Dan's Papers - May 29, 2009 - Rhyme Nor Reason

Last week, for fans of "American Idol" who lived through hour after grueling hour of the show (it was one of the snowiest winters on the East End), it all came to a crashing halt when Kris Allen - and not Adam Lambert - won.

I was disappointed but not surprised. I'd felt all along that boyish, clean cut Allen would ultimately win out over Lambert, whose vocal and physical presence are larger than life. Lambert wears sexuality on his pant leg as well as his sleeve. He is the 21st century Elvis - in fact I noticed throughout the season that suddenly the cameras would cut away to shots of him from the waist up.

Lambert is a star. A riveting presence with his dramatic style and that certain vocal something. I talked about this years ago with Cynthia Daniels, a Grammy award-winning producer who has a recording studio and lives in East Hampton. We were discussing what makes A/R people choose one singer over another. It's not the 'perfect' vocal tone from a voice teacher's perspective (think of Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin). It's some other sound quality - one that grabs your ear for some undefined emotional or aesthetic reason, that comes through even in recordings.

Lambert has that quality and so much more - maybe too much for "Idol's" teeny-bopper audience. He may be threatening for the "Idol" demographic, which I assumed was teen and 'tween girls more attracted to the Davy Jones/David Cassidy boyishness of Allen.

But apparently, according to the Los Angeles Times, the median age of the show's viewing audience is almost 43. So are older folks, particularly women, doing the choosing? Some "Idol" bloggers share the theory that middle-aged women are making the picks. Moms. If I were the mom of a 12-year-old girl, whose poster would I prefer she had hanging in her room? The pubescent, annoyingly humble, boy next door Allen, or the confident, manly Lambert? (Being a musician myself, I'd prefer she choose Lambert.)

But after all, "Idol" isn't only about singing nor is it an industry star search. It's a popularity contest. That became painfully obvious when the top 13 showed their stuff in the last show. The duet with Megan Joy and roughneck Michael Sarver, singing to Steve Martin playing banjo? A train wreck. Scott Macintyre? If only there were a B-rated Paul Simon to his B-rated Garfunkle. Anoop? A joke.

Yet these were among the top 13 - earning millions of votes each. How can that be?

Because when you watch any game show week after week, you get caught up in the contest and become numb to the mediocrity. It's like eating at McDonald's every day and voting with millions on which sandwich is the best. Eventually, you'll find a standout, maybe a Big Mac. It's not great or even good food, but it's the best thing in front of you.

When my partner and I watched the show and started to get caught up in the "Yeah, he is pretty good," something always came to my mind. As a student at the Manhattan School of Music, I'd have grueling master classes and workshops where the voice teachers would split hairs over the balance of head and chest resonance, the difference between the nasal 'an' and 'in' in French diction, and whether or not an improvised run was stylistically appropriate for Bellini. During one session, the head of the department, Met Diva Helen Vanni, stood up and said, "There is one thing you have to ask yourself when you get up on the stage to sing: 'Would I pay to hear THAT?'"

The "Idol" tour is in more than 50 locations this summer. Plenty of people will pay to hear that. I'll wait until Adam Lambert does his first live show - whether a concert or star turn on Broadway. It'll pay to be there.