I haven't watched American Idol in two years. I watched three seasons and then decided I was done. The format is tired, in my opinion. So, I was not invested this year.
I did, however, catch a clip of Adam Lambert doing Michael Jackson's "Black or White" one night and was mighty impressed with how he held his own.
Today, I am reading that because he was not crowned the winner, "homophobia" is alive and well in this country.
Well, that may be the case. As a gay man I certainly do not have my head in the sand about homophobia, but the claim in regards to the outcome of this singing/popularity contest is irritating me to no end today.
If America really had some issue with Adam Lambert and his sexuality, he never would have made it to the top two. The "fear" of him or the speculation that he might like kissing men would have reared its ugly head and had him cast out weeks ago.
America has been voting for him over other contestants week after week for all these months, long after the photos of him apparently kissing another man appeared and after the pink tinted Entertainment Weekly cover story suggesting he was gay hit the stands.
Despite statements of "I am who I am" when questioned on the subject of his sexuality, Adam Lambert has never definitively said "I am gay."
Without a firm statement on the matter, no one can authentically say he lost due to "homophobia."
Yes, all indications point to the fact that he is gay, but those indications are nothing but innuendo and stereotyping until the words "I am gay" actually come out of his mouth. As of now, they have not.
Perhaps if Adam had gone through the entire competition as an openly gay man I would feel differently about this outcome.
In terms of talent, most people I have spoken with who were invested in watching this season have told me that they definitely thought Adam had "star quality" and "charisma" but thought he had a tendency to scream rather than sing.
Then there is the American Idol voting system, which is a complete joke. People can text or phone vote over and over again and it's been reported that the primary audience doing all that multiple voting are teenaged girls working desperately to make sure their favorite cutie is crowned.
Switch the voting to "one vote per phone" and the outcomes would likely be radically different.
Regardless of this outcome, during most years on American Idol, the top two turn out to be "co-winners." Adam Lambert certainly did not lose. As evidenced by the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry (to name a few), Adam is now in a position to have a stronger career because he "lost." Note that very few commentators or blogs are focusing on winner Kris Allen today.
It's a great spot for Lambert to be in because it brings all the attention to the "problem." I just don't think the "problem" in this case is homophobia.