Sadly I watch “American Idol” and even sadder is that I actually care about who wins on this stink fest. Now personally I would consider myself a music fan,with a varied knowledge of the art form over the years,but for some reason this show always wrangles me in,similar to that of a car accident. I really enjoy watching people who are talented singers and even more so I like watching four so-called experts in the music industry chatting about things like personality and likability with the contestants,but never really tell them if they are flat as hell. Anyways,last night’s episode was the night we got to see these kids revisit hits from the years they were born. All in all,the performances were pretty favorable,except for Kris Allen’s weird rendition of one of my least favorite songs ever “All She Wants to Do Is Dance”by Don Henley and Lil Rounds’cover of Tina Turner’s,which wasn’t as awful as the judges thought it was but it was so dated for someone Rounds’age.

But apparently Adam Lambert won the night with his cover of “Mad World”by Tears for Fears. I really don’t get the Lambert love. His voice is grating,his shtick is tired to anyone vaguely familiar with glam rock and he misses a whole lot of notes. I think if this was a girl singing like this she would have already gone home. And let’s not even get me started with disgusting version of “Ring of Fire” a few weeks back that will continue to give me nightmares until the days are done. So I can sort of give props to this dude for not backing down on his style and the fact he relishes in being flamboyant,but that doesn’t mean I have to like him. So last night I was pretty shocked that the judges were blown away with what seemed to me a pale imitation of a wonderful interpretation of the Tears for Fears song done by Gary Jules. So let’s compare the two to really get to the bottom of this.

Here is Adam Lambert’s version from last night:

And here is Gary Jules,which was featured in the wonderful “Donnie Darko”:

So again,to me,someone who is aware of this version of the song,Lambert’s performance last night was a sad rip off,but I guess to most of America who never hear anything other than the Top 40 hits,this was completely amazing. I am not sure if I find Lambert’s following maddening,no pun intended,or a bizarre nod to the indie world. Honestly,I think Adam’s shtick is borderline creepy,but if America is opening their minds when it comes to pop stars,should I be more open too? Nah! I guess I just have to see what this guy squeals next week to make a decision.

Video of Adam Lambert VIA DListed and Rickey.org