Paula may have seen similarities last night to Led Zeppelin (Wha…? OK, I guess I kind of see it), but to me, Adam Lambert is the new Freddie Mercury. Whether or not you enjoy him ( I do!), you’ve got to admit that he stands out from the crowd, much in the same way as Mercury did. He’s got a theatrical flair to his performances, his voice has a crazy range and no matter what he sings, he makes it his own.
There’s not a soul on this planet who can deny the theatrical component to Freddie Mercury’s performances with Queen. Heck, even his compositions lend themselves to a Broadway musical — “Bohemian Rhapsody,” anyone? In fact, I’m kind of waiting for this. If they can make one with ABBA songs, what are they waiting for? Um, OK, I just looked it up and they did it (We Will Rock You) … guess it must have sucked because I’d never heard of it.
Now, can’t you see Adam Lambert coming up with the likes of that? Oh yeah.
Even Adam’s voice reminds me of Freddie’s. They both have a range that I’m not sure is really supposed to be humanly possible. There’s something about the tone of those high notes that is otherworldly, in a good way; doesn’t break your crystal, but stops the earth from turning, if for just a moment. There’s no way Adam doesn’t know what he’s got there, and he’ll use that in every performance, just because he can.
Another thing about Adam that reminds me of Freddie Mercury is that, no matter what he is singing, he makes it his own. You could be living in a third world country, never having been blessed with the knowledge of Queen’s music. Then, someone plays you “Somebody to to Love,” and follows it with “We Will Rock You” and you’re going to get that it’s the same artist.
I think Adam will be like that too. If you don’t think Adam will be able to sing any genre, think again. He tackled country last night (country!) for crying out loud! So the judges thought Adam’s performance was a bit strange last night (so did I), but c’mon, even as a fan of Mercury, you’d be honest in saying that he was a bit strange as well. That’s not always a bad thing.
Don’t forget, that was Freddie Mercury making “You’re My Best Friend” his own, right alongside “Flash.” Can’t get too much different than that, but there’s no question that both are Mercury at his finest.
So this post turned out to be a bit of a tribute to Freddie Mercury (can you blame me?), but I think you get my point. If Adam Lambert plays his cards right, he can translate his strengths into something amazing. Whether or not he’ll live on in the hearts of millions through his amazing gift, like Mercury, remains to be seen.
What do you think? Do you see the similarities between Adam Lambert and Freddie Mercury?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Mar 18, 2009 @ 14:00 EST5EDT
Mercury sang with so much passion. Mercury makes my heart ache every time I hear his music, which is almost daily on the treadmill.
That Lambert, I find him slimy and arrogant. Theatrical yes, but for me that’s where the similarity ends. (Is that an inverted cross? – I hope not)
I hope the judges don’t use their “save” on him at some point – yuck!
agreed. There is no comparison there. Loved Freddie, abhor Adam.
As far as singing chops, and unique style, I can see the comparison. Adam could be really, really great, MAYBE if he can write the right songs, but up until now, his original music is not nearly as all-encompassing as Queen. It’s good musically, but lyrically, bleh. Lame double entendres and not much else.
*POST AUTHOR*
I didn’t even know Adam had original music — I’ve only heard him sing his Idol stuff.
Prepare yourself, and probably don’t watch with Owen in the room: crawl thru fire
*POST AUTHOR*
Um yeah, OK, that’s just vile. But my point was, that if Adam uses his gifts, he could be great, and that his strengths remind me of Mercury’s strengths… certainly not that he was Freddie Mercury right now. I know you get that! :-)
you could not be more wrong. freddie mercury? really? that’s close to blasphemy.
look, i won’t say he’s awful, but between the michael jackson fiasco and the odd re-working of johnny cash, i just don’t see how this guy can be considered really good.
if some goth-rock/evanescence/whatever type of band needs a singer then by all means this guy should be called.
beyond that he’s trying to hard and his shtick is half-past tired.
I agree. He sucks.
Um, NO. Freddie Mercury was one of the most talented performers of the twentieth century with a voice that could make angels weep. Adam has a horrendous voice. It’s like a cat getting run over with a steamroller. NO COMPARISON.
Freddie may or may not be one of the best (I only know two or three Queen songs, so I can’t judge) but Adam has that sound like he could fit in with Queen or a similar band. I don’t like him, he has ruined to great songs. I am all for adding your own touch to a song, but to chop it up and barf it out, no thank you.
Of course Debbie–and I do agree! He will definitely have to tone it down if he wants to have any kind of real success, though, he makes Scissor Sisters look like Hanson in comparison. :D
OKAY NOW TO COMPARE ADAM TO FREDDIE MERCURY!? NO…THAT’S NOT EVEN CLOSE. HOWEVER, I DO THINK HE’S CLOSER TO GAVIN FRIDAY’S STYLE SINGER FROM VIRGIN PRUNES PUNK BAND FROM THE 80’S AND HE’S STILL PUTTING OUT NEW MUSIC. VIRGIN PRUNES HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF MY FAVS FROM THE PUNK ERA. SO THAT’S STILL A COMPLIMENT TO ADAM FOR UNIQUENESS LIKE GAVIN FRIDAY. I THINK IF HE STAYS BEING TRUE TO HIMSELF AS AN ARTIST HE WILL DO WELL. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED HIS PERFORMANCE FOR THE COUNTRY SHOW. THE SONG ARRANGEMENT WAS PERFECT AND SO MYSTICAL-LOVED IT!!! HE’S GOT MY VOTE FROM PUNKMUFFIN!
I WILL BY HIS CD WHEN IT COMES OUT…AND IT WILL HE’S AMAZING WITH HIS VOICAL RANG AND CREATIVITY. ANYONE THAT THINKS HE’S BAD NEEDS TO OPEN THEIR MIND TO REALITY!
I JUST NEED TO ADD ONE MORE THING…I WAS ABSOLUTELY DREADING COUNTRY NIGHT AS I ALWAYS HAVE ON A.I. BUT I ACTUALLY TURNED THE VOLUME UP ALL THE WAY WHEN ADAM CAME ON! IT WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST TIME I GOT TO HEAR HIM SING A SONG ALL THE WAY THROUGH. SO ADAM IF YOU READ THESE THINGS… JUST KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW YOU ARE NOT SINGING TO THE MARKET YOU WILL BE SELLING TO. SO DON’T LET THIS CLOSED-MINDED STUCK IN MARTHA’S VINEYARD AND FORGOT MY SWEATER TIE BS GET YOU IN A FUNK JUST GO OUT AND KILL’IT! MY HUSBAND ALWAYS SAYS SUCCESS IS THE BEST REVENGE! BEST OF LUCK-PUNKMUFFIN
I’m a HUGE Queen fan (have been for more than 35 years) and I have no problem at all with Adam being compared with Freddie. The comparison does nothing to diminish Freddie and Adam is an incredibly talented singer.
Oh, and as far as “We Will Rock You” (the musical) goes, it’s still going strong having played to millions of theatergoers worldwide. It’s in its 7th year running in London’s west end where it has become the longest running show in its Theater’s history. It’s been running for two years in Toronto with no sign of ending. It’s played more than 500 performances in Las Vegas, and has been performed in South Africa, Australia, Japan, Austria, Germany, Russia, Switzerland and is currently on tour in England. It has been so successful in fact, that a sequel is currently in the works – something no other “jukebox musical” has produced. So I guess it didn’t suck that much :-)
For more info on “We Will Rock You” (the musical), see here.
I think Adam is the most talented singer Idol has ever had on it’s show by far; hands down. His performance of “Ring of Fire” was the singular best performance I’ve ever seen on Idol. Love him.
I find the comparison very apt, actually. Both Mercury and Lambert are countertenors – their voices perfectly suited to sing orchestral rock – and both share a deliciously flamboyant personality. I for one would LOVE to hear Lambert tackle the Queen songbook. That doesn’t take anything away from Mercury. He was and will always be unique. But music is a living art. Like theatre, it’s meant to be reinterpreted. I absolutely adore what Adam did with ‘Ring of Fire’. He presented it as June Carter wrote it: a testament to obsession. I’ve felt that way. Who hasn’t?
I understand next week is a tribute to Motown. I’m waiting with bated breath to see what Adam does with that!
Yeah, I definitely see the similarity to Mercury in his voice. I listen mainly to metal but I’m a BIG Queen fan. I own all their studio albums. My favourite one is Queen II(a heavy metal classic). From a completely neutral point of view, I think it is possible to scientifically confer that Freddie Mercury was the greatest singer ever. I also agree with you when you say that they have ranges which shouldn’t be humanly possible. Before I listened to Queen, I never knew the human voice could reach certain places or peaks.
For people who are into hard-rock or heavy metal and love Queen, I highly suggest checking out the song “Ogre Battle”(From Queen II). In this song, Freddie screeches at such a high pitch it might make you orgasm. Also, in “Son and Daughter”(From Queen I), Freddie belts out the blues better than Robert Plant and roars loader than a lion.
I’m mentioning those songs because that side(the “harder” side) of Queen represents the real face of Queen and Freddie’s gives his best vocal performances in some of these songs. “White Queen”, “March Of The Black Queen” among others are even better than “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
*POST AUTHOR*
And you know, another singer, also no longer with us, who had a voice with a humanly impossible range is Brad Delf from Boston.
No way. They might be close in technical abilities, but Adam doesn’t show soul and doesn’t seem to sing from the heart like Freddie. Also, there was something very spiritual about Freddie’s voice that Adam doesn’t have. So again, the answers is NO, there’s no comparison because you either have it or you don’t.
I agree with this article…Adam is amazing!
Please, please let us hear Adam sine “Killer Queen”. I miss Freddie so much. Adam is the closest we’ll ever come so far. I know he’ll bring tears to my eyes.
The similarities between Adam and Freddie, in vocal range and register and in performance style, are blatant.
As a huge, lifelong Queen and Freddie fan, I am proud to admit that. The kid has talent and charisma in spades.
Adam is in a league COMPLETELY on his own… this guy is SO good, I can’t believe he isn’t signed already and selling out areas. he will, you’ll see. And, he will very likely win Idol because he is a GREAT singer, looks good, is relavent, the girls will like him too.
Pretty hard to compare him to Freddie because he’s not a star yet… but, I think he is just as good a singer as FM. His range is insane… and he sings IN TUNE, always.
His country thing (I admit I didn’t really like it) he did showed just how innovative he is. He rearranged that song to something very different and showed his producer skills. But, it was obvious he doesn’t like to sing country… nor do I.
I predict Adam wins, Gokey runner up.
adam blows FM away, no comparison
Adam unquestionably has a strong vocal range & stage presence, but his vocal tone does not resemble Freddie Mercury. He has more of a high shrilly scream in the upper range, resembling closer to Steven Tyler. I’m a Freddie Mercury fan..and I’ve come across limited singers that resemble him. If you want to know who sounds like Mercury..look up a guy named Freddie Nelson. FreddieNelson.com or myspace/tootalljones. I’ve actually seen this guy single handedly cover “somebody to love” flawless. If you were to close your eyes you would undoubtedly think it was F.Mercury on the jukebox..
Adam Lambert has a swagger to him that brings to mind Freddy Mercury and a voice that is a gift. Finally, an Idol contestant that is Good. I thought Ring Of Fire was brilliant. My favorite rendition since Wall of Voodoo’s.
Adam has an old soul and a voice that will shatter the glass ceiling.
I think the kid’s going places, but to me, he has the eyes of Elvis, you know the window to the “soul”. Elvis was dead 5 years when Adam was born. Hmmmmm…
If you’ve ever seen a broadway musical and everyone is singing loud in “full voice” — that’s Adam. He’s very good and will probably win Idol, but he’s no Freddie Mercury. Freddie wrote amazing songs, harmonies, and it wasn’t about “showing off” or being overly “theatrical” — it was about being an amazingly strong Rock, Opera, Rock and Roll singer. Please don’t compare them…it’s not right!
As far as vocal ability and charisma go, I’d say he’s pretty much equal to Freddie. Actually vocally he might even have a bit more since Freddie was a heavy smoker. But as far as songwriting goes, he has a LONG way to go to be anywhere near Freddie. Mercury was a genius with songs like Bohemian and Somebody to Love. Adam is still a baby there.
Erm, i ASSURE you, Lambert will not be needing any saving.
I checked dialidol.com, he had such a huge % of the vote for Mad World that the rest of the contestants were all ranked as “yellow”, ie, being in danger of being voted off because the other 7 contestants were sharing less than half the total vote combined.
Adam Lambert is completely dominating the voting.
And he should, he is without a doubt the best contestant since Kelly Clarkson. Without a doubt.
You know what’s interesting is that the commentary DOES NOT reflect the poll results for the most part. XD I’m guessing a lot of it is sour grapes, huh?
Anyway I can see the comparison, but he actually reminds me more of Meat Loaf. Yeah, I said it. MEAT LOAF. Only singing at a higher octave.
Regardless of who he reminds me of, I’m confident that with the right songs and marketing, he can make a name for HIMSELF, and not just based off of who he might sound like.
*When I say commentary I mean the comments, not the article
oh yeah…but much nicer on the eyes./ while i liked queen freddie wasn’t as hot looking.. adam is to guys and gals.
he has a wide range of talent and can put on a show like bowie ziggy stardust
There is only one Freddie Mercury. Now, I’m not discrediting this guy’s singing. He’s good. But there is no way in HELL that Adam is the new Freddie Mercury. There will never be a new Freddie. Most (MOST, not all) people are saying this just because they love him. They know near nothing on the background of Freddie and reason behind Queen’s music. To think that people are even considering a “new Freddie Mercury” is just a horrible thought. Ol’ Freddie’s likely turning in his grave.
i totaly agree with you a 100% I love Freddie Mercury, HE WILL NEVER BE REPLACED OR LEVELED! Adam Lambert sound very much like Janis Joplin, and NOTHING like Freddie Mercury! He should stick to covering Janis Joplin.
All these years I thought there was no one who could take Freddie Mercury’s place with Queen but now I think Adam Lambert would be perfect. No one CAN take Freddie’s place but Adam would fit in with the group just fine.
I would pay to see adam with Queen, and so would a lot of people. Maybe he is not Feddie, he can sing and there are not to many folks that can sing like Feddie, Adam can. It is all a set up Adam could not win Queen wants him.
Adam has a high octave vocal…
he did Aerosmith, LZ, Tears For Fear, KISS, Queen during AI.
too band he didn’t try She’s Gone from Steelheart.. just wanna compare his vocal range and Mike Matijevic….
They were amazing together last night!
Adam pleading the fifth about joining Queen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-_HaXwaIdY
Kris being tricked in to revealing that Adam was offered the job:
https://community.livejournal.com/adamlambertai8/222446.html
Definitely think this could work and Adam even somewhat resembles Mercury, at least with the black hair. Listening and comparing the vocals of Mercury and Lambert, I not only think there is a good match, but that Lambert may even be slightly better and definitely hotter. Just an opinion, of course, but I guarantee that if Queen holds a concert in my area and Lambert is a part of it, I will for sure attend.
Adam Lambert and Queen would be a wonderful match.
Anybody that only listens to Queen with Freddie Mercury (who was wonderful) already gave up on Queen a long time ago.
The rest of Queen are phenominal musicians and they have wonderful music. Their music is worthy of Adam and Adam is worthy of Music.
Adam has smartly marketed himself as a performer who is great at rock music. Much of his built in fan base would (or does) naturally appreciate Queen.
The bottom line is that having Adam become part of Queen would most likely lead to retention of current Queen fans with all the additional Adam fans. The percentage of people that would refuse to listen to Queen because of Adam is probably quite small.
I do not think they would have performed for the AI finale if Adam was not part of the competition.
Igual Freddie nunca vai existir, Deus escolheu Freddie para ser o melhor cantor do mundo e mudar nossas vidas. Paul Rogers é sem dúvida um bom cantor mas não tem a energia e carisma de Freddie. Lambert tem voz e performance para trazer “quase” na totalidade o brilho perdido com a perda de Freddie. Na minha opinião ele seria a pessoa certa para o Queen. “Deus Abençoe essa banda”.
Quem sabe está fazendo isso nos dando uma outra oportunidade com Adam Lambert, eu iria no show novamente.
As far as a Queen musical, it already exists. It’s called “We Will Rock You,” and it’s much more popular in the UK than it is here in the US.
NO ONE can replace Freddie Mercury, he created music that are still being played all over the world. But vocally, Adam will do justice to Queen’s songs. I’m a Queen fan and I haven’t heard anyone yet who can do justice to Queen’s songs, certainly not Paul Rodgers, until I heard Adam Lambert. And I didn’t really like it when AI let Kris sing We Are The Champions, it’s blasphemous to Freddie’s memory, he’s just not good enough. But if Adam fronts for Queen, I will watch their concert. I really think that Adam is that good. And it would be perfect if John Deacon plays again with the band.
Yup, stop comparing Adam to Freddie, since Adam is way better. Out of 6 billion people in the world there are 10 people who can sing like Adam.
i can sing better than Adam
Whoever the writer of this article is, he doesn’t know anything about music. Since when does screaming being deemed as a singing skill? This Adam boy will soon be forgot, but Freddie will not.