Producer RedOne on Adam Lambert: “It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle”

I like what RedOne has to say about Adam and I like the direction he would like to go with him .. exciting stuff .. I hope it happens

This is very positive. It’s nice to see there is a plan and a direction. It sounds like to me Adam’s album is going to come together the way he wants it to.

Sooo they are trying to bring glamrock back?

Yay!!!!

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I want to go rock à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  David Bowie and Queen, but make it more easy for people to get,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  the producer said of his vision for Lambert. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle to it, you know? Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll like it.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I still don’t understand what this means. Bowie and Queen are hard for people to get? Anyone have any idea?

Tkat- You aren’t exactly hearing Bowie and Queen on Top 40 these days…I think that’s what they’re trying to get at.

TKat Jun 15th, 2009 at 6:08 pm

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I want to go rock à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  David Bowie and Queen, but make it more easy for people to get,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  the producer said of his vision for Lambert. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle to it, you know? Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll like it.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I still donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand what this means. Bowie and Queen are hard for people to get? Anyone have any idea?

Maybe it’s hard for your average teen and 20 something to get – which is what their main target market would be. Or hard for the radio station programmers to “get” when it comes to selecting which songs to put on their rotation.

Well, RedOne has had a lot of experience with top acts (duh), and Adam knows the direction he wants to go in, so I’ll trust them both to come up with awesome music. As many as SIX songs? Wow!

We’re back to talking about Adam music? How exciting is THAT?

WOOT WOOT

Sounds like he has a definite direction for Adam which is great! I think he’s probably making 80′s rock a little more popish maybe?? A modern twist on 80′s rock. The Dance bit will make it upbeat and appeal to top 40 radio.

Interesting day. We also heard from Allison that her album would be rock with a twist. Very exciting day!

Just can’t keep up with Adam news today. Happy day to Adam fans.

An article all about Adam and music – music to my ears. And extremely interesting at that.

Well, some of Bowie’s stuff is very conceptual — not real “easy” to digest in terms of appealing to a broad audience…maybe that’s what he means? Or maybe he just means stuff that’s a little more relevant to the current music scene. Bowie and Queen are both great. But I don’t know if they could still be considered current or relevant.

This article actually makes me excited for the album. I love dance-rock, so I am wondering how it actually comes about. Most of the songs produced RedOne I have heard make me want to dance, so that’s a good thing in my book.

OMG!!!!!I can’t wait for the album. He’s right, Adam can pretty much go in any direction, his voice is that versatile. I’m sooooooo happy for Adam/

BTW, RedOne’s Wikepedia bio already has Adam in it. Man, blogosphere, that was fast! And I could not be more excited. God, I need an Adam EP…

Honestly, I wasn’t crazy about some of Adam’s Idol songs where he didn’t have a strong melody/chorus. So I’m happy to read this quote from the article:

“I love à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹80s music,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  RedOne said. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s all about emotions, and the chorus elevates you. If you look back in three years, and you look at the hits, they all have the same things. They have a verse, a pre-chorus and a chorus à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  one thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dynamic and elevates you. You need to make people go crazy when the chorus comes. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s so important on every song with Gaga.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ”

And for so many people dissing Adam for liking 80′s music, RedOne does too. And he’s working with Usher and in high demand. RedOne says:

“Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s one of the things I think with my music,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  RedOne continued. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It brings a lot of joy to people, and people want to escape from whatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going on. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹80s was happy music, and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m doing musically. People are reacting positively to big choruses, joyful music.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Adam is so fresh. I cant wait to dance to his music in the clubs and remeber how he “grew” right in front of our eyes! He has to have one of the most solid fan bases in IDOL history. Only Kelly and Carrie would be in the same league with Adam =)

I have a question…..Has there ever been this much hype and media coverage on an Idol contestant?

(im new to this american idol thing)

yes yes yes!!

TKat
Jun 15th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I want to go rock à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  David Bowie and Queen, but make it more easy for people to get,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  the producer said of his vision for Lambert. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle to it, you know? Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll like it.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

I still donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand what this means. Bowie and Queen are hard for people to get? Anyone have any idea?

Speaking only for myself, unlike Queen, I didn’t start appreciating Bowie until I reached my 30′s. He was a favourite of my Parents but I just couldn’t see the appeal compared to the music of my day like Nirvana, Oasis and INXS. Queen I think is music for all generations.

So, didn’t Kris say somewhere that his album would drop in November? Does that mean we have to wait until after that for Adam’s? Guh…I’m already counting down the days…

liberty Jun 15th, 2009 at 6:24 pm

I have a questionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..Has there ever been this much hype and media coverage on an Idol contestant?

(im new to this american idol thing)

Well, I DO remember the country world going crazy for Carrie Underwood right from the start. I remember them welcoming her with wide open arms after her win; but I didn’t follow her journey too closely.

I can see RedOne and Adam producing a track like this (from Lady Gaga’s album)

THE FAME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66GUsA4QSzw

I wonder that if Adam and/or Kris and/or Allison have singles ready to release during the tour, would their labels release them this summer — or hold them back until closer to when they expect the actual debut albums to drop? It would be cool if we got to hear some new music from Kradison before late fall!

“I have a questionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..Has there ever been this much hype and media coverage on an Idol contestant?”

- Yes, it’s been awhile. I guess, it may have something to do with the times. With US in recession and the world problems, it seems there is a need to escape from all this craziness. Adam just came in at a right time.

Sounds like the label is really going to put a lot into making Adam a star.

girlygirl Jun 15th, 2009 at 6:30 pm

I wonder that if Adam and/or Kris and/or Allison have singles ready to release during the tour, would their labels release them this summer à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  or hold them back until closer to when they expect the actual debut albums to drop? It would be cool if we got to hear some new music from Kradison before late fall!

Most normal record releases usually have a SINGLE drop 2 -3 months ahead of the album. Also a music video (which usually comes out about a month or so after the single drops to radio). These are for the express purpose of promoting the album – keeping the artists name out there, creating buzz, etc…

It’s way better than the Idols going silent for the next 4 – 5 months.

Sounds like heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s taking him into dance/pop direction, but with a heavy rock influence.

I think it will Be Rock/Pop with a dance edge. At least that’s how I read the interview.

It’s very refreshing that people are now talking about the music.

It would be nice if the PR people would be as active talking about who Kris and Allison are working with. It would be to 19E’s advantage to get press about ALL the people they signed…not just Adam.

And NO, I’m not hating on Adam…I’m excited to read all the stuff about him. But I’d like to see more about Kris and Allison.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s very refreshing that people are now talking about the music.

Yay …. an Adam thread where the only “G” word being mentioned is “Gaga” .. I’m all for that.

girlygirl Jun 15th, 2009 at 6:47 pm

It would be nice if the PR people would be as active talking about who Kris and Allison are working with. It would be to 19Eà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s advantage to get press about ALL the people they signedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦not just Adam.

And NO, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not hating on Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m excited to read all the stuff about him. But Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d like to see more about Kris and Allison.

I don’t think that is what’s happening. If you noticed, in the above article, they said they couldn’t get an official response from Adam’s people. So this stuff is NOT coming from them.

The people Adam are working with are talking – via Twitter, MySpace, to the press, anyone who’ll listen. And the media seems to be chomping at the bit for any piece of Adam info without the slightest bit of prodding from Adam/19E/RCA.

It seems right now the public, the people in the music industry and the media are fueling the Adam PR.

liberty Jun 15th, 2009 at 6:24 pm

I have a questionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..Has there ever been this much hype and media coverage on an Idol contestant?

(im new to this american idol thing)

Kelly Clarkson is the AI media and buzz champ but since she was on season #1, and things were completely developed yet, he win year coverage was somewhat light.

For 2009 to date Adam has the most press coverage of any AI contestant or winner. If you just look at media coverage from the start of the season 3-1/2 weeks, the answer is Adam is at a higher level that past contestants at this point both in traditional PR, online coverage, online buzz and online search volume.

Adam and Kris have broken David Cook’s record from last year. Kris is behind David C. if you eliminate the references to Kris in Adam-centered articles. So, David Cook has a lot of buzz, particurly online.

Adam has gotten some very high quality PR spots that no Idol has ever gotten at a similar point — EW cover, RS cover, 20/20. The other difference with Adam is there has been a consistant high level of coverage and interest, with some sharp peaks related to events. In the past there have been a real big burst of coverage around the final and that’s about it. The sustained level of interest is quite impressive.

Shhh…

Let’s play 1 degree of Adam Lambert. No tarding on the Drs. web site..

http://www.brianmay.com/brian/letters/letters.html

OMG!!! Cannot wait! Finally, we are talking about Adam’s music. I just love it! Adam will probably have to wait till Kris’ album drops before his does. Bummer! I am sooo waiting with baited breath to hear Adam. OMG!!! I love him sooo much! Yay!!!!!

I cannot wait for the Idols tour to see Adam live… I bought front row tickets last week and I will buy his album the second it is released.

I have a questionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..Has there ever been this much hype and media coverage on an Idol contestant?

Yup, Clay Aiken had massive online buzz season 2.

Don’t forget to sign up with Amazon.com to get an e-mail the second that Adam’s cd becomes available. Wow! Cannot wait! I also bought tickets to see Adam in the Idol tour. To see him in person??!!! Wow!! *thud*

There will be plenty of information that gets out on Kris and Allison. It’s good that it’s not all on the same day. It’s a long time before their albums are out. Also, RedOne is so busy that this must have been planned a long time ago. Sounds like he has 6 possible songs for him. RedOne is such a perfect fit for what Adam has always said he wanted to do, so this one collaboration might just be further along than Kris/Allison. Or their producers/songwriters don’t twitter, or haven’t been interviewed recently.

People are very interested in Kris and Allison too. So much won’t even be on the album, but we’ll probably hear about it. I think Kris was up to something good in Va. Beach!

I think it’s mostly Adam’s collaborators who makes the publicity rounds and not his label per se. A publicity stir is definitely up into Adam’s alley; the hype and the splash definitely fits him. As for Kris, he has always been low-key, loves to fly under the radar, so less press, though I’m not so sure if that is good, fits his style. But he always manages to surprise people with his musicality. It’s the same with Allison who surprises people with her voice. Perhaps, with Kris and Allison, there is a certainty with what they would come up with, and with Adam, it’s still not as definitive.

Shhhà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s play 1 degree of Adam Lambert. No tarding on the Drs. web site..

http://www.brianmay.com/brian/letters/letters.html

Interesting he has a whole section on his blog about seeing Katy Perry in concert and has nothing but praise for her and here is an excerpt that I find quite interesting in light of some of the discussion yesterday about the use of the term “rock star”.
From Brian May’s blog talking about seeing Katy Perry live

Just a really great young singer and artist, pouring her heart out. Katy Perry is the real thing. A Rock Star. Every time I use that word, I wonder if I know what it really is that distinguishes a Rock Star from a Pop Star. Well, whatever it is KP is a great example. If it’s definable, it’s to do with intent, and honesty, I think. The intent of a Rock Star is to express what is inside, bursting to get out, and share it with anyone who cares to listen. It’s not about ‘wanting to be famous’ … or ‘wanting to make loads of money’ … it’s about walking that dangerous line between art for its own sake and art for an audience .

Question…I was NOT a Clay fan, so I paid no attention to him once the show ended. Maybe that’s why I don’t remember there being a huge buzz about him. But I probably just blocked it out (ha). My question is, about how long did the buzz last? Had it died down by the time the AI tour ended? Was it still crazy through the time he released his album?

that sounds really exciting!

From Brian Mayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s blog talking about seeing Katy Perry live

Just a really great young singer and artist, pouring her heart out. Katy Perry is the real thing. A Rock Star. Every time I use that word, I wonder if I know what it really is that distinguishes a Rock Star from a Pop Star. Well, whatever it is KP is a great example. If ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s definable, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s to do with intent, and honesty, I think. The intent of a Rock Star is to express what is inside, bursting to get out, and share it with anyone who cares to listen. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not about à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹wanting to be famousà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹wanting to make loads of moneyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s about walking that dangerous line between art for its own sake and art for an audience .

Seriously? What is Brian May doing writing a music blog?! :laugh_tb:

I really like what RedOne has to say about Adam. I was very skeptical about the pop/dance/rock thing at first because I didn’t think RCA would hook him up with the right people, but it looks like it’s going to be a great record!

Adam has a lot of hype right now. The question is, can he live up to it? For most contestants, I would say no, but I think he has the potential to do really well. Will he be the next Elvis? Doubt it, but with the right material he could be extremely successful.

Claymania lasted through the tour and the CD and the first solo tour. The man got his own Christmas special for pete’s sake.

It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle…

This could be one of those universal producer-speak quotes regarding Idols. They probably just have it sampled and press a button on the synthesizer each year, regardless of the Idol.

I’m pretty sure I remember some famous producer working with Bo Bice back in the day and saying (all together now!):

It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle!

Well….the kind of buzz Clay had wasn’t the same kind Adam is getting. The vote between him and Ruben was REALLY CLOSE (less than 1% difference they announced). And his fans were very vocal and OTT in expressing their upset.

But Clay had ZERO cred or respect in the music industry. I remember reading the Times article and they quotes some people from his label and none of them liked him. They thought he was too bland and vanilla.

Also, with both Ruben and Clay finishing 1/2 and NOT looking like typical music start – Ruben being morbidly obese and Clay being nerd boy, there was a bit of a fascination on how they made it that far on the show.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m pretty sure I remember some famous producer working with Bo Bice back in the day and saying (all together now!):

It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle!

I was a big time Bo Bice fan and I don’t recall those words EVER uttered by anyone working with Bo. Basically with him it was – “no we don’t want to hear any of the songs you wrote, the label gave us these songs to record and that’s all we’re going to do – DEAL WITH IT.”

Dang, that’s totally exciting. I can’t wait to hear what they come up with. Can’t wait to see it too. He could do some amazing videos.

IMO Clay and Ruben were the best singers that year, but that was when Idol was primarily a singing contest. There were some great singers that didn’t make it into the final 10 this year and some of those who did, well, I’m still scratching my head, Michael? Scott? :thumbdown_tb:

Just my opinion of course.

Seriously? What is Brian May doing writing a music blog?!

Brian Harold May, Ph.D, CBE (born 19 July 1947) is a musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. As a guitarist he uses his home built guitar, “Red Special”, and has composed hits such as “Tie Your Mother Down”, “We Will Rock You”, “Who Wants to Live Forever”, “Hammer to Fall”, “Save Me”, “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “I Want It All”. Currently the Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, May lives in Southampton, Britain.

He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for “services to the music industry”.

May was ranked 39th in Rolling Stone magazine list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.[1]

Source: wikipedia

I was a big time Bo Bice fan and I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t recall those words EVER uttered by anyone working with Bo.

Sorry, I was making a funny.

“It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle.”
“It has to be country, but with an interesting dance angle.”
“It has to be jazzy, but with an interesting dance angle.”
“It has to be cabaret, but with an interesting dance angle.”
“It has to be Gregorian chants, but with an interesting dance angle.”

Come on… haven’t we all heard the Idols and their producers over the years? It’s alway such and such style, but with…

Meaning, make it sell on Top 40 radio.

That mean that Adam may have selected Bowie and Muse songs to sing on the tour not just because he loves those artists, but because they are, to a certain extent, representative of what his album will sound like! That is immensely exciting. I really don’t want to get my hope too high because even very talented artists and producers don’t always make good music, but this sounds very promising, to say the least.

Come onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t we all heard the Idols and their producers over the years? Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s alway such and such style, but withà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Meaning, make it sell on Top 40 radio.

Not really, most of them have been pretty straight forward.

David Cook – rock
Carrie – country
Kelly – pop
Taylor – soul
Ruben – R&B
Fantasia – R&B
Jordin – pop/R&B

The only Idol that spoke in music fusion terms was Blake Lewis.

Wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.the kind of buzz Clay had wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the same kind Adam is getting.

I don’t know about that. I’m seeing a lot of parallels but it would be ‘off-topic’ to continue this discussion.

I’m taking all of this ‘producer/writer’ talk with a grain of salt until the pre-release hype starts. We got a lot of false information about collaborators working with David Cook in the early stages last season.

Come onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t we all heard the Idols and their producers over the years? Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s alway such and such style, but withà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Meaning, make it sell on Top 40 radio.

Not that I am aware of, but even if they do that at least they got an artist who fits the mold they are aiming for. ;)

As for the Clay thing, I wasn’t too big into AI at the time (only caught it randomly with my mom, who was a K-Lo fan). Clay seeped into pop culture and had his hardcore fanbase (where I worked we had to keep the singles behind the counter since people were snatching them up by the bulk), but his buzz was mainly as part of the Idol phenomenon so ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s different buzz than what Adam is getting since he has proper industry rumblings, it seems. I also think the parallel stops on how they fit culturally and musically. Clay was a very different type of AI contestant from Adam.

hollygo9 Jun 15th, 2009 at 7:42 pm

Wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.the kind of buzz Clay had wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the same kind Adam is getting.

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know about that. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m seeing a lot of parallels but it would be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹off-topicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to continue this discussion.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m taking all of this à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹producer/writerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ talk with a grain of salt until the pre-release hype starts. We got a lot of false information about collaborators working with David Cook in the early stages last season.

In terms of people in the music industry talking – Adam is unique (compared to Clay). And considering people like RedOne and other songwriters are the ones actually doing the talking (and to the press), I think we can be pretty certain that this isn’t false information.

I think this is the best news eva from RedOne. It really fits in to what Adam has been saying all along. Rock/Pop/Electronica/Funk, but RedOne discusses it with a little more industry experience behind him and explains it so well.

For what I want to see/hear from Adam, I think the description is perfect. The way RedOne talks aboaut the chorus and pre-chorus… and he mentions the importance of rock several times throughout the discussion. I get that he gets the importance of Adam’s rock and glam rock vibe. So cool, it really does sound like it will be somewhat new and different. The blending of several styles we know and love… but in a way that offers a new style. (You always hear that, but don’t necessarily get it.)

Kelly Clarkson is the AI media and buzz champ but since she was on season #1, and things were completely developed yet, he win year coverage was somewhat light.

For 2009 to date Adam has the most press coverage of any AI contestant or winner. If you just look at media coverage from the start of the season 3-1/2 weeks, the answer is Adam is at a higher level that past contestants at this point both in traditional PR, online coverage, online buzz and online search volume.

Adam and Kris have broken David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s record from last year. Kris is behind David C. if you eliminate the references to Kris in Adam-centered articles. So, David Cook has a lot of buzz, particurly online.

Adam has gotten some very high quality PR spots that no Idol has ever gotten at a similar point à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  EW cover, RS cover, 20/20. The other difference with Adam is there has been a consistant high level of coverage and interest, with some sharp peaks related to events. In the past there have been a real big burst of coverage around the final and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s about it. The sustained level of interest is quite impressive.

I have a sneaking suspicion that MJ will soon disagree with this??!!

The only Idol that spoke in music fusion terms was Blake Lewis.

What the heck was Whomp music supposed to be then? LOL!

so ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s different buzz than what Adam is getting since he has proper industry rumblings, it seems.

Yep. Clay had crazy buzz but it was fan generated, the media was covering it with a “Can you believe this?” kind of vibe… plus Idol was being tested as a star maker. This seems to be coming from within the industry, so it feels different.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m taking all of this à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹producer/writerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ talk with a grain of salt until the pre-release hype starts. We got a lot of false information about collaborators working with David Cook in the early stages last season.

Well in this case the producer himself conformed, so it seems true. But still, who knows how many of these songs will end up on the actual album?

At least it seems like they might not be playing it safe with him. Time will tell, but signs are looking a little bit promising.

What the heck was Whomp music supposed to be then? LOL!

Delusional ramblings fueled by hyper fan generated ego swelling? Just a guess.

As for Idol buzz, I would say the top 3, prior to this year are:

Kelley Clarkson (who spent the summer channelling Annette Funichello on that ghastly remake of Beach Blanket Bingo with Guarini). Most people assumed her career was dead after the release of that movie. It was a late-night talk show lampoon.

Clay Aiken (who should have immediately moved to Vegas and signed a 50 year contract with some casino.

Taylor Hicks (who was everwhere right after Idol and thru the tour, but had no genre to expand his Idol base).

Fantasia, not so much.

Barbie Idol never generated much buzz or passion. She just went about her business — first winning Idol and then being machined into a country music brand singin’ about Jesus.

Jordan and Blake, not at all. Next.

Cook and Archie, not much buzz.

DAUGHTRY had some buzz being the first authentic corporate rawker (with wallet chain) from Idol. There was quite a bit of talk about anticipated sales, but I don’t recall him generating much mainstream press buzz.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m taking all of this à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹producer/writerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ talk with a grain of salt until the pre-release hype starts. We got a lot of false information about collaborators working with David Cook in the early stages last season.

This one seems reliable since it’s coming directly from the collaborator himself.

O.K. I listened to The Fame, Lady Ga Ga. I am not feeling as excited as you guys. Maybe I need to listen to it several times to get used to it.

I am quite possibly too old. I heard Sean Kingston the other night. Good night, people pay for that? The list goes on and on.

Kelley Clarkson (who spent the summer channelling Annette Funichello on that ghastly remake of Beach Blanket Bingo with Guarini). Most people assumed her career was dead after the release of that movie. It was a late-night talk show lampoon.

Totally off-topic, but what made me tune into American Idol was catching From Justin to Kelly on cable one night. I figured anything that could produce something so gloriously bad and awesome had to be worthwhile, so I started watching in Season 3. Yes, I sat through that film and LOVED it. It made me laugh so hard.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It has to be rock, but with an interesting dance angle.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It has to be country, but with an interesting dance angle.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It has to be jazzy, but with an interesting dance angle.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It has to be cabaret, but with an interesting dance angle.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It has to be Gregorian chants, but with an interesting dance angle.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Meaning, make it sell on Top 40 radio.

Ha! Well said.

Tara
Jun 15th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
O.K. I listened to The Fame, Lady Ga Ga. I am not feeling as excited as you guys. Maybe I need to listen to it several times to get used to it.

I am quite possibly too old. I heard Sean Kingston the other night. Good night, people pay for that? The list goes on and on.

I really don’t think it will be Lady Gaga in a male form. I think it will be Muse with a Lady Gaga flavour in terms of instrumentation. The closest existing in terms of what I think it will be is “Super massive Blackhole”.

I think it will Muse with a Lady Gaga flavour in terms of instrumentation. The closest existing in terms of what I think it will be is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Super massive Blackholeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

That’s a good example. I can see that.

WOW! People are really getting behind Adam and have such great visions for him. I’m so happy for this kid – as a fellow weirdo, theater/glee club student and outsider in high school I really want him to succeed.

they are turning Adam into the male Lady GaGa? Lord.
Auto-tune, here we come!

In one of those MANY Rolling Stone articles Adam also mention “The Faint”

I could see something like this:

GLASS DANSE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji2-CDpo8Y0

I’m sooooo excited!!!!

I guess I’m too old to enjoy gaga’s performance. It is more about visual rather than music and vocal. Adam has much more than that. I don’t know, I just hope his album would not be all like that. I hope it’s not a waste of his beautiful vocal.

Adam does not need auto tune – and I hope he fights it if they suggest it

Yes, Super Massive Blackhole. Much better. I listened to it again. Probably for the third time. Some people wanted Adam to sing it on AI so I went to listen to it back then. I had never heard of Muse. I am following Adam all over the place musically. I am hoping he puts out something I can enjoy listening to.

I could see something like this:

GLASS DANSE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji2-CDpo8Y0

Too auto tune centric. I don’t think any producer in his right mind would auto tune Adam, simply because his voice is his greatest asset vis-Ã  -vis standing out amongst the pop crowed. I chose Muse because it’s vocal centric. This may all be wishful thinking on my part, and this being an Idol album (God help us) it may turnout to be the auto tune dance horror form hell.
I don’t know. Fingers, toes and eyes firmly crossed until the big unveiling.

I don’t understand why everyone’s assuming Adam will get autotuned because he’s working with RedOne. whatever song Adam sings will of course FEATURE HIS AMAZING VOCALS! When I or others post music examples, it’s more to explain the sound of the MUSIC and NOT the sound of the vocals.

Whatever track Adam records will always have his unique vocal stamp on it. I think some of you are taking things WAY too literally.

Tara
Jun 15th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Yes, Super Massive Blackhole. Much better. I listened to it again. Probably for the third time. Some people wanted Adam to sing it on AI so I went to listen to it back then. I had never heard of Muse. I am following Adam all over the place musically. I am hoping he puts out something I can enjoy listening to.

Oh you should really check them out. I can’t believe how in love I am with that band, have been since their debut album. You won’t regret it. Look up “Unintended” on youtube.

Snuffles, No….. you are killing me. I could not listen to that. Not even for Adam. And I agree, why waste that voice? Why not take the Muse route and do even better vocally.

I am crossing all my stuff too.

I am crossing all my stuff too.

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t understand why everyoneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assuming Adam will get autotuned because heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s working with RedOne. Of COURSE whatever song Adam sings will feature his amazing vocals! When I or others are posting music examples, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s more to explain the sound of the MUSIC and NOT the sound of the vocals.

I got you. But then I absolutely adore The Faint (not so much the latest album). They used to be ridiculously good live and put on quite the show (lots of great visuals).

ETA: For another Muse track that has a dance-vibe to it, but is still quite theatrical rock, is “Take a Bow” — I am sure it can be found on youtube.

Are you all still talking music? A little OT but how I love watching Mr. Fuller’s year long, perfectly choreagraphed creation…you’re talking music and Fuller’s going to dictate fashion via you know who!

http://www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline/Media/News/913041/Simon-Fuller-takes-web-launch-Fashionaircom/

Since I am a real music novice, I have been reading these posts to really get an understanding of current music and a little of the mind set about it. I have also been doing some yahoo research on auto-tune and auto-tune usage.
(And it is amazing who LIKES to use auto-tune as a pitch regulator. It goes much deeper into the industry than I thought.

I think some of my confusion, and others I think, is that there is a fine line between the sound of the genre’ we are discussing and the singer’s contribution to said sound. After my research I don’t think that what people are describing is related to the songs that have that auto-tune distortion factor that seems to sound robotic but more to the beat and the rhythm and the spirit of the songs represented in this genre.

Adam has a voice that can stand alone and doesn’t need any mechanical tuning to make it palpable. Therefore, I think we are discussing more the vibe of what he is intending to do not that he is intending to mask his voice in any manner. Hope I’m understanding this correctly.

Oh my.

Adam’s voice doesn’t need auto tune. They’d have to be nuts to auto tune him into oblivion. Some people aren’t getting the difference between a voice and a particular sound of music.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m taking all of this à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹producer/writerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ talk with a grain of salt until the pre-release hype starts. We got a lot of false information about collaborators working with David Cook in the early stages last season.

How can it be false information if it is RedOne himself saying he is working with Adam???

I don’t know alot about these artists that you guys are talking about, but what I do know is that I am glad that it looks like Adam won’t be doing a paint by the numbers idol cd. While nothing he does may be groundbreaking it will be fun to see them try to tap into a younger audience, and I am not talking about tweens, but younger high school and college kids. That he is doing it with the music is very exciting for me.

I don’t think they are going to totally hide Adams voice under too much electronic crap, after all his voice is his instrument. I will definitely be waiting for what is birthed of all of these plans. It’s starting to sound a bit more cohesive for me, that is for sure.

As for Clay having alot of buzz, yep he sure did. Not all of it was totally accepting though. I mean Adam has his detractors, but for the most part it seems that he has alot of insiders clamoring to work with him, current producers and the like. Clay had buzz, but it was the Neil Sedaka’s and Paul Anka’s who hadn’t had hits in decades. While that’s cool and all that, having that kind of buzz certainly didn’t help him. He also didn’t seem like he wanted to be a part of it all, of course now, he seems to have changed his tune a bit, but maybe it’s all water under the bridge. For Adam in order to be relevant he must be current, he can’t simple be a throwback, that has hurt many an idol.

Regarding this response to my comment of Idols and buzz.

spring2009: I have a sneaking suspicion that MJ will soon disagree with this??!!

People can disagree with me, but there are quantative measures of PR mentions, circulation and readership, online comment volume, keyword searches, etc. And nothing that I wrote is not completely supported by facts.

For the people concerned that they don’t like Lady Gaga or who think they are too “old” to get her, I really don’t think you have to worry. Adam is going to do his Adam thing and he will sound great. I think it’s all about originality and being fresh and new.

BTW, my kids think I’m old and I won’t get out of the car if a Lady Gaga song is on the radio. If I was still going to clubs, this is the kind of music that would be fun to dance to. I’m definitely going to have to listen on my own time though. How do you explain to a six year old what a “disco stick” is??? You don’t. Yikes!

heh, I LOVE The Faint!

Anyway, I like RedOne’s vision for Adam’s music. It sounds like what he’s been trying to describe in all his post-Idol interviews. I’m trying not to get too excited about this album since no Idol contestant’s debut (except Melinda’s) has really caught my attention, but I can’t help but be optimistic about Adam’s the more I hear about it…

Tkat:

Thanks for your post on Idol buzz…. It was great.

I’m so excited! A) I love Lady Gaga’s album and B) all this talk about Desmond Child was worrying me. I’m relieved that a relevant producer is working with Adam. And what he has in mind sounds good. I just…just…GLEE!!!!

“Seriously? What is Brian May doing writing a music blog?! ”

Brian Harold May, Ph.D, CBE (born 19 July 1947) is a musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. As a guitarist he uses his home built guitar, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Red Specialà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , and has composed hits such as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Tie Your Mother Downà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“We Will Rock Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Who Wants to Live Foreverà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hammer to Fallà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Save Meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Fat Bottomed Girlsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I Want It Allà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Currently the Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, May lives in Southampton, Britain.

He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“services to the music industryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .

May was ranked 39th in Rolling Stone magazine list of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“100 Greatest Guitarists of All Timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ .[1]

Source: wikipedia

Bwahaha. Oops. When I wrote my comment about him writing a music blog, I assumed it was a different Brian May. I couldn’t imagine anyone from Queen would call Katy Perry a rock star. Weird.

Stranger things have happened, I guess…

Adam we hope you do good rock , if they want you to do commercial but do it with quality . Maybe you can write to Dr. Brian May. :)

Funny iluvia, I was listening to Lady GaGa, trying to like her music. The disco stick song was better to me than The Fame. The beat was better.

Well, they had a “sit and spin”…so a disco stick could pass as the name of a toy?

People can disagree with me, but there are quantative measures of PR mentions, circulation and readership, online comment volume, keyword searches, etc. And nothing that I wrote is not completely supported by facts.

Sorry, did not mean to offend. Just seem to remember that we have had this conversation before and I thought that it was MJ (??) that had facts to the contrary. (I was one of those that thought there was more buzz around Adam too!)

Bwahaha. Oops. When I wrote my comment about him writing a music blog, I assumed it was a different Brian May. I couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t imagine anyone from Queen would call Katy Perry a rock star. Weird.

Stranger things have happened, I guessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I’d be happy to link the blog post so you can see for yourself, he also talks about seeing MIKA in the same post and I only put a part of his quote about Katy Perry and there is a picture of him with Katy.

Brian’s Soapbox

My final thoughts on the subject:

I think the best indicators of Adam’s future music are the two songs he has chosen to sing on the tour without the encumbrances and dictates of themes or votes; “Fame” by Bowie and “Stralight” by Muse.

Well, there’s no accounting for taste. Time to cut your hair, Dr. May.

“Well, they had a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sit and spinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦so a disco stick could pass as the name of a toy?”

Way too funny. Haha! I told him it was like the fake disco ball at his sister’s 8th birthday party last year. I think that made sense to him. No more Lady Gaga for him!!!

Sorry, did not mean to offend. Just seem to remember that we have had this conversation before and I thought that it was MJ (??) that had facts to the contrary. (I was one of those that thought there was more buzz around Adam too!)

Thanks for that but I wasn’t offended — I was just trying to be clear that it wasn’t my opinion. I am a unapologitic Adam fan, but I also am a PR, media and branding professional and wanted to make sure that my statement wasn’t viewed as a “fan post”. (Which I occassionally write about my favs.)

This propensity for using auto-tune now in pop/dance/electronic music is not just to cover up for a singer’s deficiencies. I’m pretty certain that Kelly Clarkson’s latest singles use it and she has an amazing voice. At this point, it’s what is selling with that type of music. People are expecting that kind of sound and many wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyways. Personally, I can’t stand this trend.

If Adam takes a stand against using auto-tune, that would be more remarkable at this point than using it, given the stated type of music he’s going for. I don’t think rock music uses it as much but pop/dance/electro? Definitely! And even though I might get slammed here for saying it, I think it should be noted that Adam was rarely pitch perfect in his AI performances, and from his statements after the show, I think he would be the first to agree. Regardless, I want to hear a singer’s natural voice in all its wonderful shades of complexity. Give me imperfect multi-dimensional vocals over robotic ‘perfect’ one dimensions any day. Think Dylan, Neil Young, Joplin, Springsteen, Eddie Vedder…

I have to totally disagree with movin2thabeet. Adam was more pitch perfect then not on the show. He sang well, in tune, and pitch perfect 95% of the time. Unless you are putting him to a much higher standard, compared to all the other singers he was the one who was technically “on” all the time. So if you thought he was rarely pitch perfect you must have thought the rest sucked all the time. (Which is not true.) I do agree with you that I hope to hear Adam voice without any auto-tuning. I would not be happy. I want to hear Adam pure and clear.

For those who are finding it tough sledding to get into Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, what RedOne said about the bright, bubbly choruses is definitely the key to this music.

It strikes me as somewhat reminiscent of a song like the B-52′s Love Shack or some of the great Pretenders stuff or Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Auto-tuning and all other kinds of electronic vocal distortion are not in and of themselves offensive, it’s all in how it’s used or abused. But it’s not limited to the studio or to dance & Hip Hop. It’s being used everywhere, including live Country performances.

From Time Magazine Feb 2009 “Auto-Tune: Why Pop Music Sounds Perfect”

…an ingenious plug-in called Auto-Tune, a downloadable studio trick that can take a vocal and instantly nudge it onto the proper note or move it to the correct pitch. It’s like Photoshop for the human voice. Auto-Tune doesn’t make it possible for just anyone to sing like a pro, but used as its creator intended, it can transform a wavering performance into something technically flawless. “Right now, if you listen to pop, everything is in perfect pitch, perfect time and perfect tune,” says producer Rick Rubin. “That’s how ubiquitous Auto-Tune is.”

Link to entire article:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1877372-1,00.html

Yeah, auto-tune for bands such as The Faint are used more to make their voices blend into the electronic feel of the music, so it’s more for style purposes over covering deficiencies (and for some reason this made me recall the term electroclash which was thrown around all the time more than a few years ago).

I would have to agree since Adam’s voice is quite powerful that the style of Muse would be more likely than The Faint though.

No, I don’t think the rest ‘sucked all the time’. I think Adam has a fine voice as do most of the other top ten, more or less. But all the judges fawning did cover some weak spots here and there (which fawning is wont to do) that never were brought up while the others got much more critical ears. It really gets down to personal preferences for type of music and performer you enjoy. There is no doubt that Adam is a far greater emoter and dramatic interpreter and has galaxies more onstage charisma than the rest which often covered for some occasional wobbly notes. Nothing huge but noted nonetheless.

But all the judges fawning did cover some weak spots here and there (which fawning is wont to do) that never were brought up while the others got much more critical ears.

Um, not Danny…. :-)

I hope Adam doesn’t end up sounding as ‘electronic’ as Lady Gaga. Is that what auto-tune means? I LOVE Adam’s voice, if it’s covered with an electric sound I don’t think I’ll even recognize it.

But all the judges fawning did cover some weak spots here and there (which fawning is wont to do) that never were brought up while the others got much more critical ears.

My complaint with the judges is that they failed to comment enough on his vocals at all but unlike you I thought he was on pitch and sounded really great most of the time. I guess they just got blown away by his charisma and everything else that was going on with him but I actually thought they could have praised his vocals more than they did.

According to the Boston Herald, “Country stars Reba McEntire, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw have all confessed to using Auto-Tune in performance, claiming it is a safety net that guarantees a good performance.”[5] Sara Evans, John Michael Montgomery and Gary LeVox of the group Rascal Flatts also rely on Auto-Tune to compensate for pitch problems.

I think Auto tune to correct “possible” pitch problems is probably more widely used than most of us care to admit.

What the heck was Whomp music supposed to be then? LOL!

That’s “Modern Whomp” and it’s this decades version of “Old Whomp.”

Whatever that was. :lol_tb:

Taylor is a good example of the artist thinking they know more than the professionals – producers, writers, managers, PR people – and end up killing their careers. Although I sometimes wonder if after getting a taste of “stardom,” Taylor just wanted things to go back the way they were pre-idol. I can’t say as I blame him after what his “fans” did to him.

Adam seems to be embracing everything AI/19/RCA has to offer. He always says how thankful he is to AI. Being receptive to TPTB and knowing who he is as an artist should really help Adam to be successful.

Taylor couldn’t wait to get away from everything AI. From what I could tell working with Taylor was like trying to move a napping donkey. It just ain’t gonna happen. TPTB were probably just as happy to get rid of him as he was of them.

# interviewed Adam Lambert today…wow…really impressed with him..so new to being a public figure and so poised! #ahcom6 minutes ago from web

# You will love adam Lambert’s interview! I asked him so many questions from all you tweeters! thanks for GREAT questions! #ahcom5 minutes ago from web

Nancy O’Dell
Host of Access Hollywood

Hmmmm… along with the news in this thread, this makes my day!

I hope this collaboration works out and he sticks primarily with one producer. Hopefully he likes him like Access Hollywood Nancy O’dell who just twittered

” First time I met Adam today and he was great. Loved him”

“interviewed Adam Lambert today…wow…really impressed with him..so new to being a public figure and so poised! #ahcom”

“Adam Lambert tells all about his new album he’s working on, we picked out wardrobe or his Idol tour and very candid about all else#ahcom”

So, we should get more info

Does anyone know when the interview will be on Access Hollywood? It sounds like great stuff!!

adam was not pitch perfect for all of his performances. even he admitted as much – he said ring of fire was his best vocal. the pitchiness showed up most in the slow tempo songs, e.g. tracks of my tears, and mad world. the judges didn’t call him on it.

eta: btw, i am an adam fan, but that doesn’t make me deaf to the fact that he was off on some notes. he’s a great singer, but he wasn’t pitch perfect.

What is Nancy talking about?

Didn’t know about youtube video of baby loving adam you guys told me about..asked Adam about it..tune in to AccessHollywood 4 answer

What definition of “pitch perfect” are we using? Because yes, of course Adam missed a few notes during the course of the entire season. I can remember 2-3 slightly off notes in BorW, ToMT, that last note in Mad World the first time around, and the heinous No Boundaries (both his and Kris’ worst performances of the season by far–that song has evil powers). So, if pitch perfect means that he literally never missed a note, then no. There’s probably not a singer in the world who would qualify as pitch perfect if that was the definition.

But IMO he does have exceptional pitch–he missed notes very, very rarely, and in quite a few of his performances he didn’t miss any. A lot of idol contestants have trouble when they are not singing loudly (and even when they are) and other than the few notes I mentioned, Adam did not. I’d say that Kris also had very good pitch for the most part, And Allison did too (excepting I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing). Danny–no (If we’re talking about the top contestants).

My impression was that the judges didn’t get upset about pitch unless it was truly a problem in a song (and for Danny, not even then). If a contestant just missed a note or a few notes, they generally didn’t mention it.

I also really hope that his CD truly showcases his voice–but if the word is that they are going with a Bowie- and Queen-inspired sound (yes!), then wouldn’t it make sense that they are actually going to use his voice rather than send us all to overproduced, auto-tuned hell?

Also: if RedOne is going to work on perhaps six songs with him, when are we likely to hear about other producers?

Having been blessed with perfect pitch myself, I can say that Adam was the closest to being pitch perfect in his singing over all the others in the top 13. There might have been a slight glitch here and there, but when you are singing almost acappella in songs like “Tracks of My Tears” and “Mad World”, there’s nowhere to hide. Still Adam was brilliant.

As far as the whole autotune debate, count me as one who abhors it. I long for the days when singers actually had voices and just sang. Adam is the one person today who absolutely does not need autotune at all. I don’t want him to sound like Lady Gaga, with all that electronic garbage. He doesn’t need it.

He always says how thankful he is to AI. Being receptive to TPTB and knowing who he is as an artist should really help Adam to be successful.

Boy, ain’t this the truth. TPTB should be extremely happy with the comments Adam has made post-Idol about the show. From stating that they gave him the option of how he wanted to handle the sexuality question after the pictures came out to basically saying they were pretty much encouraging and supportive of whatever he wanted to do musical choice-wise and performance-wise, Adam made them sound downright enlightened!

I think Adam has a fine voice as do most of the other top ten, more or less.

Another case of mileage varying … this almost makes it sound as if their voices are interchangeable, more or less. But whereas I think Adam could pick a song done by any one of the other Idol’s and do it more than justice, I can not see the other Idols taking on the songs sung by Adam. FG? Mad World? WLL? No, in my opinion, Scott has a “fine” voice, whereas Adam’s voice is incredible and was pitch perfect throughout his run, except in a few limited instances.

I hope we get to hear Adam’s “real” voice. Autotune….. Let’s just make everyone a singer! Hopefully there is no autotune for other professions…

Taylor was interviewed for 20/20 back in November 2006: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hmCDIPT7ZM

GeminiDolly—

There’s a youtube video of a little girl named Paisley who likes Adam. She’s about 18 months old or so and yells A-dam A-dam to her mom until she puts one of his videos on. Once she does, she’s captivated and kisses the screen and stuff and when it’s over yells for more A-dam.

Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2F8tsmBrb8

I think Adam has a fine voice as do most of the other top ten, more or less.

IMVHO Adam’s voice is better than fine — but this discussion has be repeated many times. And if you have any doubt about Adam’s vocal abilities, listen to some of the Adam vocal range compilation videos on YouTube or read some of the experts assessments.

Adam sang some really challenging vocal arrangements, and had problems on a few notes here and there — but there are few examples of pitch problems. For example, he blew the last few notes of the first performance of Mad World but this wasn’t a pitch problem, Adam sang the wrong notes — he ended the song singing the backup vocal notes — a mistake he never repeated in the subsequant live performances. And he had a number of live performances that were close to perfect.

The only other AI8 contestant who had limited pitch problems was Kris. He had a couple really off performances, but for the most part, he didn’t suffer from pitch issues.

Finally, neither Kris’ nor Adam’s vocal abilities should ever bemeasured by NoBo.

I hope we get to hear Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“realà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  voice. Autotuneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.. Letà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just make everyone a singer! Hopefully there is no autotune for other professionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

If you start with a great vocal and do either minor adjustments or vocal manipulation, I don’t have an issue. What I hate is how everyone sounds the same. At the Grammy Awards, Death Cab for Cutie wore blue ribbons to protest the use of Auto-Tune in the music industry. There already are indie records that are marked with “no artifical vocal manipulation”. So maybe this will spread and we can get more “real” music.

Looks like the question about Adam’s record made the Access Hollywood interview:

Nancy O’Dell twitter.com 6/14/09 10:45PM ET

“Adam Lambert tells all about his new album he’s working on, we picked out wardrobe or his Idol tour and very candid about all else#ahcom”

I think what movin2thabeet is also trying to say is that the industry is using auto tune or other vocal tricks not just because someone is not a good singer but they are using it with good and great singers because it is now a part of the sound that people are used to, or want or radio certainly seems to want. In certain genres and formats if you don’t use overproduction the reaction is gee isn’t that like retro if they are being kind or gee isn’t that old fashioned or dated?

I am not wholly familiar with all the studio tricks so I don’t know if what I call the overdub for lack of a better word is just another use of auto tune but that is when they layer a singer’s voice over top of itself, sometimes several times as rumoured in the case of Paris Hilton and man even that wasn’t helping as opposed to just good old harmonizing the background vocals of another person. Now this can be a cool effect or was a cool effect when used judiciously, a lot of singers also do their own backup vocals or harmonies and that’s cool too but when used too much?

Clearly the Peas use that space effect on Boom Boom Pow but to me that works with the song and the video…guitarists do all sorts of things to the sounds their guitars produce like the infamous wah wah pedal or remember Peter Frampton but Peter knew not to push it – I will say when I found out The Edge uses a computer program to help facilitate all those great live concert performances, and he uses his wah wah pedal to control it, I felt a bit disillusioned. In the documentary about the Vertigo tour.

I remember great dance music when even they didn’t use this stuff – Dee Lite’s album World Clique is one of my all time fav albums from a dance artist, and you can hear Lady Keiran’s vocals on that album unassisted and pure, way back in the stone ages….

Just because there is an iPhone doesn’t mean everyone has to go out and buy one and use one and just because there are a million ways to technically alter a voice doesn’t mean you have to use that technology, I’d rather hear new guitar riffs or experimentation with instruments, and a little less canoodling with great voices…..I’d rather hear songs with unpredictable lyrics…….work on that OK music industry.

Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a youtube video of a little girl named Paisley who likes Adam. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s about 18 months old or so and yells A-dam A-dam to her mom until she puts one of his videos on. Once she does, sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s captivated and kisses the screen and stuff and when ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s over yells for more A-dam.

Hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2F8tsmBrb8

That is funniest thing I’ve seen all day. Paisley has good rhythm too!

I hope this collaboration works out and he sticks primarily with one producer. Hopefully he likes him like Access Hollywood Nancy Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢dell who just twittered

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  First time I met Adam today and he was great. Loved himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Wow, is Access Hollywood that out of the Idol loop?

“Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a youtube video of a little girl named Paisley who likes Adam. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s about 18 months old or so and yells A-dam A-dam to her mom until she puts one of his videos on.”

This is the cutest video ever… I find myself saying “A-dam, A-dam” whenever I get thrilled to see some news about Adam. I’m not kidding. Ha!

BTW, babies are very smart!!!!

At the Grammy Awards, Death Cab for Cutie wore blue ribbons to protest the use of Auto-Tune in the music industry. There already are indie records that are marked with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“no artifical vocal manipulationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . So maybe this will spread and we can get more à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“realà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  music.

Thanks TKat bravo to the Cuties! The newest trend in music, real voices, gasp can we handle it??

“But whereas I think Adam could pick a song done by any one of the other Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and do it more than justice, I can not see the other Idols taking on the songs sung by Adam”

- Yap. Adam has the ability to work on the songs and make it appealing.

I have read that both Jay Z and Death Cab For Cutie are calling for the ban of the autotune. I’m confused…

Okay, I gather it is a device to help singers stay on pitch and is especially helpful to those who aren’t blessed with stellar voices, but I’m also thinking it is what makes some of the pop hits sound “echo-y”…

I know Beyonce can sing but her song Halo sounds “echo-y”; I don’t think Beyonce would need autotune to stay in pitch. Or is it just the style whether you need it or not?

Sorry to be a dumb-arse! :smoke_tb:

Oh, Adam, he doesn’t need autotune for sure, I want to hear his voice. Yes he was off kilter with his first Mad World right at the end, I kind of winced every time I watched the video on my iPod but his second Mad World sounded perfect to me so now I just watch it. I have all his AI stuff ‘cept No Boundaries, no way!

Tkat: I don’t know anything about how cd’s are made. I just don’t like how some songs sound like they are robotic, metallic and echoing or whatever. I like Adam’s voice the way he sounded on AI. Hopefully his voice will come through on his album. :)

iluvai – Like you, I know what I like — and I love Adam’s voice — just the way it is.

Oh, Adam, he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need autotune for sure, I want to hear his voice. Yes he was off kilter with his first Mad World right at the end, I kind of winced every time I watched the video on my iPod but his second Mad World sounded perfect to me so now I just watch it. I have all his AI stuff à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹cept No Boundaries, no way!

I have both MW’s and I do listen to the Live Final version most often, but I actually kinda like the original one with the odd ending. It like an Amish quilt — they are traditionally made with one noticable mistake to remind us that only God is perfect.

The reason that JayZ and Death Cab for Cutie is calling for the end of autotune is that most people use it to cover up really bad vocals (like Heidi Montag) or use it too much as a trick to make a song more interesting but instead they all sound too much alike. To hear Adam’s “real” voice would depend on the producers.

For example, in Kelly’s last album, the song that Kelly sounds most like herself (as in how she is on tour) is If No One Will Listen which she co-produced because she didn’t like a lot of production in her songs. However, in some of the other songs, they might have smoothed out her vocals or did some other production work to make it sound more “pop” or whatever but it’s not like she used auto-tune on those. The only song (I think) that she might have used some studio effects is If I Can’t Have you but that doesn’t mean she’s using tricks to disguise anything (cuz to me she has an awesome voice!) heehee

Also, since I’m using Kelly as an example, she has said that she has stopped worrying about her technique as much as when she was on idol because she’d rather her voice be raw and emotional (with a crack or 2) than to be perfect but void of emotion. That’s why I don’t mind if Adam misses a note or is not pitch-perfect because I guess it makes it more human to me?

I guess what I was trying to say is that the sound of his vocals depend more on the producer than Adam himself. So does Lady Gaga’s real voice sound like her album voice? If so, then Adam’s might stay the same.

Okay, I gather it is a device to help singers stay on pitch and is especially helpful to those who arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t blessed with stellar voices, but Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m also thinking it is what makes some of the pop hits sound à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“echo-yà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

I posted a link to a Feb 2009 Newsweek article that really does a great job of explaining how Auto-Tune is being used.

In brief, it can be used correct a pitch problem — live or in studio

OR to modify a vocal. The first use of the software was on Cher’s “Believe” and the producers kept the technique secret for a while. Once it became known how to do it, there were a bunch of similar songs. But it died out.

In 2003 it came back in Hip Hop music production and spread everywhere — globally.

Yeah, auto-tuned vocals have become the norm on pop radio and that appears to be squarely where Adam is headed. Maybe it is a signal of the end when artists like T-Pain, Akon and Kanye have moved beyond using it to correct pitch issues and have taken it into the gross distorted vocal realm. One can only hope!

Well, at least the subject is finally being talked about and I applaud Death Cab for Cuties and Jay Z for taking the issue out of the closet. Just learned that Jay Z’s first single is called D.O.A. (Death of Autotune) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhludN8yU0s. (Sample lyrics: Moment of silence – na na na, hey hey, bye bye!) I concur – bye bye!!!

And to think that we all have Andy Hildebrand to blame. If he hadn’t made so much money working for the oil companies on interpreting seismic data, he never would have retired early and even been at that dinner party when a dinner guest challenged him to create a box that would allow her to sing in tune. Aw fate, what have ye wrought!

The reason that JayZ and Death Cab for Cutie is calling for the end of autotune is that most people use it to cover up really bad vocals (like Heidi Montag) or use it too much as a trick to make a song more interesting but instead they all sound too much alike.

My God. Are you saying Heidi can’t really sing? I’m shocked. Utterly shocked. I may never get over this. Lol

Auto-tune the news:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBb4cjjj1gI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fngEnIkz44

Once you hear it, you’ll recognize it forever. The further off from the pitch the voice is, the weirder the effect.

That was great, hwc. Love when something hidden is brought into the light. Maybe revealing the truth about auto-tune will take away it’s wide spread acceptance.

Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s vocal abilities is out of the question à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ it is a given fact that he has one of the best and most disciplined vocal talent . He has full control of his vocal instrument. And he is versatile . He can sing any genre.

The question will be what sound will generate the most commercial success.

You might argue that artistry is important. But for a first album à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ the return of the investment need to be established . Otherwise those who put up the money will not be interested to plow in more funds if there is no initial return of investment.

Based on the age group that has the highest music CD and DVD purchasing block ( 13-24 years of age ) then I think the rock with dance music edge would be a smart commercial move.

Probably you might argue that Adam also has a fan base that is higher in age bracket and will need to be satisfied as well.

I think Mad World sales was not fueled by the 30 plus age bracket, this was from this the 13-24 years age. So there is probably going to be a music there that will speak about the youthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s anxiety and all its forms in this first album. At same time it will also speak to those who have perpetually lived in an anxious state regardless at what age they are now in.

So what does that leave those in the 40 up age bracket? The fan block who spent their growing up years during the rock and roll age of the 70′s and 80′s . This is the music that Adam is so enamored with. This is where Adam and his 40 something fans are in the same page.

So I will hazard a guess à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ this is the signature sound that RedONe is talking about. But it will be an updated danceable music, that will appeal across age blocks . It would be interesting to hear what they come up with. If they succeed in this, it will be a sound identifiable with Adam and will guarantee a shot at longevity.

When sales solidify an artistà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s position, he can then dabble into artistry.

re: autotune, there are several interesting SciFi books by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. that feature old-style singers in a futuristic world. In Archform: Beauty, music is all recorded/performed with “resonance”, an electronic overlay that affects the emotions. It’s a good (but not great) book, but the idea is an interesting one. His poor protagonist has trouble getting gigs as an opera singer. I think Modesitt’s married to an opera professor …

eta: btw, i am an adam fan, but that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make me deaf to the fact that he was off on some notes. heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a great singer, but he wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t pitch perfect.

Bruno, it probably didn’t help when he had such things going on as that back-up singer trying to overpower him. Several times I noticed he removed his ear monitors, bandzilla screwed up once or twice, I believe. Not making any particular excuses, because Adam doesn’t need them. I just think there are many things that went on in the live Idol shows that were distracting to him being that he has the rep. as a perfectionist. I think he covered other’s mistakes while trying to be as pitch-perfect and awesome as possible.

My opinions being stated, I also think Adam is the most pitch-perfect singer I have ever heard live.

Just listen to the singles of David Cook and David Archuleta – we heard them sing all last season so we know what their voices are like and how good they are and check out the overproduction on their singles, now I haven’t heard the newer singles but just going by the first singles from their albums – actually Time of Our Life actually lets David’s voice pretty much alone if memory serves but it’s been a long time since I’ve heard it.

So if Kelly Clarkson with all her clout and proven track record, is still having songs overproduced to her liking, as someone noted above, this too could and likely will happen to Adam, just saying. Because Ms. Clarkson is pretty pitch perfect as well.

Few artists have total control over the final mix and when it is RCA’s money on the line, they will approve the final mix.

There is nothing wrong with using special effects on the vocals from time to time but not every time and not when it is disguising a bad voice. I wonder who uses Auto Tune live. Maybe that is the next dirty secret to be unveiled. I could maybe just maybe see it if you had a bad cold or raw throat and the alternative is cancelling the concert.

Grrrr, I totally HATE auto-tune. I don’t care about pitch perfect, I listen to different singers because I like the variety of color the different voices have. I like Allison and Kris live, not so much on the itunes because their personalities was tuned away. Especially Allison suffers from this since she has such a raw and raspy voice (would anyone in their right mind autotune Joplin?). This is also a major reason why I listen to so much alternative music. I don’t mind them playing with electronics now and then (Kanye) but to overuse auto-tune on voices is the same as replacing studio musicians with electronic stuff.

Can you imagine Dillon or Van Morrison on auto tune? Their raw voices are a huge part of their success.

I think Adam is lucky in the sense that his voice is not colored by a lot of over/under tones when he sings, but both kinds are beautiful. I like a very raw and raspy voice like Allison but I also like a very clear voice like Adams. Ban auto-tuning!

This discussion on Auto-tune sure is interesting, and an eye opener for me. I’m really not that into Pop & rarely listen to current music on the radio. I turned on Ryan Seacrest a few times hoping for some Adam news and I hated the music. It’s electonic-sounding junk with a rappish, beatish vibe. It sounds like the same song is playing over & over again.

I’m still very excited about the RedOne connection, even though there’s a little spark of fear there too now. Don’t mess with Adam’s incredible voice. My God, that’s one of the things that sets him apart from everyone else. No auto-tuning please.

Pretty sure auto-tune was used on all the contestant’s Itunes recordings. I can’t imagine any of them had much time to spend in the studio based on how packed their schedules were.

Beyonce: Halo, Kanye: Heartless, both sound electronic. Obvioiusly not their pure voices, but if the AI contestants studio recordings were autotuned I sure couldn’t tell. So are there degrees or did the artists I mentioned use something else besides autotune OR something in addition to autotune?

:dunce_tb:

Yes, when auto-tune is used correctly, you aren’t supposed to notice it. Some artists use it improperly for effect (Kanye, Lady Gaga, etc.).

TKat

I have both MWà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and I do listen to the Live Final version most often, but I actually kinda like the original one with the odd ending. It like an Amish quilt à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  they are traditionally made with one noticable mistake to remind us that only God is perfect.

Adam explained that note on LKL. He said he did sing the wrong note and accidentally sang the harmony note. Ryan said he finessed it well.

Adam sang in many ensembles, including “Wicked”, so he is probably used to singing harmony and not the melody.

xof1013 posted this link on another article:

http://www.parade.com/celebrity/celebrity-parade/archive/adam-lambert-the-artist-i-want-to-be.html

Adam verifies that his is working with RedOne and says that although he love Lady GaGa he will have his own sound. He also says he is doing alot of songwriting which I am really happy to hear. I was a little nervous as to whether I would like he sound of this album but the more I read the better I am feeling about it. Can’t wait to hear the finished product.

Obvioiusly not their pure voices, but if the AI contestants studio recordings were autotuned I sure couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t tell.

Oh, it’s used on those studio recordings. The only one of Adams where it appears to be used to excess is If I Can’t Have You. It’s pretty obvious. On all of the sustained notes, Adam has a lovely little vibrato. You can hear the Auto-tune attempting to smooth out the small variations in pitch from the vibrato. The result is kind of an electronic sounding wavering everytime he sustains a note. That’s bad use of auto-tune. The settings were just way too aggressive. They didn’t make that mistake again.

The way the thing was intended to be used was to fix the odd bum note, thus saving an otherwise fantastic “take” marred by one or two minor pitch issues.

I’ve never listened to the studio recordings of any of the other contestants, so I have no idea what was done on those.

Auto-tune is not the only thing being done on radio mixes. There’s a lot of compression being used (essentially making soft nuances in the voice louder and loud dynamic bits softer — reducing the difference between soft and loud). This allows the voice to be recorded louder overall in the mix so it is bright and punchy on bad sound systems. The downside is that you lose the dynamics. They are also equalizing the voices – emphasizing mids and highs at the expense of lower tones — to make them sound bright and punchy. None of this is really conceptually new. They’ve been “mixing top 40 for AM radio and car radio) since the beginning of time.

I don’t know where to post this but I just found this article from Parade Magazine via Twitter:

http://www.nj.com/celebrity-news/index.ssf/2009/06/adam_lambert_this_whole_experi.html

On comments made by Perez Hilton about keeping his sexuality unconfirmed.

“I heard a little bit about it. I think he might have a crush on me. That’s what it feels like…I don’t have a crush on him!”

Perez retaliates.
http://perezhilton.com/2009-06-16-weve-got-a-crush-on-you

Perez retaliates.

*rolls eyes* Of course he did. I’m so tired of Perez. I wish he’d go back to whatever rock he crawled out from under.

Pretty sure auto-tune was used on all the contestantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Itunes recordings.

Maybe that is so, but it is definetely more noticable in some studio recordings. This is not a critique of voices, I really love Allisons voice, but in my opinion a lot of her quality is lost when they over-use auto-tune. I am also not sure if I even think that autotune can be used in a good way. I want to listen to the complex nature of the human voice, I find that interesting. An interesting singer usually have an interesting voice, I don’t want that individuality smeared out. Different acoustic guitars have different sound depending on built, strings and so on, it’s part of the quality of music.

Squirrely
Adam does not need auto tune – and I hope he fights it if they suggest it

Agree. One Million Percent. Just say ‘NO!’ to Autotune-plus-Adam!
:smile1_tb:

isisdagmar
of course Adam missed a few notes during the course of the entire season. I can remember 2-3 slightly off notes in BorW, ToMT, that last note in Mad World the first time around, and the heinous No Boundaries (both his and Krisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ worst performances of the season by farà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’that song has evil powers).

Adam himself addressed this in the TV Guide interview (the one where they talk about the “pink elephant in the room”, hehe). In response to the question “what was your least favourite performance of your run?”, Adam said “…the choice of doing BorW was really great… but vocally from, like, a technical standpoint, it was kind of a mess. It was pitchy, it was a little shouty [laughs].” He has also said (Idolatry interview? I can’t recall) that RoF was probably his “cleanest” performance, vocally speaking.

Re: “No Melodies” (heh) – I absolutely hated the song the first time I heard it (which was the live “debut” from Kradam), but I have to admit that it’s in rotation in my youtube playlist, and it has grown on me; I actually kind of like it now. lol :shock_tb: