News Archive May 2009
From: MTV.com
by James Montgomery
Posted: May 22, 2009
Say what you will about Adam Lambert, but you cannot deny the fact that the guy knows how to put on a show.
Regardless of whether or not he's crowned "American Idol" champ, he already stole the show with a jaw-dropping, fist-pumping, pyro-enhanced performance with legendary rockers KISS.
Lambert started things off solo, wearing a studded, sorta-angelic ensemble (leather epaulet, with wings and all), performing a somber, falsetto'ed version of "Beth." Then as the pyro hit, KISS themselves descended from the heavens and launched into a big-time take on another staple (from the same year, 1976), "Detroit Rock City."
Lambert strutted and belted it out, drawing "Wow ... Did he just hit that note?" looks from guitarist Paul Stanley - and wearing a pair of platform boots that made him right at home with the glammed-up dudes in KISS.
Then, with more pyro flaring, it was into "Rock and Roll All Nite," with bassist Gene Simmons and Lambert trading verses (then, in an inspired split-screen, Simmons, Lambert and Stanley all sang in unison).
After even more pyro, a smashed guitar and one seriously long note from Lambert, it was all over ... Minus Simmons spitting up blood, it was everything you'd get from a KISS show, mashed into roughly four minutes. A very fiery (and pretty amazing) coronation for the man who could be "Idol" king.