I swore to myself that I wasn't going to watch American Idol this year or do any posts about it. I've stuck with the former promise but here I am writing a post about American Idol, so obviously I have no consistency or integrity.I've been reading the controversy (so-called) of the show running late last night and DVRs not recording Adam Lambert's performance of Tears For Fears' "Mad World," a song released in the year he was born (1982 - I guess this was the theme of the night). So I watched the video at Ryan Seacrest's site, and you know what? Lambert didn't perform a song from the year he was born.
As TV Squad reader Phil points out and I realized right away, Lambert did the Gary Jules version of "Mad World," the slower, moodier version of the Tears For Fears song, and that was released only, what, five or ten years ago? It's a good take, and Lambert did a fine job, but I don't think we should be praising him as doing such an original take on it. He simply copied Jules. Maybe Jimmy Kimmel is right when he calls this America's "karaoke show."
Can I stop writing about Idol now? Thanks!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-08-2009 @ 2:41PM
Lou Henderson said...
this year is by far the worst tallent of the top ten !!!!!!
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4-08-2009 @ 2:38PM
Brad C said...
I swear, that dude gets my goat every time.
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4-08-2009 @ 2:45PM
Jefferson Burns said...
I think you should call out Gokey more than Lambert. Yes, the version of his song his from another year - circa Donnie Darko, but the song is actually from the year he was born. Which I think is only slightly better than what Gokey did.
Gokey sang Stand By Me. Which, if memory serves would make him like 47 years old. However, his excuse was that it was an arrangement from the year he was born. However, if you listen to the Mickey Gilley version and then Gokey - it's not.
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4-08-2009 @ 2:56PM
Darlene Wilson said...
TOTALLY agree with you. When I heard that Danny was doing "Stand By Me", my first thought was "I thought there was an age limit on this show!". Ben E. King wrote and recorded that song in the early 60's.....
4-12-2009 @ 12:56PM
psaintlouis9 said...
Speaking of Donnie Darko- that weird cool vision- S.DARKO comes out on DVD shortly- sequel to D.DARKO about his sister- i cannot wait-hope they sell the both as a set. Adam Lambert is way too talented for this show and already should be a star on his own- i think he chose the wrong paths-gay or not- he needs to get off the show and do a show of his own-karaoke or not- it would make a great show for new talent and hosted by himself. He really is way cool! Thanks-Phil 50years old.
4-08-2009 @ 2:49PM
Walter Melgar said...
Any Gears of War fan would know that (the Gary Jules version was used in the original commercial)...
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4-08-2009 @ 2:53PM
Gian said...
Under the same "criteria" then, Danny Gokey sang Mickey Gilley's version of "Stand By Me". So that also isn't from the year he was born. Your point's taken..just be fair.
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4-08-2009 @ 2:55PM
Nornny said...
I agree, Danny definitely bent the rules more with Stand By Me.
There wasn't enough time with the show running late. I'm sure Adam would have acknowledged he was doing the Donny Darko version had he had a chance to speak. He has done so earlier in the competition. No one claimed it was an original arrangement at all.
All the finalists have performed lesser known covers of well-known songs. Chris Daughtry (Walk the line) and David Cook (Billie Jean) both did it as well to the same controversy. It's a broken record at this point.
Unless the contestant says it's an original arrangement (like Khris did last week), it's not an original arrangement.
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4-08-2009 @ 3:00PM
VectorBoy said...
I still think he sounds like the creepy old guy from Family Guy when he's singing the beginning before he cranks it all up with the louder vocals.
Seriously, think of Herbert, and it'll be impossible to un-hear it.
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4-09-2009 @ 7:38PM
Paul said...
Absolutely! I 100% agree that he sounds like Old Man Herbert from Family Guy. I thought the exact same thing when I was watching the show last night. Funny stuff.
4-08-2009 @ 7:36PM
Dan said...
That's hilarious!
This guy also sang a Trent Reznor version of a song that was praised as "original"...just like David cook was "original" for singing a Chris Cornell version of a song.
This guy is totally lame and anyone who likes him is not really someone who is into music or who knows that much about it. I know a lot of musicians (in addition to myself) and none of them likes Adam. The people who like Adam are the same people who liked David Archuleta last year, who like Kanye West and Lady Ga Ga and the rest of that crap that passes off as popular music.
4-09-2009 @ 10:26AM
GENE said...
Gary Jules calls Adam Lambert’s cover ‘unique and beautiful’
“He totally understood the vibe of it and the power of it and delivered it in a unique and beautiful way. ...
I think Adam is straight-up the most interesting, for my personal taste, of anyone I’ve ever seen on the show.”
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090408-ENTERTAIN-90408042
Adam's rendition of "Tracks of My Tears" moved Smokey Robinson to give him a standing ovation. When the original artist gives a performer a standing ovation after
a performance of his song, how do you decide it isn't good? Most of the people who are the most trained in music are the ones who appreciate what Adam does with his voice that few to none in this show have done before,
and that no one else this season can match.
4-09-2009 @ 7:42PM
Paul said...
I think the real important thing here is that Lambert sounds like that old creepy bastard from Family Guy. Can someone w/ video editing software put together a video mix with Herbert and Lambert? That would be a YouTube SENSATION!
4-08-2009 @ 3:01PM
JennieO said...
This is news? Based on what we've seen so far, I'm sure Adam would have credited the Jules version if he had one second to speak. It's a total non-issue, and trying to make it one is ridiculous.
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4-08-2009 @ 3:03PM
MarcDom7 said...
You are allowed to do any available-to-license version of the song you choose. This is not IDOL news. This is how it has always been done. The original song was from 1982, and that means his version qualifies.
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4-08-2009 @ 3:04PM
MarcDom7 said...
But yes, Gokey is the one who is a little iffy. But as long as it's a song, and they sing it, and we can judge it, I don't see what the problem is.
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4-08-2009 @ 3:14PM
Miles said...
Oh god was that awful. I probably know the Gary Jules version of the song better, and what a wreck. Someone already said it but he sounded like the pedo- old man from Family Guy. And at the end he just screeched like a cat.
I'm so glad I don't watch this anymore.
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4-08-2009 @ 5:09PM
Tracy said...
We're glad you don't watch it anymore either
4-08-2009 @ 3:21PM
John Frost said...
I can't help but think that Adam is playing us all. He knows American Idol is just a contest and he can game the rules just by doing what is expected of him. When this is all done and he's been voted the next American Idol, he'll just let out the biggest belly laugh and say "Y'all have been Punk'd".
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4-08-2009 @ 3:38PM
robert said...
why is this on my reality free feed of TV Squad?
i trusted you guys and you let me down.
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