short. Like a dream come true, Lambert's status skyrocketed all over America, and throughout the show he maintained his wild style, tittering the fine line between rock and pop. "Everyone is so fixated on whether you are a pop singer or a rock singer", attested Adam to one of the questions that accompanies his career, "and it's not that deep. Being a rock star is just acting. I can't believe I'm singing for a living now, while playing dress up!".
During his time on the show, Adam did not allow his sexual orientation to play a significant role in his life, and the media could not get him to refer to his sexuality. "I was afraid it would be too sensationalized", said Lambert after the show ended, "and I did not want the discussion over it to overpower what I really came there to do, which was sing". After the show, Adam came out in a revealing interview in "Rolling Stone" magazine, which quickly turned him into a gay icon, even thought he was not interested in being one. "I'm trying to be a singer, not a civil rights leader, and I think I have the prerogative to speak about my own sexuality", he explained. "The only thing all of us in the gay community have in common is that we're all gay. Why can't we just talk about the human community?" So on one hand, he is an out homosexual, but on the other hand, Adam isn’t quick to dismiss other experiences: "There's a part of me that a little bit curious about the other side. I made out with girls a handful of times when I had too much to drink. I don't know if that will ever happen again, but I'm kinda interested.
Getting the media's attention
Unlike many other starts that emerged out of American Idol, Adam Lambert worked hard to preserve the appreciation he had garnered. In the last year, he released his first album, "For Your Entertainment", that was largely successful, but made headlines for his provocative performance at the American Music Awards, when he kissed a male keyboardist, and shoved the head of one of his dancers down his crotch, as part of a dance routine. "I went up on the stage, charged with sexual energy, and it scared people", told Lambert later on, "in retrospect, I can say that that performance hurt my album sales at the time cause it happened on the eve of its release. On the other hand, that performance made me break out of the Idol mold, and it was important for me to get noticed. It's just something that happened. It was an outer body experience". In the last year, Adam received even more praise all over the world, and was nominated for dozens of awards, including the Teen Choice Awards. He won an award for his hit single "Whataya Want from Me" in the American (Canadian- E.L) Video Music Awards, the same single that has recently received a Grammy nomination. In the last season of American Idol, Adam returned to the show as a mentor and guest performer and did not shy away from criticizing the contestants to their faces. Undoubtedly, Adam's biggest success over the past year was his acoustic album that has received rave reviews. The critics overjoyed at the non amplified version of the songs, saying it gave his voice a chance to shine. Some critics even compared Adam to Freddy Mercury and his voice to that of an opera singer.
Another rather funny occurrence that got the media talking happened three months ago, as Adam attacked a paparazzi photographer. The singer, who leisurely strolled on the beach, encountered a few photographers that started taking pictures of him. One of them got too close and Adam tried to teach him a lesson, by awkwardly fighting with him while unsuccessfully trying to snatch his camera. Later Adam tweeted: "I lost control, but god, it made me feel good!"
And what about relationships? The American tabloids are claiming Adam is back to his ex, Drake Lebry, and that the two are hanging out, while trying to keep a low profile. Adam is perceived as one of the important singers, amidst the cookie cutter American singers, a male version of Lady Gaga (who has written a song for him). His surprising win in our "100 stars" chart is another link in his chain of recent wins, and we can only hope Adam keeps singing and creating great music.
The Jewish angle
So Adam Lambert is Jewish, so what? Don't expect a Hebrew album soon….
Like any other star, we quickly brand as our own, as soon as we find out his grandfather's grandfather visited Israel once, Lambert is also Jewish. But do not expect a Hebrew album in the upcoming year, Adam was never a practicing Jew, never visited Israel and doesn't really know how to speak Hebrew. However, he says he wouldn’t mind putting on a kippah (worn by religious Jews or at a synagogue- E.L), "as long as there are rhinestones on it". His connection to Judaism comes down to him singing "Shir Lashalom" (a song for peace- E.L) in Hebrew and English, in a Yitzhak Rabin (an Israeli prime minister that was murdered in 1995) memorial ceremony. "I don’t know a word of Hebrew, maybe just shalom", told Lambert to Maariv La'noaar in an exclusive interview held in April 2010, "so I had to memorize the lyrics, word for word.
Here are the scans of the article, uploaded by mokasosex to the Israeli Adam Lambert forum:
cover:
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4083/1148867774.jpg
article:
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/5720/1148867998.jpg
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/3258/1148868351.jpg
pictures:
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/6278/1148868109.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2824/1148868175.jpg
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/624/1148867890.jpg
I tried my best with the translation. I did not proof read this so sorry for any embarrassing grammar or spelling mistakes.
The eighth season of American Idol was labeled by many as a war between conservative America and liberal America. On one end, Kris Allen, the good, modest Christian guy with a pleasant voice. On the other end, Adam Lambert, the charismatic, wild, theatrical guy with the huge voice and ambiguous sexual identity. Although Adam came out officially only after the show had ended, backstage his sexual orientation was out in the open. The black nail polish, the stylish outfits and the makeup that were all part of his performances on the show, left little room for doubt- the guy was not straight. Pictures of him kissing guys that were revealed during the show, did not aid the concealment of his secret from America, but did contribute, however, to the surging buzz around him. The liberal media compared Adam to Barack Obama, and hoped that the unusual contender, like the first black president, would manage to win the American conservativeness against all odds. Throughout the duration of the show, Adam kept mum about his sexual orientation. On the night of the finale, the judges urged the audience profusely to vote for the singer with the superior vocal ability. In other words, to vote for Adam Lambert.
Despite that, over 100 million viewers ultimately preferred the boring Kris Allen and even though Lambert hugged Allen right after the announcement, a feeling that something unfair had happened was prevalent. Adam, the most talented guy that has ever competed in all seasons of American Idol, had lost and along with him, the show. American Idol lost its buzz and its audience who falsely believed that in America anyone can succeed, mo matter his personality or sexual orientation. The fact that weeks before the finale the Christian right in America supported Kris Allen, while claiming the victory of Adam Lambert would be disastrous, only exacerbated the feeling of unfairness.
But you did not let it happen again. You know what you love and you chose Adam as the number 1 star in our international stars chart. He has knocked Robert Pattinson (number 4) out of the top spot and surpassed "Casi Angeles" (South American telenovela- E.L) and Justin Beiber (number 19). So why exactly did you choose Adam Lambert? Probably because of his uniqueness, because he works hard for his art and because, in a way, we can all identify with the feeling of being an outsider and being different.
Rock Star?
Adam was born on January 29th 1982 (and will very soon celebrate his 29th birthday) and grew up in San Diego, California. Just like the cliché about the boy who would rather wear his mom's clothes, Adam too preferred to wear a costume- a Halloween cape- and sing in front of the mirror, rather than run after a ball in the park. He discovered his love for music after browsing through his father's old records collection. Adam's father was, not surprisingly, a DJ in his younger days. The collection included many Glam Rock albums from bands such as Queen. While Adam's liberal parents cultivated his performance arts talents and enrolled him to a kids' theater group, Adam started feeling uncomfortable next to his classmates in junior high. "I started to realize I was not like any other kid and that it's all in my head. It drove me crazy, said Lambert in an interview. "I did not want to be naked and vulnerable and I was so afraid of my sexuality. In high school, Adam kissed a few girls, but very soon realized it was not for him, and so did his parents, who had always suspected their son was not exactly straight. The walls of silence between him and his parents collapsed after he had graduated from high school, in a moving monologues night he attended with his mother. "One of the kids spoke dramatically about his parents turning their back on him, after finding out he was gay and that he almost died because of it", tells Lambert about that night. "On the way back to the house, I noticed my mom was worried, and at some point she asked me: 'do you have a girlfriend?', I said no, and then she asked: 'do you have a boyfriend?' I said no again, and she asked: 'do you want one?', 'yes', I said, 'that would be nice', and since then she knows".
Adam found comfort on stage, of course. At a young age he attended acting classes and was part of many school and professional productions. Not surprisingly, dropped out of college after five weeks in favor of pursuing a career on stage. As part of his endeavors to fulfill his goal, he even worked in theaters in Germany, where he had gone through the major change of his life that shaped him into the person we know today. He started to experiment with his sexuality, used drugs for the first time and dyed his red hair to dark black. After coming back to the US, Adam embraced his new lifestyle and socialized with the hippie group of "Burning Man" festival. The group was composed of young people who were drugs, astrology and freedom of expression enthusiasts, and was the perfect environment for the special and eccentric Lambert. Alongside them, he evolved musically, learned how to write songs and started performing as the lead singer of a hard rock band. Among the members of "Burning Man", he met his first love. "I evolved spiritually when I was with him", told Lambert about his relationship with said guy, "we treated our relationship like a workshop, and we talked to each other about the ways in which we want to grow and evolve". Other than his true love, Adam owes his decision to audition for American Idol, to "Burning Man" as well. "I was having a psychedelic experience. I looked at the clouds and said 'WOW!'. I suddenly realized that everyone in the world has their own power and no matter how complicated what I want to do with my life is, I'm the one that need to make it happen". And so he decided to audition for the show. From there, his road to the top 12 was short. Like a dream come true, Lambert's status skyrocketed all over America, and throughout the show he maintained his wild style, tittering the fine line between rock and pop. "Everyone is so fixated on whether you are a pop singer or a rock singer", attested Adam to one of the questions that accompanies his career, "and it's not that deep. Being a rock star is just acting. I can't believe I'm singing for a living now, while playing dress up!".
During his time on the show, Adam did not allow his sexual orientation to play a significant role in his life, and the media could not get him to refer to his sexuality. "I was afraid it would be too sensationalized", said Lambert after the show ended, "and I did not want the discussion over it to overpower what I really came there to do, which was sing". After the show, Adam came out in a revealing interview in "Rolling Stone" magazine, which quickly turned him into a gay icon, even thought he was not interested in being one. "I'm trying to be a singer, not a civil rights leader, and I think I have the prerogative to speak about my own sexuality", he explained. "The only thing all of us in the gay community have in common is that we're all gay. Why can't we just talk about the human community?" So on one hand, he is an out homosexual, but on the other hand, Adam isn’t quick to dismiss other experiences: "There's a part of me that a little bit curious about the other side. I made out with girls a handful of times when I had too much to drink. I don't know if that will ever happen again, but I'm kinda interested.
Getting the media's attention
Unlike many other starts that emerged out of American Idol, Adam Lambert worked hard to preserve the appreciation he had garnered. In the last year, he released his first album, "For Your Entertainment", that was largely successful, but made headlines for his provocative performance at the American Music Awards, when he kissed a male keyboardist, and shoved the head of one of his dancers down his crotch, as part of a dance routine. "I went up on the stage, charged with sexual energy, and it scared people", told Lambert later on, "in retrospect, I can say that that performance hurt my album sales at the time cause it happened on the eve of its release. On the other hand, that performance made me break out of the Idol mold, and it was important for me to get noticed. It's just something that happened. It was an outer body experience". In the last year, Adam received even more praise all over the world, and was nominated for dozens of awards, including the Teen Choice Awards. He won an award for his hit single "Whataya Want from Me" in the American (Canadian- E.L) Video Music Awards, the same single that has recently received a Grammy nomination. In the last season of American Idol, Adam returned to the show as a mentor and guest performer and did not shy away from criticizing the contestants to their faces. Undoubtedly, Adam's biggest success over the past year was his acoustic album that has received rave reviews. The critics overjoyed at the non amplified version of the songs, saying it gave his voice a chance to shine. Some critics even compared Adam to Freddy Mercury and his voice to that of an opera singer.
Another rather funny occurrence that got the media talking happened three months ago, as Adam attacked a paparazzi photographer. The singer, who leisurely strolled on the beach, encountered a few photographers that started taking pictures of him. One of them got too close and Adam tried to teach him a lesson, by awkwardly fighting with him while unsuccessfully trying to snatch his camera. Later Adam tweeted: "I lost control, but god, it made me feel good!"
And what about relationships? The American tabloids are claiming Adam is back to his ex, Drake Lebry, and that the two are hanging out, while trying to keep a low profile. Adam is perceived as one of the important singers, amidst the cookie cutter American singers, a male version of Lady Gaga (who has written a song for him). His surprising win in our "100 stars" chart is another link in his chain of recent wins, and we can only hope Adam keeps singing and creating great music.
The Jewish angle
So Adam Lambert is Jewish, so what? Don't expect a Hebrew album soon….
Like any other star, we quickly brand as our own, as soon as we find out his grandfather's grandfather visited Israel once, Lambert is also Jewish. But do not expect a Hebrew album in the upcoming year, Adam was never a practicing Jew, never visited Israel and doesn't really know how to speak Hebrew. However, he says he wouldn’t mind putting on a kippah (worn by religious Jews or at a synagogue- E.L), "as long as there are rhinestones on it". His connection to Judaism comes down to him singing "Shir Lashalom" (a song for peace- E.L) in Hebrew and English, in a Yitzhak Rabin (an Israeli prime minister that was murdered in 1995) memorial ceremony. "I don’t know a word of Hebrew, maybe just shalom", told Lambert to Maariv La'noaar in an exclusive interview held in April 2010, "so I had to memorize the lyrics, word for word.