A Tribute to Second Runner-Up Adam Lambert

Now that Season 8 of American Idol is behind us, believe it or not, I think more needs to be said about the shocking upset of the final winner this year. And I also want to take this opportunity to pay a little tribute to Adam Lambert at the same time. As you all know, Kris Allen won the American Idol title, and Adam Lambert came in second place. I also realize that each guy had their legion of fans, however, I was an Adam Lambert fan and want to say a few more things about the man, and also about the phenomenal performances he gave us each week.

First, I don't want to take anything away from Kris Allen, since he is a very good contemporary singer in his own right. My problem with his win is that there are many talented young guy singers, much like Kris, so I did not see anything extraordinary in his performances. Adam, on the other hand, shocked and entertained us each week with his special brand of showmanship.

During the audition phase of American Idol this year, the second I heard Adam Lambert sing, combined with his stunning good looks, I turned to my husband and said, "That guy right there is going to win this whole competition". Of course, I was wrong, but only by one. We all watched as Adam made his way through the auditions, on to Hollywood, and then into the group of finalists. He did that by being the best at what he does.

On a personal level, there has been much speculation about Adam's sexual orientation. I, like many others, saw those pictures on the internet that looked like Adam kissing another man. I'll be honest. I wondered, for one split second, if my "crush" on Adam would be diminished in any way because of the possibility that he might be gay. I don't care about anyone's sexual orientation, but when you have a "crush" on an actor or a singer, there's that one little tiny totally far out there thought of somehow you being with your "crush", even though it's an impossibility. It's part of the fantasy for us girls and always has been from Elvis Presley, right on down to The Jonas Brothers today.

I need not have worried my little head about it. The following week, Adam strutted his sexy self on to the American Idol stage, squinted those sensual eyes, and pure gold came out of his mouth like it always did. My "crush" was still officially on. Even Paula Abdul gushed one time that he was "astonishingly handsome", and those were her words. Kara DioGuardi was even more smitten, since if she wasn't behind the judge's podium, I swear a few of those times she would have ended up at his feet. Even Simon and Randy had their little mini crushes on Adam. It was obvious. The guy can certainly draw people in, that's for sure.

I enjoyed all the different ranges and aspects of Adam Lambert's performances. His ballad of "Mad World", as well as his high pitched rocker screams in other songs, were all magical. He even changed his appearance to match whatever song or genre he was doing that week. Adam was still a sexy dude, whether he had eyeliner and black nail polish on, or a more traditional polished look. That was all part of what made him entertaining and exciting to watch week after week. The finalists were all very talented kids this year, but Adam's performance was the one many of us looked forward to the most on Tuesday nights.

The internet was an interesting study in just how much impact Adam Lambert had on American Idol viewers, which were in the millions. You could check out any poll, any day of the week, and Adam stood out far in front of the second and third place contestant. From the American Idol judges, to his millions of fans, Adam Lambert was going to be the next American Idol. But then something unforeseen happened. This is my opinion on what went down.

When Danny Gokey was voted off American Idol, I believe that a large majority of his fans changed their allegiance to Kris Allen. After all, Danny and Kris were much the same in terms of being young contemporary singers. They were both nice wholesome guys and were thought of as "safe". Adam, on the other hand, had that edge to him which gave him that raw sensuality that he conveyed on the stage each week. I believe that turned some people off to him. In the final analysis, Kris's votes, along with most of Danny's, outnumbered Adam's votes in order to take the title of this year's American Idol.

To say I was devastated by that, is an understatement. I think that Adam Lambert, with his immense talent, should have been able to have his "moment" on national TV, and he was denied that. I understand the voting process is fair, and I, among others, need to accept his loss, but I can't help it if I feel something unjust happened here. Adam deserved to have his "day in the sun" as it were.

Adam accepted his fate much more graciously than a lot of his avid fans did, me included. Did you see how genuinely happy Adam was for Kris when the winner was announced? And every interview I've read since then, shows just how mature and gracious Adam is as a person. He has a positive attitude about the future as well. Let's add those qualities to all his other ones, and you have one terrific guy.

I'm not worried about Adam Lambert's future in show business. He will no doubt be very successful. Very few people even knew who he was just a few short months ago. But now he has millions of fans out there waiting anxiously for his next career move. Lost in the dust is our curiosity of whether Adam likes boys or girls or both in the bedroom. All we're focused on now is when can we see him perform again, and what will his CD sound like when it's released.

I, for one, will be first in line to buy his CD. And I also want to thank Adam Lambert for giving us all the excitement and entertainment that he brought into our living rooms over the last few months from the stage of American Idol. I can't imagine next year's Idol hopefuls giving us anyone as phenomenal as him. We'll just have to wait and see.