I really, really hate to say it, but Clay Aiken makes a good point about American Idol and Adam Lambert:
“The minute that Adam Lambert was singing ‘Ring of Fire’ … at that moment, [I] thought my ears would bleed. Contrived, awful, and slightly frightening! I wasn’t really a fan and found myself surprised whenever folks told me that they liked him.
“This year, there was an obvious bias. Not even having watched the show, I can tell you that I was WELL aware of the bias from the judges as to who should win. In my opinion, that is awfully unattractive. I don’t think I am alone.
“I think many voters got sick of being “told who to vote for”. I think many were turned off by the blatant favoritism shown towards one contestant. Therefore, on that last night, they used their votes against a contestant that they were tired of hearing about and for the contestant who had been written off.”
And this from Gene Simmons:
“Respectfully, I don’t think Adam is a rock singer,” Simmons writes. “He sounds much more convincing singing ballads and Broadway shows. His voice doesn’t seem to have a ‘rock quality.’ But, I’m sure he’s going to do just fine.”
This article appears in May 19-26, 2009.
