Adam Lambert gets it now. Being provocative can backfire. After simulating fondling and a same-sex kiss on this past year’s American Music Awards, Lambert didn’t exactly get the same reaction that, say, Lady Gaga might have. He was dropped from talk show appearances immediately after the controversial performance. ABC heard from irate viewers, who said they didn’t want to see that behavior on prime-time network television from someone who came from “American Idol.”

Now, on a countrywide tour (which hits Knoxville on Tuesday, July 6), Lambert is toning it down.

The awards show “was kind of an artistic experiment,” Lambert said during a telephone press conference recently. “I learned what my limitations are and what my audience wants to see.

“If anyone felt (the awards show performance) was not tasteful, this (concert) is tasteful.”

Like Lambert, the show will be colorful. Inspired by “turn-of-the-century New Orleans meets psychedelic, classic rock” (while throwing in “voodoo, magic and crystal balls”), Lambert’s live show will include tunes from “For Your Entertainment,” his debut CD, which was released in November. (To date, “Entertainment” has yielded three singles and sold around 661,000 units.)

He said he’ll also do some “surprising” covers.

The live production “has its own little world,” he said. “… It’s first and foremost about the music, but it’s also about giving people something to look at. There’s definitely a thematic through line throughout the show.”

His look will also change throughout the show while keeping with the “glam rock” tag he’s been given. Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards and Jim Morrison will influence his on-stage look.

” ‘Glam’ is a broader term than people realize,” he said. “There’s the ’70s glam and the ’80s glam movement. With this tour, I am really exploring the look of psychedelic rock stars.”

For all the talk Lambert gave to reporters about his career and tour, he was tight-lipped about his personal life, only taking credit for being an openly gay pop artist and making grown-up decisions on the look and direction of his concert tour. He blazed through many questions, delivering quick quotes to his first three questions in less than a minute and a half.

Lambert’s tour won’t give much insight into who he is beyond an entertainer. The 28-year-old Southern California native has been performing on stage since age 10. Before “Idol,” he was an understudy in the stage musical “Wicked.”

With this tour, Lambert may be transforming himself from shock master (think: Madonna) to outrageous performance artist, prompting some critics to nickname him “Papa Gaga.”

Whatever his image, Lambert is undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories in recent “American Idol” history. It’s almost hard to believe now that he didn’t win. He was runner-up to Kris Allen in 2009.

The difference between the two at this point in their post-”Idol” careers? Lambert is headlining his own tour while Allen is supplementing a small solo tour with opening act dates for Barenaked Ladies, Maroon 5 and others.

“It’s about making your own opportunities,” he said of his career. “No one is going to come to you. You have to go to it.”

ARTICLE BY: Terry Morrow
SOURCE: www.californiachronicle.com
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