Glambert is sooo fierce

Yet another reason this season of American Idol is riveting for me: Adam Lambert.

I love that he's genderqueered it up, but doesn't directly reference his sexuality, as much as he doesn't try to deflect or hide it. It's perhaps integral to his appeal.

Here's a NYT article on his sexuality and gender ambiguity that's pretty decent.

One thing missing from this article is the way that genderqueer and other elements of Lambert's presentation and performance is far from a departure of a particular stereotype. In some ways he's the kind of "gay"or "guyliner"-metrosexual that America--at least young America--seems to be at ease with. Witness the success of Scissor Sisters and The Darkness a few years back. Earlier precursors like David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, are proof that glam (which Lambert openly cites as a major influence) is totally well-tread upon ground in the mainstream, and the fact that--as the article points out--many "out" so-called straight men sport makeup and stage theatrics.

Adam Lambert is just the next logical step. Nor was he the first flamboyant male contestant whose wasn't unequivocally straight. Last season's Danny Noriega, and his "ish" was certainly a prior Idol foray into the queer eye of the storm. However, he hardly matched Lambert's vocal confidence and theatrical vision that have led him to perform so well on the show and create so much buzz. Nor is Adam a bitchy queen like Noriega.

In this case, theatricality, flamboyance, and certain cultural touchstones (e.g. male love for various divas, fashion and makeup styles) as proxy for gayness is a easily fashioned into a gimmick. Indeed this is an indication of the triumph of marketing sexual ambiguity and glam/goth/emo aesthetics for this generation. If anything, Lambert's growing success on American Idol is a testament to the way that certain notions of queerness, high theatrics, and vocal acrobatics combine into a viable commercial force, now more than ever. It's hardly edgy. Watch the end of his semi-final performance on Idol and Randy Jackson's comment at the end about his currency is dead-on:



This is hardly the case for other representations of sexuality and gender, which are still not-yet capitalized on in such a massive scale by the the corporate musical entertainment classes yet. Sure, there's righteous babe Ani, K.D. Lang, Melissa Etheridge, etc. But the only kind of lesbianism that's reached the kind of critical mass of American Idol scale is the kind that straight men also love to fantasize about. Not to mention queer folks of color, who have even less exposure.

Furthermore, while a lot people (and most of his women fans--who find him sexy knowing there's severely diminished chance of sexual compatibility, by most accounts) think that his sexuality is immaterial to his talent, others are likely dying to get some sort of confirmation or clearly marked coming out. Those that want to suss him out, not out of homophobia, but more likely out of heterosexism, indicate how much straightness and gayness are assumed and essentialised and that others' need to know in the face of ambiguity is about classification and the need to fit people into boxes, just as people of color are often asked their nationality or ethnic background as a primary "getting to know you" question far more than anyone who's white.

But it doesn't mean its not a step in a somewhat better direction, which again is why Lambert's ascendancy is so fascinating.

Whether it's his OTT dramatic performances (e.g. this week's highly-buzzed cover of Tears for Fears' Mad World) that seem to mesmerize, his off the charts Freddie Mercurial high notes, or his professed love of Gossip Girl or Twilight coupled with Elvisy pinup looks that have captured the cougars and the tweens alike, the boy is on fi-yah!

And no surprise here, Bill O'Reilly is homophobic and behind the times, thinking his "outing" of Lambert was a revelation:



As far as Idol is a barometer of the zeitgeist, Lambert's success (and all that it entails) and his showmanship keeps me tuning in.