winterlive | [ take a good look ]

a friend of mine asked the other day why adam lambert is so all fired awesome, anyway. i put together a little picspam and some recommended reading for her, and anybody else who's wondering.

this is adam as you probably know him already - some dude on american idol who came out as gay in rolling stone after the show was over, and nobody was particularly surprised. adam was asked what was going through his mind during this photoshoot, and he said (to paraphrase): half of it was, you know, trying to be in the moment and project that wild, sexy vibe they were looking for to the camera. and then half of it was pure terror, because there's a PYTHON ON MY CROTCH.

this is the kind of outfit that adam put together for himself when he was appearing on idol - or, you know, on a wednesday. hair, eyeliner, shirt that hasn't been cut that low for men since disco and some kind of, what is that, a cat o' nine hanging from his belt? fingerless motorcycle gloves? i don't even know. it's ridiculous. nobody can do this kind of thing, it's just outrageous and over the top and-

...okay, i guess he CAN.

so, adam used to do theater. the american idol judges frequently cited adam's tendency toward dramatics as something he'd have to work on; more arena rock and less broadway, please. but adam, being adam, said that while he would certainly keep an eye toward that as he moved forward in his career, a certain amount of dramatism sort of came with the territory when it came to him, so there would always be an element of it in whatever he did. it's just who he is.

one of the things i love best about adam is that he does what he does with absolutely zero sense of irony. he paints his nails and chooses his earrings for the night, he went to goddamn rolling stone and did his own eyeliner while there, because that's just who he is. it doesn't have to be who everybody else is, no, far from it. but he revels in the things he loves, knows his way around all of them with his own hands. he doesn't let it define him, and he doesn't have even an ounce of shame about it. i don't know if he's got the best PR people in the world or what, but what he projects is very down to earth, kind and sweet and a total inability to take any bullshit about being kind and sweet and down to earth. i'm not explaining this right. you have to see it to get it.

here. maybe this will help.

he's not sleeping, just listening closely. <3333

okay, the next thing you should know about adam is that he is a very good musician.

adam can slink and vamp around a stage until you all die, as seen above, or he can put on a suit and comb his hair back and turn into a completely different person who somehow is still very HIM. please see below for links to video of his live performances, including specific recommendations; you will see what i mean.

the top 10 american idol finalists are touring right now. almost every night, somebody throws a bra up on stage at this confessed gay boy's feet. the first time it happened, adam picked it up, twirled it around his head (it was magenta, hard to miss) and then fired it into the crowd to shattering cheers. when interviewed about the new habit his fans have picked up, adam declared he thought it was hilarious and fun and great. bring it on. keep it up. he does obscene things to the microphone stand and cusses on stage, and he invariably gets chewed out for these shenanigans, as idol is supposed to be a family show, but if you're up there trying to cover bowie and zeppelin, come on. shut the fuck up. some things are just part of it.

kris allen, the american idol you can fit in your pocket, thinks adam is pretty neat, too. they were roommates at the idol mansion and are the best of friends. kris allen is the best christian in america because he doesn't give a damn about anything adam is, except for goodhearted, and he says so repeatedly on TV. he's very humble and nice, you should like him too. adam likes him.

in conclusion, LOOK AT THAT PUNIM. he couldn't be more nauseatingly adorable if he tried really, really hard, because he is at the top level, okay? even though most of the time he is busy being this weird sexy thing who loves mani-pedis and is built like a brick house, he has maxed out on cute. and i'm not even gonna lie, that's what sold me. cute is my total downfall. ugh, lambert. seriously.

okay, resources!

adam's american idol page, where you can watch videos of all his live performances. specifically recommended are: tracks of my tears*, whole lotta love, mad world. ring of fire.

adam lambert dot net, full galleries.

yeats's absolutely necessary rec list of, in her words, adam lambert fic that doesn't suck.

buffyx's adam/kris pairing primer, including video & pictures.

and that's why adam lambert is pretty fucking awesome. please leave any questions in the box below. <3

*the stripped down acoustic version of tracks of my tears is my unconditional favorite of adam's AI songs. it is in no way representative of his usual rock god style, and perfectly representative of adam as a soulful musician who puts his entire heart into every performance he gives. smokey robinson gave him a standing o, and smokey robinson wrote the fucking song. y'all betta reconnize.