'Mika fits the Freddie Mercury prototype like a glove'-an article about Adam Lambert

[coolcat]

I've also heard in other places that they didn't play Mika because he might be gay, it's really aggravating and then they can play Adam Lambert so easily..

 

They don't play Mika because he might be gay, but they play Adam Lamber who is gay?

 

Speaking of that Freddie Mercury thing - I wouldn't say Mika is a lot like him, maybe just a tiny little bit, something in the way he performs... but Adam Lambert is zero % Freddie. Just my opinion. I did like one of his songs, but I got tired of it quickly.

[Jazzy]

Excellent. This person has CLEARLY been to a show, and CLEARLY been to half a dozen more because (s)he got the bug just like we all did.

 

Fantastic description, especially the bit about wearing the audience out while he does all the work. Perfect.

 

[Foxxy]

Ahhh! So true!

[robertina]

Excellent. This person has CLEARLY been to a show, and CLEARLY been to half a dozen more because (s)he got the bug just like we all did.

 

Fantastic description, especially the bit about wearing the audience out while he does all the work. Perfect.

 

 

jaz, yr sig stops at eden

[Jazzy]

jaz, yr sig stops at eden

 

I knoooooooooooow. I need to update it, and fiddle with the size...but I might have to change the whole thing because of the size ratio bizniz...and quite frankly, I can't be arsed with it.

[robertina]

I knoooooooooooow. I need to update it, and fiddle with the size...but I might have to change the whole thing because of the size ratio bizniz...and quite frankly, I can't be arsed with it.

 

you are not shunning the fringe then?

[Mika Freaka =)]

That paragraph is perfect:thumb_yello:

[Jazzy]

you are not shunning the fringe then?

 

Never!

 

I'm just being lazy!

[Louiza]

 

But all is not lost. It says here that Adam Lambert is performing in the same venue I saw Mika in just last year Given that LA is hometown territory for Lambert and Mika cannot get radio play in the US I think it speaks volumes for Mika's reputation as a live performer, even among American audiences.

 

Even without any help from the radio stations Mika played in the same venue as the hugely promoted "American idol". Thats very positive news.Thanks for letting us know Christine:thumb_yello:

[sienna]

Thanks for posting!

[basicamenteyo]

:blink:Maybe a stupid question, but WHO is Adam Lambert? Never heard of him!

 

this made my day. thanks

 

ehrm... i don´t know who he is.... when i read the name my first thought went to that guy who played the immortals...

 

*goes to google*

[IngievV]

*High fives reporter*

[Mary]

Adam dear, being openly gay doesn't turn you into Freddie, sorry...

 

And gotta love that reporter, huh?

[sariflor]

Last man standing?

 

Posted on 02 Sep 2010 at 7:06pm

As Adam Lambert rises the pop ranks, he joins a long line of musical frontmen who can really show out

RICH LOPEZ | Staff Writer lopez@dallasvoice.com

 

 

TAKE IT EASY | Lambert will prove if he’s a worthy performer when he comes to Dallas on Tuesday.

ADAM LAMBERT

Palladium Ballroom,

1135 S. Lamar Road.

Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. $39.

 

Recently, Adam Lambert sang the praises of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Much of Lambert’s stylings and persona are reminiscent of the late bisexual singer, but when he asked NPR recently where are today’s flamboyant showmen, I was perplexed. If by flamboyant, he means gay, well, then perhaps I can see that. But pop and rock music today is not lacking for outrageousness in male personalities.

 

Lambert doesn’t have to look too far to see that the musical landscape is filled with exciting onstage personas that can equal Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. Lest he thinks he’s the only one on the radar doing up an extravaganza show, he’d be sorely mistaken. I picked out a few worthwhile singers and performers that should answer Lambert’s question.

 

Mika — I’m sorry to tell Lambert that Brit pop singer Mika fits the Freddie Mercury prototype like a glove, much more than Lambert does. With bouncy pop that’s also smart, Mika is exciting to watch as he rules his stage and flutters with some crazy vocal gymnastics. To add to that, he can throw down big time on a piano. He can wear the audience out even when he’s doing all the work.

 

Kele Okereke — The Bloc Party gay frontman woos his audience like a lover. He has that magic that is both hypnotic and thrilling. Okereke drips sex appeal the way Lenny Kravitz used to, only he keeps it approachable enough to not make him look like a douche. Others usually miss that mark.

 

Brandon Flowers — When Flowers takes the mike during his band’s show, he not only sings, he leads like a conductor. The Killers pop rock drives forward with heavy guitars and drums, but Flowers owns the stage with the slightly off-kilter-ness of Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter but makes up for it with squeaky clean good looks and guy-liner.

 

Justin Timberlake — It’s hard to believe I live in a world where Justin T. is a music veteran. Not only that, he’s become a respectable musician and artist. But first, he was the breakout guy from N*Sync. You could see his potential then that he was going to be big, but when he matured into pop music hotness, he proved that outrageousness and flamboyance isn’t all that’ s needed to be a great showmen. J.T.’s got the moves, the looks and also works his sex appeal to no end.

 

There are countless others, but Lambert can’t rule out these contemporaries just because he’ll kiss a guy onstage or wear outlandish costumes. Flamboyant showmanship is of varying degree. Glam rock hasn’t yet made its comeback, but Lambert is at least spearheading the movement and in a few years, he’ll be the next veteran that up and comers will cite as an influence.

 

Oooh, I LOVED that. In very few words, but very well expressed

[Marilyn Mastin]

It just shows how Brilliant Mika is, that he's done so well in America, with very little radio-play.

I also agree that Adam Lambert is actually more like Boy George. In some recent pictures I've seen he even LOOKS like Boy George!

Anyway, I noticed on the article, on the front page of the thread, there is the journalist's email address. I'm going to send him a glowing email to tell him how moved I am by what he wrote about Mika.

 

Here it is for anyone else with the same idea.

lopez@dallasvoice.com

[Shine]

yes...and the US taste is so different from ours here in europe.

adam lambert yes - mika no

wtf?

 

Well exactly my thoughts.

Apart from this, Lambert is a huge fan of Bill Kaulitz which Mika is not and that gives quite another perspective into his "statement" IMO.

Smart reporter anyway.

[Mary]

Well exactly my thoughts.

Apart from this, Lambert is a huge fan of Bill Kaulitz which Mika is not and that gives quite another perspective into his "statement" IMO.

Smart reporter anyway.

 

Ooooh so THAT's where he's getting his makeup tips from! I knew it!

[qwurtie]

the person who wrote that obviously did not like adam lambert =p

 

so.... is that article saying that adam lambert thinks hes like freddie mercury?

[southeast]

I knew who A. Lambert is, but never heard any of his songs till now, so I listened to few things on YouTube right now. I really was intrigued by the question why is he so popular in the States and Mika isn't. So I watched some vids.

 

And then I had this idea about what makes Mika so different from the rest of the popstars that are popular right now and that this could be a reason why he's not THAT popular at the moment. This is possibly a bit too much from a shrink point of view but anyway:

I think that nowadays teens and young pple in general are looking for more dark stuff in music, films in general. Like Twilight, even Harry Potter gets darker and darker. Perhaps this reflects the times we are living in: economy and environmental problems, everything seems difficult atm or somehow stuck in the middle . Even the colours of more music vids are dark and depressive and somehow very aggressive: Gaga, A. Lambert with those black clothes and make up, Gossip, Tokio Hotel etc. Even Miley Cirus tried this with her last vid . Their songs aren't very happy, poppy, colourfull etc. atm. So perhaps Mika just doesn't express the mood of the moment with his music and show. Of course we know his texts are dark. But I am not sure how many first hear fans realize that and care to listen to texts if the music is melodious and happy at the first place. His music is too happy and most pple don't feel very happy atm. And f.e. when I am down, I usualy listen to sad music, I don't switch on nice happy music to get my mood better.

 

I am not sure that makes any sense to you and I sure don't want him to change his music style, but it dawned on me that this could be a reason why he's not as often played on radio and his CD is not as well sold as the first one few years ago as things seemed a bit better (esp. in USA with Obama etc.) I am intrigued how Mika's next Album will be from this point of view. Do you think he'll get darker too? I mean in styling, colours, stage, music to match the texts more? What do you guys think?

[AnnaMariaPetra]

:blink:Maybe a stupid question, but WHO is Adam Lambert? Never heard of him!

 

this made my day. thanks

 

I was going to say: "Question of the Day:thumb_yello:"

 

[macboll]

A part from FM's comparison.... I agree with most of the bolded bit of course

Mika doesn't wear the audience out though, he revitalizes instead

 

+1 I couldn't have said it better!

[suzie]

I would liken him to Steven Tyler from Aerosmith or even Boy George rather than Freddie Mercury.

 

When I first heard Adam Lambert sing, he reminded me of no-one, I simply concluded what a great singer he was. However, when I first saw him speak, he immediately reminded me of Boy George. Their speaking voice and gestures are similar and even their attitude and personalities seem to have similar traits.

It says here that Adam Lambert is performing in the same venue I saw Mika in just last year Given that LA is hometown territory for Lambert and Mika cannot get radio play in the US I think it speaks volumes for Mika's reputation as a live performer, even among American audiences.

 

I was not aware of that - it is reassuring to know that not even Adam Lambert performs at larger venues in LA / Mika performs at really big venues there.

[Shine]

I knew who A. Lambert is, but never heard any of his songs till now, so I listened to few things on YouTube right now. I really was intrigued by the question why is he so popular in the States and Mika isn't. So I watched some vids.

 

And then I had this idea about what makes Mika so different from the rest of the popstars that are popular right now and that this could be a reason why he's not THAT popular at the moment. This is possibly a bit too much from a shrink point of view but anyway:

I think that nowadays teens and young pple in general are looking for more dark stuff in music, films in general. Like Twilight, even Harry Potter gets darker and darker. Perhaps this reflects the times we are living in: economy and environmental problems, everything seems difficult atm or somehow stuck in the middle . Even the colours of more music vids are dark and depressive and somehow very aggressive: Gaga, A. Lambert with those black clothes and make up, Gossip, Tokio Hotel etc. Even Miley Cirus tried this with her last vid . Their songs aren't very happy, poppy, colourfull etc. atm. So perhaps Mika just doesn't express the mood of the moment with his music and show. Of course we know his texts are dark. But I am not sure how many first hear fans realize that and care to listen to texts if the music is melodious and happy at the first place. His music is too happy and most pple don't feel very happy atm. And f.e. when I am down, I usualy listen to sad music, I don't switch on nice happy music to get my mood better.

 

I am not sure that makes any sense to you and I sure don't want him to change his music style, but it dawned on me that this could be a reason why he's not as often played on radio and his CD is not as well sold as the first one few years ago as things seemed a bit better (esp. in USA with Obama etc.) I am intrigued how Mika's next Album will be from this point of view. Do you think he'll get darker too? I mean in styling, colours, stage, music to match the texts more? What do you guys think?

 

You can be right about teenage obsession with dark, weird and gothic and what the mentioned singers and artists could represent for the wide audience. But what about Katy Perry for instance? She's some "ice cream" type of poppete who actually "borrowed" the title from her new album "Teenage dream" from Mika.

There's one important marketing thing about Lambert who is genuinely very good singer but a smart guy at the same time.

Recently I've read an article about great celebs and bands who are fascinated by him and wrote a couple of songs for him: Gaga, Pink, Muse, etc. He has the same producer as Mika - Greg Wells. What's the difference between them? Lambert's CD is much more main stream musically and lyrically and his vids are pretty simple and not so provocative like Gaga's and even not like WAG.

But he's ready to do literally everything to gain the audience and that was GaGa sugested him: Be totally weird and you'll get attention. And he did it.Like she did.

I've been watching some TV show where some editors of American Idol were totally shocked when heard him being a gay. But despite that fact he made a great success even in my country quite opposite to Mika. He's concidered as a cool guy and young people love his look.

Mika is maybe too theatrical and "wagnerian", more complex in his artistic ambitions to be accepted easily. He doesn't fit in the main stream scene. Not to mention how some critics still hate his falsetto.

[cathouzouf]

 

So perhaps Mika just doesn't express the mood of the moment with his music and show. Of course we know his texts are dark. But I am not sure how many first hear fans realize that and care to listen to texts if the music is melodious and happy at the first place. His music is too happy and most pple don't feel very happy atm. And f.e. when I am down, I usualy listen to sad music, I don't switch on nice happy music to get my mood better.

 

 

so strange that I discovered Mika's music at a very sad moment of my life:shocked:

 

I always knew I was somewhat different from the rest...

[basicamenteyo]

I knew who A. Lambert is, but never heard any of his songs till now, so I listened to few things on YouTube right now. I really was intrigued by the question why is he so popular in the States and Mika isn't. So I watched some vids.

 

And then I had this idea about what makes Mika so different from the rest of the popstars that are popular right now and that this could be a reason why he's not THAT popular at the moment. This is possibly a bit too much from a shrink point of view but anyway:

I think that nowadays teens and young pple in general are looking for more dark stuff in music, films in general. Like Twilight, even Harry Potter gets darker and darker. Perhaps this reflects the times we are living in: economy and environmental problems, everything seems difficult atm or somehow stuck in the middle . Even the colours of more music vids are dark and depressive and somehow very aggressive: Gaga, A. Lambert with those black clothes and make up, Gossip, Tokio Hotel etc. Even Miley Cirus tried this with her last vid . Their songs aren't very happy, poppy, colourfull etc. atm. So perhaps Mika just doesn't express the mood of the moment with his music and show. Of course we know his texts are dark. But I am not sure how many first hear fans realize that and care to listen to texts if the music is melodious and happy at the first place. His music is too happy and most pple don't feel very happy atm. And f.e. when I am down, I usualy listen to sad music, I don't switch on nice happy music to get my mood better.

 

I am not sure that makes any sense to you and I sure don't want him to change his music style, but it dawned on me that this could be a reason why he's not as often played on radio and his CD is not as well sold as the first one few years ago as things seemed a bit better (esp. in USA with Obama etc.) I am intrigued how Mika's next Album will be from this point of view. Do you think he'll get darker too? I mean in styling, colours, stage, music to match the texts more? What do you guys think?

 

i really want mika not to change... at least not that much...