Blake Lewis Talks Heartbreak on Vinyl

Awesome interview. Big Blake fan. I never thought about the similarities between him and Adam. Lyndsey is such a fangirl. :) I’m looking forward to the album, which seems like it’s more in his wheelhouse than ADD was.

I am a big Blake fan too. I enjoyed listening him talk about music so seriously and intelligently. I am glad he talked about being appreciative of idol and what happened between him and his former record company. I liked ADD, and I expect to like Heartbreak on Vinyl too.

he looks…. nevermind

I never thought about the similarities between him and Adam.

That’s probably because there aren’t any similiarities.

I have two questions:

a) What do you think he’s on?
b) What do you think his hair stylist is on?

Seems a bit jarring to go from the “I was always edgy” argyle sweater-vest look to this.

I can’t get the video to work, so I can’t comment on the interview. :-(

That’s probably because there aren’t any similiarities.

Except they both came in second on Idol and both described their albums using the words fusion, electo, rock, pop, funk. ;-) The sounds could turn out to be totally different, of course. But the words they both used to describe their music are eerily similar. Until we have Adam’s album and a basis for comparison, I think it’s a fair comment.

Except for their voices and their personalities are completely different. And their performance styles are different.

Alright, so basically I’m an Adam fan who’s offended by the comparison, humor me :P

Blake has a terrible voice… and the voice will always matter to me more than the type of production on the music.

Although rationally I have to acknowledge that it is a fair comment…The ways they describe their music sound similar.

Ugh, rationality.

2nd on Idol though… that’s irrelevant.

I like Blake :)

I like them both. I don’t expect them to have similar sounds, but they seem have similar tastes and aspirations. That’s all! :-)

Blake’s awesome! Comparisons are stupid. They are totally different artists–
At this point, Blake>Adam for me. But Adam is great too

I sat thru about a half hour total between part 1 (above) and part 2. I remember liking him during his season, but never heard anything from his first album, so never really gave him any further thought. However, after hearing him talk about some of these new songs, I might give him a listen when the CD comes out…. as long as it’s before Adam’s, because once that one comes out, everyone else is toast!

When Blake Lewis can walk out on a stage and do what Lambert does with Whole Lotta Love, we’ll talk similarities.

When Blake Lewis can walk out on a stage and do what Lambert does with Whole Lotta Love, we’ll talk similarities.

Haven’t seen the concert yet, but what you’re talking about is subjective. Not fact.

This is really a great interview. It was nice to see him talk about how he writes his music and what his album will be about. I am not a fan of Blake’s music but this was a good interview.

Now if you contrast that with her interview with David Cook you can certainly see a difference. David’s interview was 9 minutes and Blake’s two part was 30+ minutes. She had David talking about Adam and Kris for more than half the interview. He did not talk about himself and his music until the interview was two thirds over. And the last part she asked him about acting. Sigh

Haven’t seen the concert yet, but what you’re talking about is subjective. Not fact.

I don’t know. I think it’s pretty much a fact that very few singers in the world can walk out on a stage and deliver the performance Lambert gives on Whole Lotta Love. Whether you like it or not is subjective, but being able to deliver it is pretty much a factual thing.

No other male singer in the history of Idol can do it. Fantasia is the only female singer that could pull off something like that. I can’t think of too many singers in the hsitory of rock that can do that. The ones that have the peformance skillls to do something that over the top usually don’t have the vocal chops that Adam has.

It’s fact because Blake literally couldn’t sing the song like Adam does– the same notes and vocal technique.

Whether he could give an entertaining performance is subjective.

I don’t know. I think it’s pretty much a fact that very few singers in the world can walk out on a stage and deliver the performance Lambert gives on Whole Lotta Love.

Hyperbole: American Idol bubble style. Gotta love it. Heh.

Not really. I mean, I’ve seen some pretty good rock n’ roll singers. I’ve seen Robert Plant sing Whole Lotta Love when it was just released and he was in his prime. So, it’s not like I’m comparing Adam’s performace to John Peter Lewis. I honestly can’t think of very many rock singers who can do what Adam does. Not with that voice. Listen to what Robert Plant does on the glory note. He holds the note and then slides it down an octave. On his studio version. Adams holds the same note and then sllides it UP. That’s sick.

I’ve heard plenty of rock singers deliver that kind of sexual energy in a song, but not with those vocal skills. I just haven’t. But, I’d love to hear some names. Freddie Mercury? OK, that’s one.

Mick Jagger? No way. Steven Tyler? No way. David Bowie? No way. He didn’t have anywhere near those vocal chops. They could all do great things, but they can’t do what Adam does in Whole Lottta Love — shocking over-the-top theatrics combined with those power vocal skills. I’m open to hearing some nominees?

Now, doing a cover is one thing. It is yet to be seen whether Lambert has any creativity when it comes to new, original material. We’ll see. That’s a different animal. I’ll wait like everyone else to find that out. I’m also not suggesting that Adam is better than any of those singers, just that he delivers a performance on that song that they can’t.

Now, a comparison to Blake Lewis? He has neither the performaning skills nor the vocal chops for that kind of a performance. He probably can “beat box” better than Lambert, which may count for someone (if there is anybody) who wants to hear some dude beat box.

Wow, Adam Lambert has vocally surpassed Mick Jaggr, David Bowie, and Steven Tyler in rock performance: all in a reality show full of cover tunes! Now that’s amazing.

The funny thing is that excess is so counterproductive. Many people will check out an album based on reasonable praise. Claiming that the 12 songs he’s gonna put together in 3 months of touring is gonna exceed artists who made dozens of historic albums? Yeah, it turns me off, and I voted for the dude.

It will be interesting when his record drops and is being marketed to the actual album buying public. When those sort of Idoltastic comments start to flood iTunes and newspaper review sections, it tends to have a very cooling effect . . .

Edit: needs edit to be about Blake.

Blake had a very vocal online following, and was very popular on tour. Just tells you it’s a long hard road after that.

Now, a comparison to Blake Lewis? He has neither the performaning skills nor the vocal chops for that kind of a performance. He probably can ‘beat box’  better than Lambert, which may count for someone (if there is anybody) who wants to hear some dude beat box.

I’m sorry, but I didn’t see anybody saying that Blake Lewis had the vocal skills of Adam Lambert. Or even the performing skills. IMO, people can still have similarities and not be identical. If Blake and his fans had said “Blake is identical to Adam”, I could see why the argument presented would be successful in disproving it. But nobody claimed that.

What I saw claimed is that they perform they same style of music. IMO, if you cut and paste what they say about their music from one article to another, you wouldn’t notice the difference (talk about fusing electronic sounds with other genres and lots of name dropping of producers). So, I would agree with the claim. It’s true that Blake was able to demonstrate this style while he was on the show while Adam mostly stuck to the moldy-oldies, but I’m sure that Adam is capable of sounding current based on his “Muse” performance on tour.

They also both seem to come from the edgy club scene (a departure for Idol which in the past tended to feature contestants with more churchy, country, rock, pageant and/or Michael Bolton/AC backgrounds) and like to dye their hair to it’s extreme limits (most male Idols just add light highlights or subtle changes to hair colour. Radical dying of male hair doesn’t always sit well with more conservative people).

So, I don’t think that Blake is going to challenge Adam to a singing contest any day (just as I don’t think Adam will be challenging Blake to a guitar playing competition or an arranging competition), but I do see the similarities in which they are not conventional male Idol contestants, they are both club kids and they both want electronic fusion sounds on their albums (though that sound will be different because electronic fusion is not a homogeneous sound).

I have no doubt that Adam will outsell Blake and I think Blake is an a$$ (and I wouldn’t listen to his last album if you paid me), but I do think that Blake sort of paved the way for Adam even being cast on the show. Yes, Adam is mad talented and deserved to be on the show, but lots of mad talented people never make it past the cattle call because producers don’t think that what they do will work on TV until somebody similar paves the way.

I’ve never seen such a stupid, self absorbed interview. I’d like to club these two over the head and wake them up.

Blake has no chance of a career, except for playing shows with former Idols at county fairs, etc. He can talk about how “hip” he is, whatever! LOL!

Adam is following the same path, only he will be more of a joke. His fall from grace, will be worse than Blake’s.

I used to love him on the show, what happend to him, and how did his nose get so big, from telling stories so much???? :razz:

Listen to what Robert Plant does on the glory note. He holds the note and then slides it down an octave. On his studio version. Adams holds the same note and then sllides it UP. That’s sick.

You are mistaking vocal range with vocal skill. I’d compare him more to the female singers, and frankly at this moment I’d rather listen to Donna Summer or Patti LaBelle doing their stuff than Adam. And “shocking” isn’t a word that comes to my mind when I watched his WLL performance, “mildly amusing” is the more appropriate description. I remember coming across on TV recently an old rare Elvis performance (before he decided to tone his act down), and just went “WHOA!”, Adam never came close to giving the sort of visceral experience of watching someone with that kind of raw power in his music and performance.

Back on topic, I don’t really think Blake Lewis knows how to speak without coming across as a little big-headed and just somewhat deluded. He could possibly have succeeded without Idol (even 10 years from now) with the musical material he has, huh? Given that he has failed even with the help of exposure on Idol? I liked him on Season 6 and still don’t dislike him, but he should just cut out a few self-aggrandizing statements in the interview above and he might come across as more likeable.

So far I’ve liked both Heartbreak on Vinyl and Sad Song, but I grew up with the New Wave style. To be honest it’s a nice break from the frat rock and “R&B” crap that’s pretty much inundated the music scene lately.

However, I will say that I am hoping for a few songs that break the New Wave pattern.

In the end, those who hate him are going to still hate him, and those who like him probably still will. Just like with every musician out there.

Now if you contrast that with her interview with David Cook you can certainly see a difference. David’s interview was 9 minutes and Blake’s two part was 30+ minutes.

Ok, I gotta be fair to Lyndsey here, I just rewatched her interview with DC to compare, and it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it. She writes for an Idol-centric reality blog, so the Idol questions are inevitable. The difference with Brooke and Blake was that they each had like half an hour to get past those questions and get more in depth. If you scroll through the comments on DC’s interview, Lyndsey actually said she was literally given only 10 minutes in between golf holes to conduct her interview. Keeping all that in mind, she did what she could with her ten minutes and was very complimentary to DC.

I have no doubt that Adam will outsell Blake and I think Blake is an a$$ (and I wouldn’t listen to his last album if you paid me), but I do think that Blake sort of paved the way for Adam even being cast on the show.

I agree with this. To a certain extent, every Idol’s successful run on the show was made possible by the ones that came before– it’s just how the TV show works/evolves. Bo Bice paved the way for Daughtry, who, along with someone like Blake, paved the way for David Cook. Blake also paved the way for people like Brooke and Jason, and Kris who didn’t have those big voices, to do well. In fact, the combination of all those people I’ve listed paved the way for someone like Kris to win. Guys like Bo, Daughtry, Blake, Cook, probably all helped pave the way for Adam. It’s not taking away from Adam or Kris or DC to say those who came before helped them do well after.

Back on topic, I don’t really think Blake Lewis knows how to speak without coming across as a little big-headed and just somewhat deluded.

Can I just say that I appreciated what Blake did in Season 6, but he just comes off so douchy in interviews. I just watched DC’s interview so it’s fresh on my mind, but what a difference. DC wasn’t even at his best, but he answered much of Lyndsey’s similar questions so much more humbly. Lyndsey credited them both with paving the way for this season, and DC’s responses were always to credit others, citing Bo and Chris Daughtry (which he’s done a ton), and saying that Adam and Kris are being flattering and simply diverting attention by crediting him. Meanwhile, Blake’s all like, yeah, I’m the sh!t… haha. Differences.

Btw, Part 2 is up, gotta check that out, see if BLake redeems himself somehow.

I have trouble imagining myself buying any of Blake’s music, but one of the few true musical highlights for me from Season 6 (outside of some by MindyDoo) was his You Give Love a Bad Name. That was creative. Yeah, he had one of the weakest voices ever among top Idol finalists, but he knew what to do with it, which sometimes is not the case on Idol.

I can’t imagine Blake ever having had a heartthrob rep on S6. S6 seems to be the ugly stepchildren of the Idol franchise as far as seasons go, but it seemed the most commercially relevant (of that season’s finalists) won.

As for Lyndsey Parker, I may get my DC application to be Fan #1 revoked if I give her a pass for writing about Adam knowing how to be a rock star outside of the show while DC only knew how to be one on TV (or something like that). Not saying that either are rock stars at this point, but this was when Adam was still on the show and DC was already playing headlining concerts in support of his album. I know she’s a huge Adam girl and it’s perfectly fine that she lurves him more, but why diss someone you’re supposedly a fan of just to make a point about how great someone else is? Why not choose some other artist to diss instead of one you like? So nope, not buying her protestations of being a HUGE DC fan. (As I said, I’m a DC Fan#1 wannabe. Insert ‘jumping up and down’ emoticon here.)

The funny thing is that excess is so counterproductive. Many people will check out an album based on reasonable praise. Claiming that the 12 songs he’s gonna put together in 3 months of touring is gonna exceed artists who made dozens of historic albums? Yeah, it turns me off, and I voted for the dude.

Where do you see a claim about an album?

I made just one very specific “claim” — that very few rock singers can do what Lambert does with his performance of Whole Lotta Love — the combination of stage theatrics and vocal rnage/power/skill.

I’ve been through my iTunes list of several hundred male rock singers and can only find a dozen or so with the vocal chops — although, there are of course many I prefer to Lambert. For example. I conisder Bob Dylan to be the best male singer I’ve ever seen, but he obviously cannot do what Lambert does. He doesn’t have anywhere near the vocal chops.

Singers that made me stop and think – just vocally – were Robert Plant, Roger Daltry, obviously Freddie Mercury, Roy Orbison, obviously Elvis, Jim Morrison, and two soul singers Wilson Pickett and Otis Reading. I had to really stop and think about three of the best singers ever — Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Michael Jackson. I can’t find any recordings where they demonstrate power in their vocals. There strengths were more in different areas. A surprising candidate is Jerry LeCroix, the singer for Edgar Winter’s White Trash. That dude could wail.

I may get my DC application to be Fan #1 revoked if I give her a pass for writing about Adam knowing how to be a rock star outside of the show while DC only knew how to be one on TV

Yeah, I’ll grant you that’s a pretty dumb opinion to have when Adam hadn’t even left the show yet, BUT the nature of Idol-centric blogs and Idol fans is that each season, there will always be the new fave. In the case of Lyndsey, her new fave Adam surpassed DC, FOR HER. That’s her opinion and she’s allowed to have it. Just because she prefers Adam to DC doesn’t mean she can’t still like DC a lot. It also doesn’t mean that her DC interviews are automatically going to be terrible. So she dissed DC in favor of Adam. That’s her prerogative. That doesn’t make her a #1 fan, but she can still be a fan. I don’t think being a fan means you can’t like someone else more, or that you have to like them unconditionally. You also can be a fan of someone and diss them. There are a lot of bands that I support simultaneously, and I criticize all of them. I dunno, in her mind, she probably thinks she’s a huge DC fan because he still ranks among her top favorite Idols, albeit under Adam.

Anyway, back on topic: after watching a bunch of Miss Parker’s Idol interviews, I think her questions are not bad. She’s no Slezak, but she’s a fan of the show who knows her stuff and draws some interesting responses. I’d love to see her interview DC again– a long one. Her questions to DC may have been a tad Idol-centric, but at least she didn’t ask ANY of the chicken squawking type questions (do you prefer Kris/Adam, is Simon really that mean, what was it like to win Idol, etc.) I hope she interviews him again. Hope I don’t get my DC fan card revoked for saying that.

Weird. I thought ‘Whole Lot of Love’ was terrible (I thought it was one of the banner performances that could be pointed out the clear limitations of Adam when he tries to be a ‘rocker’ instead of the alternative pop singer he really is), so your mileage may vary. I do think Adam has a slew of truly great vocal performances (Mad World and Tracks of My Tears, for example) that no one else can do, and possibly has one of the greatest voices ever in terms of his vocal control and range. So there are certainly many songs Adam performs that Blake could never do.

However let’s not pretend that Adam can do what Blake does either. Go back and watch Blake’s version of ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’. That’s a song that only Blake could ever do, just to throw out an example.

And I don’t know why I never made the connection before, but clearly Blake paved the way for Adam. He’s also the Idol most similar to Adam so far, by a country mile. Sure, contestants like Bo and Daughtry (to a lesser extent) and David Cook (to a greater extent) may have also paved the way for Adam (though honestly all of them are much more similar to Kris in style and manner), but Blake is the most similar to Adam, in my opinion.

Blake seemed really tired in this interview, but I don’t get why people think he’s a ‘jerk’ he didn’t seem particularly arrogant to me, but I know that somehow he’s got that reputation (don’t know exactly why).

I kinda like 80′s synth-pop, so it would be kind of cool if his CD were similar. I hope he succeeds, I always thought he was talented, and also it would be really cool if someone who was previously labeled as having disappointing first album sales was able to make a comeback.

I made just one very specific ‘claim’  ‘” that very few rock singers can do what Lambert does with his performance of Whole Lotta Love ‘” the combination of stage theatrics and vocal rnage/power/skill.

The problem is that you made the wrong comparison with other singers. Like I said, he should be compare with female singers, because his singing style is often more of the likes of Patti LaBelle –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyQz0dnndFw

And she wipes the floor with him for that kind of over-the-top high-pitched wailing style of singing.

I don’t really see what’s so extraordinary about his WLL. The perception that there is a great deal of sexual energy there is entirely subjective, I’m sure a rabid Barry Manilow fan would think Manilow unleashes a tsunami tide of sexual energy whenever he gets on stage. And using the mic or mic stand to simulate sexual act is really quite old and clichd. I have said before that I do think he is arguably the best singer to come out of American Idol, but I wouldn’t even consider him if I were to make a list of 100 great singers. I’ll wait and see what he does with his coming album first, much too early to compare him with any of the greats.

Thanks sma11ie for the head-up on Part 2 of the interview. It’s better but still a bit egocentric.
ETA – I think it interesting that he considered doing an Imogen Heap song, at least showing that he got some taste. (Just editing to see how long I can still do it after posting, and it looks to be a very long time.)

I think that Blake is the most like Adam. I don’t like that type of music but they are similar.

sma11ie

Hope I don’t get my DC fan card revoked for saying that.<blockquote

No chance of that LOL but………
You see the problem with Lyndsey is she opened the interview asking him about Adam and Kris. That was her obvious focus. So she may have gotten a better interview if she had focused on David who she was in fact interviewing. So IMO she did not prepare well for David's interview. She was focused on Adam and Kris. Having said that she can like who she wants to like. But she has done a poor job with David in interviews IMO.

Smallie no cards revoked here. I think that Lyndsey has every right to like whoever she wants. She trashed David before Adam was on the show so it really has nothing whatsoever to do with Adam. Her interview with David was poor. Her interviews with other Idols are better so her bias shows and you can not get away from that. Her liking Adam has absolutely nothing to do with it. IMO

The problem is that you made the wrong comparison with other singers. Like I said, he should be compare with female singers, because his singing style is often more of the likes of Patti LaBelle ‘“

Uhhh, I don’t think Lambert is a female singer!!!

I understand what you are saying. The fact that he can sing like a power ballad diva is exactly what I’m talking about. There are few male rock vocalists who can do that. Most who have his range don’t have that kind of effortless power — in other words, they can sing Mad World, but not Whole Lotta Love. Most run-of-the-mill rock singers can’t really sing either.

I’m really having trouble coming up with a lot a names here and I’m pretty knowledgeable about the history of rock. I’m thinking, for example, of a guy like Art Garfunkle who could sing like an angel. He could do the Mad World in his sleep and he could certainly hit the power notes, but I can’t see him doing Whole Lotta Love.

I’m really having trouble coming up with a lot a names here

Male singers who can sing high and do WLL? I’m sure there are/were many many of them – Meatloaf, Bon Scott of AC/DC, Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, Geddy Lee of Rush, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Klaus Meine of Scorpion, Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, etc. etc. Perhaps they may not do the song the way you think it should be done, but I’m sure they can do it.

If you want male singers who ooze sexual energy in their performances, then I’d take James Brown, Mick Jagger, early Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, plenty of other rock and roll and blues singers (also a lot of female singers) over Adam anytime.

Iron Maiden? Great vocals? I love good snark like that! Thanks.

Iron Maiden? Great vocals? I love good snark like that! Thanks.

The list isn’t about what you like, and what you like doesn’t matter a great deal, since Bruce is regarded by most as one of the best heavy metal vocalists.

I hope Blake does well with this album. He may not be the strongest vocalist, but I was impressed with what he did on S6. I also don’t get the whole douche thing either. Yes, he talks about himself, but people who make it in this business need to believe in themselves and have an ego. Yes, even Cook has an ego. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to get up on that stage and sing.

I get what you are saying about singing hwc. I think your point is that Adam can sing many styles of music well and that is what makes him unique. Yes, there are great heavy metal vocalists, but how would those singers sound on “tracks of my tears”? Adam may not be better, but rather, he is more diverse.

True. Bruce Dickinson has a tremendous range. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but then neither is Adam.

Remember the hard rock of the 80′s? Back then it was practically a requirement that you had to have gigantic vocal range, and it’s funny how often the ‘hair bands’ are ridiculed now, seeing as the singers were some of the best vocalists (in terms of range) of any era.

If you have a second some time, check out ‘Angel Eyes’ by Steelheart. Absolutely *insane* vocal range is displayed there… the kind of thing th at Adam would be left crying in the corner if he every tried to pull off. But they only ever had one hit and immediately faded back into oblivion. Shows that vocal range is not the most important component of having a successful career as a musician.

I’ve always liked Blake. He was my favorite on Season 6. Does his vocal strength dwarf in comparison to pretty much every other contestant that got as far as he did? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t talented. I think that some of the people that really don’t like him are still bitter about the fact that he outlasted Melinda Doolittle.
He’s not the best with interviews, but we’ve been spoiled with incredibly well articulated Idols the past couple of years. David Cook is phenomenal in interviews, and David Archuleta is adorably awkward. Kris and Adam are both really great as well. I wouldn’t say Blake is BAD, he’s average when it comes to the interviews and stuff. He just looks bad because of some of the others. Blake is just kind of chill and relaxed in the interview and doesn’t take himself too seriously, which I like.
David Cook and Kris Allen are the Idols that are usually credited with being the ones that rearranged songs and turned them upside down and inside out and took our breathe away. Would they have even attempted to do what they did on Idol if Blake hadn’t been the first to completely rearrange songs? Maybe not. I don’t know if Kris Allen did his own arrangements or not, but I know there was a HUGE debacle during David Cook’s season about how he “ripped off” other peoples’ arrangements. Blake did all his own arrangements of songs, which I think takes mad talent on its own.
You always hear the progression that Bo Bice inspired Daughtry to audition, who inspired David Cook, who paved the way for Kris Allen (and Adam Lambert, to a lesser extent). I think Blake fits right in there too. Though he’s not exactly in the rocker progression, I think David Cook, Kris Allen, and Adam Lambert would have all had a hard time pulling off what they did if not for Blake being the first to do it.
These days on Idol, it’s expected that you really “make the song your own”. Before season 5, it was perfectly acceptable to sing a strait up version of a song if you could do it well. None of the successful Idols before Bo Bice were really all that “creative”.
I believe that Blake is one of the reasons that Idol is the way it is today. He’s not the most successful, and probably will never be, but I definitely think he was essential in the recent change in the Idol expectations of being a really “original” artist and really defining yourself.