Ann Powers: Why Adam couldn't go disco on disco night

For many faithful fans (and one judge, considering Paula Abdul's absorption in his every move), this year's "Idol" has exactly one contestant: Adam Lambert. Others may earn our affection, and even sometimes even impress. But compared with the 26-year-old former chorus boy with the glam-punk mop and unearthly vocal range, they all fall somewhere between "average" and "decent." America may love Danny Gokey like a brother and think Allison Iraheta is pretty cool, but in Lambert they confront something never before seen on the show: the kind of pop star who can change people's lives.

That's a big claim, so let me elaborate. I'm not saying that Lambert is the greatest "Idol" ever, though his mad singing skills and confidence as a performer certainly put him in the top tier. What makes Lambert special is the world that made him: a web of subcultures that includes the musical theater that previously earned him his keep, but also the freaky burlesque of "The Zodiac Show," a Hollywood revue co-produced by Carmit Bachar, the coolest of the (former) Pussycat Dolls; the anarchy of Burning Man, the annual festival that builds temporary utopia in the California desert; the confrontational hedonism of glam rock, which he created with his band, the Citizen Vein; and the sensuality of the club, which he tried to conquer with experiments like the house-music flavored "Oh My Ra."

The life-changing pop stars Lambert emulates, from David Bowie to Prince to Madonna to lesser lights like Pete Wentz and Lady GaGa, open up the doors to these alternate universes. Through their example -- their music, their style, their way of moving through the world -- admirers can dream of a life beyond the confines of their "normal" lives.

The dream space Lambert opens up is one in which sexuality is fluid. Whether or not he ever publicly confirms his sexual preferences, he's forever associated with the androgynous, exploratory spirit of the scenes he's inhabited. Yet the viewer must assume that it's his choice to foreground or underplay his multifaceted identity. Which brings us to the matter of his non-disco turn on "Disco Night."

In keeping with his overall strategy -- alternating strutting cock-rock with torchy turns to prove himself both innovative and deserving of the sentimental vote -- Lambert abandoned disco's cowbell and kick drum in favor of a slow reworking of Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You," from that high point of the heterosexual 1970s, "Saturday Night Fever." The judges praised him, as always, but Simon Cowell did make one dubious aside. "I would have bet ten thousand dollars you would have done Donna Summer," said the judge, in a statement as beholden to type as Randy Jackson's ongoing insistence that Lil Rounds, the show's one remaining black contestant, must be the next Mary J. Blige.

Yet Simon's assumption contained a grain of insight. Not only is Lambert the only "Idol" striver left with gifts on par with disco's legendary divas; as an emissary from a more sexually diverse realm than this family show can ever present, he had a chance, this week, to do his community proud. Real disco fans (like myself) prayed he'd perform a song by the genre's sanctified drag queen, the late, great Sylvester. Or he could have chosen Gloria Gaynor's parable of strength in adversity, "I Will Survive." Or, if he were truly daring, Bronski Beat's 1984 disco-revivalist coming-out anthem, "Small Town Boy."

Should he have? Even if Lambert were to speak frankly about his own love life, he has no obligation to be a role model or even a representative of a certain subculture. More to the point, the maybe-gay lifestyle he already embodies is one whose connection to classic disco is fairly fraught.

For young gay men (and those, like Paula Abdul, who love them), disco presents a complicated legacy. It's the music of liberation, of communal pleasure and peacock pride. But it's also linked to an era of abandon that preceded the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic. Plus, it's hardly hip and young. Though club kids keep reinventing beats and finding new divas to adore, they have often distanced themselves from their elders; to many, the tight T-shirts and mustache of the Castro Clone are as embarrassingly trite as the love beads of the Old Hippie or those pictures in the family album of Mom marching braless on Washington.

This generational shift has been happening for decades. AIDS mobilized many in the 1980s and gave rise to "queer" culture, which blended punk attitude with street-activist grit. That movement pulled down many closets and allowed for a new paradigm to emerge: the integrated gay man or woman, embodied today by Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John, who maintained connections to more separatist gay and lesbian traditions but ultimately "fit in" with a mainstream that, at least on the surface, was largely heterosexual.

"There are now openly gay legislators," wrote the journalist Andrew Sullivan in the New Republic in 2005, in an article tellingly entitled "The End of Gay Culture." "Ditto Olympic swimmers and gymnasts and Wimbledon champions. Mainstream entertainment figures -- from George Michael, Ellen DeGeneres, and Rosie O'Donnell to edgy musicians, such as the Scissor Sisters, Rufus Wainwright, or Bob Mould -- now have their sexual orientation as a central, but not defining, part of their identity."

Central, but not defining: This seems to be how Adam Lambert experiences his maybe-gayness. For many older or more insistently progressive gay men and women, this new attitude posed a threat. "The eventual disappearance of gay culture constitutes a significant loss, not just for gay people, but for American culture in general," wrote Daniel Harris in his provocative 1997 book, "The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture." Like older feminists who lament their daughters' rejection of that term, or people of color who worry that hip-hop culture may have lost touch with the spirit of the civil rights movement, some witnessing the waning of drag, Judy Garland worship, and, yes, the discos of West Hollywood and Fire Island thought that a crucial sense of being and purpose might be lost in the process.

Adam Lambert's rise is part of the way these traditions did survive, transformed. Gay culture, always as varied as the men and women who created it, now has many public faces. And younger performers have taken up their legacy, run with it, made it new. Post-punk stars like John Cameron Mitchell and Justin Bonds have taken drag in bold new directions. Wainwright confronted the "gay icon" Judy Garland in a series of performances, and now he's writing an opera. Hercules and Love Affair, with Antony Hegarty on vocals, reaches out for the glory of 1970s disco while acknowledging the melancholy that was also part of that world.

Disco was never just a gay thing. It's just as crucial to the development of African American music and European pop; we can't forget Chic and ABBA, even if "Idol" did this week. But disco is music about freeing your sensual and sexual sides, and about trying on different shades of male and female -- about "shopping in the women's department," as Abdul said Kris Allen did by playing a Donna Summer song, or knowing, as Anoop Desai did, that "real men wear pink." Adam Lambert chose to not take that kind of chance on disco night. But then, he has been all season long, and probably all his life.

-- Ann Powers

Photo: Fox

Comments

[Ann]

I wouldn't overanalyze it, Ann. He told Ryan he already did a disco song, so he wanted to try something different, hence his slow version of "If I Can't Have You." Also, last week he was wild on the stage and he says he's a two-trick pony, so he had to slow it down this week.

Got it? Nothing sinister, nothing to be analyzed.

[Ryan Tarasuik]

I think that Adam is brilliant and has a uncanny taste for vocal sound and awareness as di the king of rock Elvis Presley/ I hpe to see more of Adam beyond the site of American Idol.

[suew]

Interesting article, but I agree with the other poster in that its much more simple. He did the disco song already another week, and he alternates between the slow and rock every week to keep it interesting and probably to grab some voters that may not like the over the top stuff. You're right on the money when you say he has no obligation to a community or sub-culture, and that he has been taking chances probably his entire life. I don't understand then, the statement that he had the opportunity this week to "do his community proud" by singing a song by a drag queen. This is a talent competition, pure and simple, and should have nothing to do with a person's perceived sexuality. Adam doesn't make it an issue, neither should we. Let him sing the songs he wants to sing the way he wants to sing them - he's obviously the one running straight to the finish.

[suew]

Interesting article, but I agree with the other poster in that its much more simple. He did the disco song already another week, and he alternates between the slow and rock every week to keep it interesting and probably to grab some voters that may not like the over the top stuff. You're right on the money when you say he has no obligation to a community or sub-culture, and that he has been taking chances probably his entire life. I don't understand then, the statement that he had the opportunity this week to "do his community proud" by singing a song by a drag queen. This is a talent competition, pure and simple, and should have nothing to do with a person's perceived sexuality. Adam doesn't make it an issue, neither should we. Let him sing the songs he wants to sing the way he wants to sing them - he's obviously the one running straight to the finish.

[Rose McBeth]

PS Burning Man happens in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.

[sierrarose]

i tend to agree with the first poster. adam already did a disco song. he deserves credit for taking "if i can't have you" and making it his song. that is what he has been doing all season long and that's why he's getting so much respect from fans.

[Pat Gannon]

I agree totally with the above poster. Everyone seems to be over-analyzing Adam, maybe in an effort to understand him - as if he were some stange creature from "out there" and we don't know what he is, but we want more. He shocks us and we love it. He surpries. He awes. He charms us and we melt. Fact is, he is simply the perfect storm as an entertainer. The key to this attraction, aside from his awesome vocal range , is that he tells us a story that we totally buy with each song. Our hearts break and we want to protect him when he sings Mad World. In his 2-minute performance of Born to Be Wild, he took us back to the last time we lost ourselves in a live rock concert, unleashing all of the euphoric and joyous feelings often experienced at such events. He is Adam Lambert and he is a star like none ever.

[Jay]

Adam's past experience in Zodiac has given him some bad habits- The Shrieking. Adam is the most talented singer and performer American Idol has ever had. He shines when he goes back to his incredible raw singing talent and incredible emotion. Sure, he gained valuable performing experience in his past shows, But Zodiac used him in a way by pegging him into a narrow ditch of emo shrieking over-the-top glam rock to satiate their distinct audience. So even though he thought he was going toward himself in those let-it-all-out productions, he was actually moving away from himself.

Why should you, Zodiac, or anyone peg him into what he should be. He is best when he knows he can transcend the stereotypes and come out as the great talented singer that he really is, like he did in MAD WORLD, his moment of triumph, and in Shir Lashalom and The Prayer. He could even be in movies. When he is truly himself then he connects to everyone in the country, like Elton John was able to do, and he will win this competition and go on to greatness.

[LoverOfIrony]

Is it only me, or is it rabidly ironic that Adam Lambert and his glam rock god persona is dominating American Idol in a city that is notorious for passing Proposition 8? I guess they love them singing, but not marrying.

[Nix]

This is exactly why I've always run screaming hands flailing from "the community". It always ends up demanding people adopt its own "sense of being", and become some sort of flag-carrier, banner-waver. And for pete's sake, Powers, Bowie? Prince? Even whatshisname emo rocker with the guyliner is brought down by this comparison. Only two Idol winners have ever been remembered: Kelly and Carrie. Expand that a little to the non-winners, and aside from Daughtry and the outlier Jennifer Hudson, we've got ... Clay Aiken. Who looks like he has the same feeling about The Community as I do. Do we even remember who won last year?

[JT]

I notice you do not mention the songs Adam sang with Noa Dori, SHIR LASHALOM and THE PRAYER. That is also Adam Lambert. He has the most amazing voice and stage presence. He is not just your stereotype. He was also in the play Wicked and in The Ten Commandments as Joshua. He is very very talented and Multidementional as all great talents are. He doesn't have to be "the gay man" dancing the proper disco tunes to please the agenda of anyone and fit into what some people want a gay man to act like. He doesn't have to be "gay" to please you. When he chooses a song, why should you or anyone judge it according to agendas. That is doing him an incredible injustice. Adam made an incredibly wise choice to get on American Idol, because his talent would have been lost in the Clubs who were pinning him down and using him into a freak show, where he would have been drained by the time he was 30. Adam should win American Idol.

[Ringo]

You are spot on, in my opinion. I hear Sylvester and I see swarthy Italian boys with thick mostaches and brown kerchiefs hanging out the back left pockets (or is it the right pockets) of their skin tight jeans. You get the picture.
My lasting hope is that Adam realizes that winning Idol is like being sentenced to a gilded birdcage from which he will not escape for years. So he decides to come out, authentically, in the finale and shakes those hips, waves those arms, and torpedo's his chances intentionally, allowing Danny Godkey [sic] the win. The shock and awe created could reverbeate across the country and convince some doubters, or at least their impressionable kids, that gay is okay.

[Ringo]

I agree with you Ann. I imagined (fantacized?) would have Matt signing Sylvester surrounded by a phalanx of swarthy Italian boys, bumping and grinding in wife beeaters and tight blue jeans, each with a kerchief in an appropriate color hanging out of the appropriate back pockets. Alas, it ws not meant to be.

What I now hope is that Adam will have an epiphany before the finale that winning Idol would be like being sentenced to a gilded bird cage, forrced to sing crappy songs in a crappy way for two years. So he decides to torpedo his chances with a prancing, hip shaking, arm and wrist waving romp of "You Make Me Feel." or "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me." The shock and awe of it reverbeates across the country, shaking the bedrock of core Christian kids. Sure, Danny Godkey wins after all, but we all are changed a bit, in a good way.

Amen, Ann.

[Inflammatorywrit]

Interesting how the first poster (ironically named "Ann") implies that bringing up questions of Adam Lambert's relationship to the gay community and how that impacts his performance choices is "sinister". Just proves how much work there is to be done in way of tolerance.

[Carrie]

Good point, JT. Shir Lashalom is one of my favorites and he sang it beautifully. I think Adam completely defies stereotypes and he's the most talented contestant American Idol has ever had.

[Pheeeebeeee]

Is there a point to this article or is it just another excuse to bring up the subject of Adam's sexuality. What's the problem? Is it getting too close to the wire and there is a real possibility of Adam winning? We can't be having that can we?

I think Adam made it more than clear why he wasn't performing a disco track this week. He already had only three weeks ago. The theme for this week was changed just before last week's show because the planned mentor cancelled. Had there been plans for a disco week, perhaps Adam would not have performed Play That Funky Music on downloads week.

RINGO, why should he intentionally sabotage his chances just to satisfy those with a hidden agenda and those who seem to think that the show, the record company and the management are the big bad wolves? Why should he hand victory to someone not fit to shine his shoes? Quite frankly, the only contestant who comes close is Allison and then it's only as close as the Earth is to the Sun.

Not winning would stall him. Not least in terms of the international buzz he has already created. He would not be able to release anything until a considerable time after the winner. He would only be invited to perform where his material was released rather than as the winner of AI.

Adam is unlike anyone else they have ever had on the show, both in style and talent, and that is said with all due respect to past winners and other notable contestants. He is just as good for the show as winning would be for him and those involved in the show know that. The sister record company and 19 Management have not exactly done badly by Leona Lewis, the only comparable talent to emerge from one of Syco's talent shows.

[Frankie]

Two things that annoy me:

1. The constant, unnecessary and irrelevant mentions in the media of Adam's sexuality.

2. Those who purport to know what is best for Adam based on what they would like to see him do.

Both the references to his orientation and the (ridiculous) suggestions that it would be better for him not to win are intended to put people off voting for him. By doing so you insult Adam's talent and the people you are hoping to influence.

[Stu]

I think Adam should have sang the song "It's Raining Men". Would have been WAY more entertaining.

[R. Jones]

It should also be noted that Adam seems especially shrewd in his choices; notice for example after the widely diesseminated and hoopla of the pics of him making out with the guy - the same guy who the cameras panned to as part of Adam's "friends and family" section early in the competition - is now suddenly nowhere to be seen. Coincidence? Maybe. But more likely it is an attempt to disengage and disassociate the images of the internet guy from him in the audience - thereby negating any gay b/f linkage.

Seen in this way, it may be that Adam is conscious of the disadvantage of having that guy panned to (say, as often as Carly Simons tattoed lizard man was panned to) as a means to muddy his orientation for those who so readily will accept it's improbability (as opposed to the majority of us who acknowledge and know it).

Either way, it's calculation - now whether or not that blends in with the broad, culture-changing theme of the article is a different question.

[rob]

Hmm.
I'm afraid I'm not as impressed with Adam as everyone else is.

Like Jay, his insistence on shrieking in EVERY song is bordering on unforgivable - he even did it in "if I can't have you" (which, BTW was arranged EXACTLY as i heard it live in Los Angeles 2 years ago by a Female pianist named Alicia Keys- so much for originality).

He's got skill but is far too cocky to resist his penchant for shrieking and oversinging in every song to show off his pipes.

$5 says Lambert makes top 3 but doesn't win.

[M. Wright]

Adam Lambert is starting to experience many new things, one of which is the type of verbose over-analyzing that you have done here Ms. Powers. This type of attention will come with his newfound stardom. While I appreciate your attempt to contrast his "maybe gayness" with the "disco culture", I think your time would have been better spent analyzing his talents, which are many. Adam is who he is, I don't think he is trying to hide anything. The internet is riddled with photos and information about him. While I suspect he is going to win this much discussed "talent show" as someone called it, that is only the beginning of what we will see from him. Adam has a quality not often seen, I imagine he will be the Superstar of this generation. I wish him well, he seems like a genuinely nice person and I am amazed at his humbleness and gratitude toward the judges. I hope he will maintain some semblance of normalcy and will be happy with his new life. Good Luck Adam.

[Lenny Leon]

Adam has a great vocal range. Sexual leanings? Who cares. The fact is he does not or will ever reach greatness. He just doesn't have IT. Most of the greats by the time they were Adams age were well into their GREATNESS. Elvis, Elvis Costello, JImi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Judy Garland, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin Jim Morrison, Mozart. Different Time Different Place But I am sure he will do fine by today's standards

[Ann]

LOL @Inflammatorywit- Here we go again with the overanalyzing! I didn't mean anything by the word "sinister"; Ann the blogger just made the whole thing sound like something "sinister" was going on since Adam did a mellow song on disco night. Bottom line, I'm extremely tolerant of gays, couldn't care less if Adam is gay, I voted against Prop 8, yada yada yada. I love Adam! I think he's the best AI contestant EVER and I've actually purchased his songs on itunes - that's how much I love his singing. I think he's smoking hot too! Sorry if I sounded intolerant by using the word "sinister"! Enough with the overanalyzing! All you Adam lovers like me, let's just kick back and enjoy him!

[Cazana]

I think you're confusing Adam's competitiveness with an agenda and his multifaceted identity with a cover up of flamboyance. I fully agree that Adam is a trans-formative figure who could have a profound cultural impact. But I would not dare confine him to one community's agenda. Yes, the gay community does need a bold, empowering all American leader who was not forced to come out of the closet after years of denial and speculation. I personally would love to see someone as enterprising as Adam on the cover of the Advocate crying victory. Yet his sexuality is a non-issue in the context of his powerful, unique, multifaceted identity. He's a chameleon and a chameleon is not anymore inherently rainbow than he is inherently brown or pink or blue. It's the ability that defines him. Adam seems a natural to take over a greater swath of culture and bring everyone together to a fun, new state of being- an emotional, loving and joyous world of diversity and acceptance. He could be the Aquarius for the new age of Aquarius. Could you imagine the audience at his concerts?

But that's getting waaay ahead of ourselves. He's in a competition and he's the most aggressive, risk taking, intimidating competitor. He's also the smartest front runner in that he gauges his performances week to week to maximize the number of fans and hold their interest. Again, a la the chameleon, he morphs into leather and eye liner for the straight guys and teenagers, then sweeps up his hair and dons a suit for the ladies, then dances to Funky Music for the gays and old ladies. He's not one of these who sells out to the others, he's the full deck of cards and he's playing to win. To suggest he's compromising his true self for the sake of votes is to at once deny the full breadth of his identity and to forget that he's a guy having the time of his life who really really wants to win.

[Laura]

Like others have said, I think you're overanalyzing. He said he already did a disco song. He wanted to do a slower version of this great disco song, which he did. I was so happy with his choice. Every season, I've waited for someone to sing "If I Can't Have You," because I think it's such an awesome song. He made it sound current and sang it beautifully & emotionally. He poured his heart out singing about whoever hurt him in the past. He bared his soul in front of millions of viewers & sounded "immaculate" as Simon said. What more can we ask for? Is everyone so desperate to write something about Adam, (because of his popularity), to reach this far into what he should or shouldn't do & representing something that you think he should or shouldn't represent? He doesn't have to flame it up every week to prove his sexuality to anyone. He handled all the media questions about the kissing pictures and everything with grace and class and did not run away from the questions or deny anything. He has owned everything with such confidence and humility, and he couldn't be a better role model in that respect. Why do people think that he has to come out waving a rainbow flag on the AI stage singing "I'm Coming Out" or "It's Raining Men" to satisfy them? He's trying to win this contest and fulfill his dreams that he has worked his life for, and I think he's handled it all beautifully. Just let the man sing, entertain, continue to blow our freakin minds, and let us enjoy witnessing the birth of a music superstar on our televisions for the next few weeks.