Play that Funky Music, Adam Lambert

Choosing a song was a free-for-all for American Idol 2009 contestants for their performances that aired on this last day of March, April Fool's Eve. The Idol singers could choose any song that is a popular iTunes digital download. They visited the radio station where Ryan Seacrest does one of his radio shows, American Top Forty, a pop radio countdown program of which Casey Kasem- 'The King of the Countdowns'- was a co-founder.

In the recorded snippet shown before his performance tonight, the eight one, Adam Lambert said that last week's song, 'Tracks of My Tears', was 'stripped down'. He added, "It was soft and subtle." This week, he wanted a song whereby 'the groove is really hot', something that could be current. Adam grinned as he said he had picked out a landslide hit by Wild Cherry in 1976, 'Play That Funky Music'.

Adam breezed onto the stage with, as a friend of mine put it, his GQ looks showing- his blue-black hair was combed back in a current version of an Elvis Presley do- and with his usual palpable electricity that weekly gives studio and TV audiences that what-the-heck-is-he-going-to-do-next excitement. Disco-ing down to the funky music in a hip dark suit that had a subtle Edwardian quality made casual with a trio of shirts showing- a lemon round-neck and black & white stripes under a soft blue vee-neck- Adam rocked the audience with his mega-range voice. The artistry of Adam is that he wraps his voice around every syllable of lyrics and exudes the meaning and emotion of the song, whether it's his sweet tender rendition 'Tracks of my Tears' or his raucous 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction.' When Adam ended Wild Cherry's 'Play That Funky Music' on a long, crazy, artful, multi-toned, show-stopping note, the audience went...spontaneously wild.

The smiling American Idol judges began their critque. Paula Abdul began speaking and had to gently shush the wowed crowd, who simmered down, if only a touch. She said, "True genius doesn't meet expectations, true genius shatters expectations." She shouted out above the loud crowd, "Mick Jagger, Steve Tyler- and Adam Lambert!"

Simon Cowell thought Adam's performance was original but wouldn't make him 'as popular as last week' but that 'it doesn't matter now'. He was probably referring to his belief that Adam is a star- Simon had said to Adam last week, "A star emerges."

Randy Jackson said that when he first heard that Adam was doing the Wild Cherry song, he was 'unsure about it' and thought it might come across as corny. But he thought that Adam had done his thing with it and said, "You're in the star zone!"

With a gleaming smile Adam swept an arm in the direction of the band and quickly interjected, "I just want to thank Rickey Minor and the band." Without them it wouldn't have been what it was. "It was a great arrangement." As the audience clapped, Kara DiGuardio said among her many praising comments to Adam that it was Studio 57 stuff.

Although Studio 57 is a TV studio in New York, Kara was possibly referring to London's hot, intimate Studio 57 club that played Cool Pop Rythym & Blues with an injection of Old Skool and the four-to-the-floor rhythm of that commercial subgenre of disco fused with electronic dance music. That club venue has since closed. But Adam Lambert's future is a limitless starry vista. 'Is Anybody Listening?" Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah- Adam will dazzle listeners with his music for eons to come.