Adam Lambert: Kiss of life from a fallen angel

It is for the first time in Idol history that we knew, from the minute he walked into the audition, that Adam Lambert would be the next American Idol. Before, this title was always up for grabs, and sometimes America fumbled with the ball (think Daughtry who says to this day, people yell to him on the street “Hey, man, you were robbed!”). We also knew, from the minute he pranced off with the yellow paper, that when it came to sports, Adam’s interest? “Not so much”, in his father’s immortal words. The unfortunate man must be kicking himself for giving the game away seeing as how America is notoriously puritanical. But I don’t think this will sway the votes for once. I am notoriously puritanical myself and I don’t care which team Adam plays on. For God’s sake, just look at him. Who has ever seen a face so beautiful? All the clichés fall into place. A fallen angel, the dark knight, the starving artist in his lonely garret…..He doesn’t just sing like a lost boy who is finding his way home through pain and laughter, a solitary vision, an everlasting hopefulness through a sense of betrayal (you’ll find all this in his performances), he makes us believe it. This is why Paula, who is really under-estimated, always ‘gets’ it when it comes to contestants, and why when Adam is on stage, she smiles through her tears. It is all, in a strange way, like the Susan Boyle experience. We weep for both Susan and Adam’s pain, one for her lack of beauty (which really opens every door), the other for living in a world where he can never admit who he is. At the same time, they make us reaffirm the joy we are born with and which the world so ruthlessly strips away year after year. I just have to think of Adam’s face and I am happy, again. I just have to hear his pure voice and I feel my heart pierced, the blood beginning to flow, again.