Yup, the jumps with register shifts are minor sevenths. Wasn't going for that much detail :) . In the verse he does octave jumps from F#3 to F#4, but they don't shift registers, so, not as big a deal . I agree that the minor seventh is the only really impressive part of the performance.

So, I’ve been reading through threads while waiting for my registration to go through, and I decided to make this for you guys after reading some recent debates in the 100 Most Technically Skilled, 100 Greatest Live Performers, the Freddie Mercury thread, and Small Topics/Adam Lambert threads. Happy registration confirmation day!

I’m mostly posting this because I enjoy the debates in these threads, and nothing seems to fuel debates like material to argue over. My apologies if this is too much stuff at once. A few of these (Brigadoon, Come Home, Heaven on Their Minds, If I Can't Have You, and Crawl Thru Fire, off the top of my head) were posted earlier in this thread. There were also some links that appear to have been taken down; I don't know what they were originally to.

Note Comparisons / Range Demonstrations

Adam Lambert vs. Kelly Clarkson (Note By Note LIVE)

Adam Lambert Compared to Whitney, Celine, Aretha - Adam’s F#5 is really bad quality audio in this, but it appears in much better quality in the Adam and Kelly video.

Adam Lambert Bb2 – Bb5 Vocal Range

Ignoring for a moment the accuracy of the claims about it all being chest register, the main inaccuracy is the claim that Bb2 is the lowest; one of the posters here said that he hit some “solid G2s” in the Upright Cabaret New Year’s Eve Crazy video.

Adam Lambert – High Notes from American Idol (Studio and Live)

I sent a PM to the person who uploaded this video, asking him if he was ever considering making a version that had the notes listed for whatever the high note in a particular clip was. He went ahead and sent this to me:
Studio Notes: G5, E5 in falsetto, C5, G#5, A5, G5 and then there is a C#5 in chest, an F#5 in falsetto and then an F5 in falsetto all during Ring of Fire.

Live Notes: C#5, G5, Eb5, G5 (i think.......), Bb5, G5, F5 in falsetto followed by some C#5's in chest voice, i think tracks of my tears is an E5 in falsetto and then finally you've got him hitting an A5 in chest in Satisfaction.

Obviously someone like jowox would need to confirm, and you guys will probably quibble with whether things are chest, head or (more likely) what the balance of the blend is, but it’s a start.

*PART 2* Adam Lambert – High Notes from American Idol (Studio and Live)

Essentially a longer version of the previous video, with more notes.


Pre-Idol Performances (Live)

All of the Upright Cabaret performances are from 2007 – 2008 (NYE 2008). The titles for the links are the titles of the Youtube videos being linked to. If they aren’t informative enough, I listed the song title after the hyperlink.

I tried to make this somewhat organized – Upright Cabaret, The Zodiac Show, and musicals kept together. Oh, miscellaneous things, like the National Anthem at Miramar Airbase and the song he did at high school graduation, mostly to show how much he’s changed since then.

Adam Lambert at Mt Carmel Graduation 2000

Adam Lambert American Idol National Anthem Live Miramar Airbase 05/08/09

Adam Lambert at Upright Cabaret’s New Year’s Eve Celebration: Crazy

Adam Lambert at Upright Cabaret: Gotta Get Through This

American Idol 2009 – Adam Lambert Demo Reel 2 – Quiet Side

American Idol 2009 – Adam Lambert Demo Reel

Adam Lambert – Dust in the Wind – Upright Cabaret (1:40 – 1:56 is great)

Adam Lambert at Upright Cabaret, New Year’s Eve – What’s Going On

Adam Lambert: “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore” at Upright Cabaret

Adam Lambert: Kiss from a Rose at Upright Cabaret

Adam Lambert- Come Home – Upright Cabaret

You Can't Win (Upright Cabaret)

Adam Lambert at Upright Cabaret: I Can’t Make You Love Me

Adam Lambert Singing at the Upright Cabaret 3/28/08 – Crazy

You’ve Got A Friend (Wicked Cabaret) – Adam Lambert & Eden Espinosa

Adam Lambert – Crazy (another one on 9/27/08)

Adam Lambert – “I Make You Crazy” – 2:46 – 3:03 is nuts (though the title should be “Crazy,” I think. Or maybe I'm crazy.)

Adam Lambert – The Zodiac Show – Crawl Thru Fire – some A5s, Bb5s in this performance

Adam Lambert The Zodiac Show 2004 A Change is Gonna Come

Adam Lambert at 22 – Brigadoon (2:03 – 2:18 and 3:23 – 3:43 are particularly impressive)

My Conviction (Hair Musical) – Adam Lambert

Live the Life

Nick Laroche, I Just Love You

Adam Lambert, Allan Louis, Ali Porter, Ty Taylor, Scarlett Rebel – Black Dog (Zodiac Show Opener)

Is Anybody Listening? (Adam Lambert) – from the Ten Commandments musical

Adam Lambert – The Horns of Jericho – from the Ten Commandments musical

Adam Lambert – Into the Deep – from the Ten Commandments musical

WICKED Wednesdays 2 (4 of 5) – As Long As You’re Mine duet

As Long as You’re Mine – Wicked LA Adam Lambert

Adam Lambert – Dancing Through Life HQ

Adam Lambert – Heaven On Their Minds LIVE - was actually done for a charity benefit, not as a part of the play

Adam Lambert, Maya Haddi, Noa Dori sing SHIR LASHALOM (Song for Peace)

Adam Lambert & Noa Dori singing ‘The Prayer’-David Foster – It’s like a Hebrew / English combination

Adam Lambert, Noa Dori & Maya Haddi As You Walk With Me (Im Yirtze Hashem). Music by Sharon Farber

Chabad Telethon Is Anybody Listening

Pre-Idol Performances (Studio / Demos)

Adam Lambert – Quiet Desperation

I Just Love You

Crawl Thru Fire

Citizen Vein - Avoid the Void

Citizen Vein - Beyond the Sky

Citizen Vein – The Circle

Citizen Vein - Nocturnal by the Moon

Citizen Vein - Rough Trade

Citizen Vein - Turning On

Citizen Vein - Chalice

Brazen – What’s Love Got to Do With It

Adam Lambert – I Got This

Adam Lambert – Kiss and Tell

ADAM LAMBERT Pop Goes the Camera

Adam Lambert – Glamorize

Adam Lambert – Oh My Ra

American Idol Performances (Live)

American Idol 2009 Performances by Adam Lambert

This page has 21 of the 22 performances he did on the show; the one it is missing is the reprisal of Satisfaction (which I think was more enjoyable than the version he first did) that he did upon making the top 13. That video can be seen here.

I think it’s interesting comparing the first Satisfaction with the second; he goes a bit higher in the second one (A5 instead of G5), for one. Also, for the other performances, I love the double-take that Brian May does when Adam sings “But it’s been no bed of roses” at 1:26, and then just shakes his head. Great stuff.


American Idol Performances (Studio)

Satisfaction - can't find

Black or White

Ring of Fire

Tracks of My Tears

Something fun to do with Tracks of My Tears is to play the version with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and this at the same time. For the American Idol studio version, they left the original backing vocals and instrumentation, so all that changes is the lead vocals. If you sync them up right, you get this cool pseudo-duet thing.

Play that Funky Music

Mad World

Born to be Wild

If I Can’t Have You

Feeling Good – my personal favorite studio track of his

Whole Lotta Love

One

Cryin’

A Change is Gonna Come

Oh, and fuck No Boundaries. That doesn’t get a link.
No Boundaries

Post-American Idol Live Performances

This first set of links is going to be the Mad World performances from the press tour. The Regis and Kelly performance is probably my favorite; the acoustics make it sound more haunting than usual.

[HD] Adam Lambert – Mad World (Live at Regis & Kelly Show 05/27/2009)

[HD] Adam Lambert – Mad World (Live at Today Show 05/28/2009)

PART 2 ADAM LAMBERT MAD WORLD (MIKE AND JULIET Morning show)

Adam Lambert Mad World CBS Early Show May 26 Live

Starlight Good Morning America Summer Concert Series

Adam Lambert, David Cook & Kris Allen - Little Lies GMA

And, finally, performances from the tour thus far. The tour is from July 5 to September 15, so none of the performances are really going to show him going all out (compare how long he holds notes in the tour videos compared to how long he can elsewhere. He tends to stick to around 7 or 8 seconds tops here and is pretty clearly pacing himself for the tour.), but they’re great nonetheless. He doesn’t seem to be toning it down much on the high notes, though – he hits some pretty amazing F#s and Gs in these.

It’s also interesting to see the loss of nerves from Portland to the more recent performances, and where he changes things from performance to performance.

Portland

Whole Lotta Love

Starlight

Mad World

Slow Ride (Partial)

Bowie Medley (Life on Mars, Fame, Let’s Dance)

Tacoma

Whole Lotta Love

Mad World

Slow Ride (Partial, again)

Bowie Medley – Great audio

Vancouver – Excellent audio throughout

Whole Lotta Love

Starlight

Mad World

Slow Ride

Bowie Medley

Sacramento

Whole Lotta Love

Starlight HD

Mad World

Slow Ride

Bowie Medley

Oakland – excellent audio quality, sans Starlight

Don’t Stop Believing – the glory note at 4:22 – 4:27, where he adds an extra bit at the end and goes even higher

Whole Lotta Love

Starlight & Mad World – audio’s a bit drowned out

Mad World– better audio

Slow Ride

Bowie Medley

San Jose - all great audio

Whole Lotta Love

Starlight

Mad World

Slow Ride

Bowie Medley

From last night in Salt Lake City:

Whole Lotta Love

Mad World - pictures from the show + audio rather than video

Life on Mars / Fame / Let's Dance - only the very end of Life on Mars

He majorly toned down Whole Lotta Love for the Mormons.

San Diego, CA

Glendale, AZ

West Valley City, UT

Los Angeles, CA

Ontario, CA

Whole Lotta Love Madison Wisconsin

Dallas

Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Tulsa

Whole Lotta Love
Starlight (partial, but good audio)
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Little Rock

Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Memphis

Whole Lotta Love
Mad World
Bowie Medley

Tampa

Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Sunrise, FL

Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Duluth, GA:
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Charlotte
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley - nothing that isn't terrible quality

Greensboro, NC
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Washington, DC
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Baltimore
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World (couldn't find a good one)
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley


Atlantic City
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Newark (Night 1)
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Newark (Night 2)
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Long Island (Night 1)
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Long Island (Night 2)
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Hamilton
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Rochester
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Hartford
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Boston
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Albany
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Philadelphia
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Pittsburgh
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight (Partial)
Mad World (Partial)
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley (Partial)

Cleveland
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

Columbus
Whole Lotta Love
Starlight
Mad World
Slow Ride
Bowie Medley

In one of these (I can't recall which), it was the night after a twelve hour photoshoot, and his voice was a bit under the weather. Judging from the last two or three, though, seems to be just fine now.

Adam did a performance in Dearborn, Michigan for the Ford Motor Company Day (some tie-in with American Idol) with Kris Allen, the winner of the season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rUaCMsKuvo - Starlight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1TwLA-60I8&fmt=18 - Tracks of My Tears and Mad World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp6BswDGAIg - Crazy (duet)

... And done, finally.

Also, there is a woman who has a blog that discusses "aspects of vocal technique and vocal performance" and, among other things, posts reviews of the performance by the Idols each week. She does a great job of pointing out imperfections in technique that she notices and critiquing performances. She generally has less critiques for his performances than praises, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

With that said, the reviews are here

I'll make it easy! I've already said that I thought that the best WLL was in Oakland - excluding the Gridlock one, anyway.

The best Bowie Medley was in Philadelphia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIi7KvlotVA

The best Mad World was in San Jose

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze9wnY2CXmw

The best Starlight was also in San Jose. Later in the tour the key the song was sung in was lowered. The falsetto parts sound really high in these early performances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqwAkIamPgE

MP3s for pre-Idol stuff - some live, some studio, some session work.

http://www.sendspace.com/folder/qzlnq2

06 Glamorize (MySpace Version)
07 Pop Goes The Camera (Fonzerelli Club Mix)
Hair - European Tour 2003 (this is a cast recording - it is over an hour long)
11 Crawl Thru Fire (The Zodiac Show) HQ
12 Dancing Through Life (Wicked LA)
13 As Long As You're Mine (Wicked LA)
14 Heaven On Their Minds (Broadway Unplugged)
15 Crazy (Upright Cabaret 2008)
16 I Can't Make You Love Me (Upright Cabaret)
17 What's Up (Upright Cabaret)
18 The Horns of Jericho (The Ten Commandments)
19 Into The Deep (The Ten Commandments)
20 A Change Is Gonna Come (The Zodiac Show)
21 As Long As You're Mine (Wicked Wednesdays)
22 Song for Peace (Yitzhak Rabin Concert)
23 As You Walk With Me (Yitzhak Rabin Concert)
24 How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore (Upright Cabaret)
25 Gotta Get Through This (Upright Cabaret)
26 Kiss From A Rose (Upright Cabaret)
27 The Prayer (The Temple Of The Arts)
28 It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (Mt Carmel High School Graduation)
29 A Change Is Gonna Come (The Zodiac Show Performance) - the complete performance
30 Oh My Ra (Original Mix)
31 Kiss And Tell (Original)
32 I Just Love You (recorded for Nick LaRoche)
33 My Conviction (Hair European Tour)

http://www.sendspace.com/folder/6t19ih

Tracks on this page
01 Crazy (MySpace Version).
02 Kiss And Tell (MySpace Version)
03 Crawl Thru Fire (MySpace Version)
04 I Got This (MySpace Version)
05 Pop Goes The Camera (MySpace Version)
06 Beyond The Sky (The Citizen Vein)
07 Rough Trade (The Citizen Vein)
08 Nocturnal By The Moon (The Citizen Vein)
09 The Circle (The Citizen Vein)
10 Turning On (The Citizen Vein)
01 I Just Love You (Five For Fighting Cover)
02 Dust in the Wind (The Upright Cabaret)
03 Quiet Desperation (Pump Up The Volume Demo) HQ
04 Kiss and Tell (Fonzerelli Radio Edit)
05 Is Anybody Listening (The Ten Commandments) HQ
06 Come To Me, Bend To Me (Brigadoon)
07 You've Got A Friend (Wicked Tour Cabaret SF)
08 Come Home (Upright Cabaret)
09 The Prayer (Yitzhak Rabin's Concert)
10 A Prayer For Life (The Ten Commandments)

And MP4s of all the Idol performances he was in, including lame group performances:

http://www.sendspace.com/folder/vtyqkx

01 Audition - Bohemian Rhapsody
02 Hollywood Week - Some Kind of Wonderful
03 Hollywood Week - Believe
04 Top 36 - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
05 Top 36 Results Night - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Reprise)
06 Top 36 Group - Closer
07 Top 13 - Black or White
08 Top 13 Group - Michael Jackson Medley
09 Top 11 - Ring of Fire
10 Top 11 Group - Trouble
11 Top 11 Ford - Here It Goes Again
12 Top 13 Group - We Will Rock You
13 Top 10 - Tracks of My Tears
14 Top 10 Group - Motown Medley
15 Top 10 Ford - Pocketful of Sunshine
16 Top 9 - Play That Funky Music
17 Top 9 Group - Don't Stop Believing
18 Top 9 Ford - Mixed Up
19 Top 8 - Mad World
20 Top 8 Group - Can't Get You Out Of My Head
21 Top 8 Ford - Circus
22 Top 7 - Born To Be Wild
23 Top 7 Group - Maniac
24 Top 7 Ford - Freeze Frame
25 Top 7 Part 2 - If I Can't Have You
26 Top 7 Part 2 Group - Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)
27 Top 7 Part 2 Ford - I'm Good, I'm Gone
28 Top 5 - Feeling Good
29 Top 5 Group - It Don't Mean A Thing and I Got Rhythm
30 Top 5 Ford - Energy
31 Top 4 - Whole Lotta Love
32 Top 4 Duet - Slow Ride
33 Top 4 Group - School's Out
34 Top 4 Ford - Move Along
35 Top 3 - One
36 Top 3 - Cryin'
37 Top 3 Ford - Break My Stride
38 Top 2 - Mad World
39 Top 2 - A Change Is Gonna Come
40 Top 2 - No Boundaries

http://www.sendspace.com/folder/uohta2 (mp3s)
http://www.sendspace.com/folder/2mc2ze (mp4s)

And finally miscellaneous live performances.

BTW, I downloaded the HQ version of the FYE performance. It was way better that the crappy video stream I was watching.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ndyy5qzwhzz

There were clearly some backup singer issues in the beginning that made the singing off pitch. He actually tripped in the middle of the performance but made it part of the staging so many people (including me) didn't notice. The vocals went slightly awry after that but I can't blame him because I think i would have completely lost it if i were him Smile Some pitchiness towards the end but he noticed it and corrected it very quickly. The last vocal run was amazing I thought. Something was wrong with the audio mix though. I think it's a lack of bass? I donno. Almost all the performances (that were not pre-recorded or lip syched) sounded bad, including Alicia Keys(!). The venue had clearly some major audio issues last night.

Anyways, shit happens. Let's move on. He's got a slew of performances over the next 2-3 weeks to make up for it.

First broadcast performances from the CBS show fresh off the AMA debacle.
He killed both songs imho

Whataya Want from Me
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FBD6MN2T

Music Again
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BONFQO4Q
(first high falsetto note a little wonky but forgivable since it was like 9AM in the morning in New York)

ETA:
Mp4 versions
WWFM
http://www.mediafire.com/?20gjmvnjcwz
Music Again
http://www.mediafire.com/?wj0md0yyagm

Here's a complete, uninterrupted recording of the Nashville concert in great audio (sadly, it's only available in mp3; best heard through headphones)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=514QZY0V
This is the source which I used to edit my Sleepwalker video from. Enjoy!

Actually he improved the live vocals of the song significantly in subsequent performances around April. He made the tone warmer in these subsequent incarnations. It translates better to TV (although what I've heard is that the performances prior to that sounded much better live than what the crappy audio recorders from consumer cameras were able to capture)

Check out this live performance of FYE from the UK to see the improvement:
http://www.mediafire.com/?xiiozx3dymq

This was another good one:
http://www.mediafire.com/?mzzjhmwjyhn

I had the original mp4 on YouTube ripped before it was taken down, I've extracted the audio stream from the mp4 and remuxed into m4a format for iTunes. Here you go: http://www.mediafire.com/?n0syha6l4wr158m

So I was at the Tokyo show tonight and they played Broken Open. It was the most amazing thing I've heard. The audience was completely silent during the performance and the recording turned out gorgeous. Check it out here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?f=BFWKE6WT

I uploaded excellent audio of Sleepwalker and WWFM from Moscow (NovoseltsevaOlesya) here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bz2mnwdy05ybl

Led Zeppelin, Freddie Mercury, Goldfrapp, Muse, Wolfmother, Chic.E, Queens of the Stone Age, David Bowie, Beck, I Am X, The Colour, Dirty Mercy, Marilyn Mason, Bob Marley, Madonna, Kings of Leon, Junior Boys, Ratatat, Gnarls Barkley, Drugs, T.Rex, Jaimie Lidell, Dag, The Ark, The Scissor Sisters, Elton John, The Who, Christina Aguilera, The White Stripes, Eagles of Death Metal, Keane, Janis Joplin, Radiohead, Automatica, Angie Stone, India.Arie, Hendrix, Bonnie Raitt, Beyonce, Kasabian, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Donny Hathaway, Micheal Jackson, Peaches, LaBelle, Thievery Corporation, Jeff Buckley, Chris Cornell, Ivy, Scarlett, Mz A Superstar, Alisan Porter, Mother's Finest, Sly Stone, Nikka Costa, Aerosmith, Chili Peppers, Chic, Funkadelic, The Raconteurs, Dave Navarro, The Wiz, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, VELVET GOLDMINEThis JUSTICE video is SICK!!! JUSTICE : D.A.N.C.E.

WLL (better audio and full): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS38hz5P ... feature=iv

Down the Rabbit Hole: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkAu-GTXCgM

Soaked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnkcmr-lDOA

Fever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09jB_e9kDZk

For Your Entertainment and Sleepwalker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5kQtiZNuuE

Sure Fire Winner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVjHfioTcbs

If I Had You (not the best audio...): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK5OXUk8IB4

Intro and Music Again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUUm_7d7wC0

Strut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BUebHMKo3Q

More videos from the Fantasy Springs concert:

Acoustic WWFM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz15rTCITh0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRYhK99SJXE

Sleepwalker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S3WzbyM3n0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz0jfRcDoB0

Music Again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5SYFEgk81I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl0IOSi_pS4

Down the Rabbit Hole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTg4B6EAAzQ

Mad World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaxJWPSkgz4

Fever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLbh926NHCw

FYE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIid9vI95a4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD9z7UBlaHg

SFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcNAxju20-Y

Strut
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riOhvgmlWwk

IIHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhoMTmH6Knw

Broken Open
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyXCXs06SII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dn733Gu7Yw

Acoustic WLL (Posting again here for convenience)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3lYbZ5YmqU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXOqy9L1keI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz6kA8mRatM.

Adam's set from the KIIS FM Wango Tango concert (Staples Center - LA) May 15, 2010:

WWFM:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML57OCuA8rk

Fever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0RqOX02QMM

Sleepwalker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeEB2aAKt9w

IIHY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-QJp-qSQrk

Set list from opening night of the Glam Nation Tour, June 4, 2010, Wilkes-Barre, PA:

Voodoo, Down the Rabbit Hole, Ring of Fire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JHGIx5iKHE

Fever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6QzZW34TzM

Sleepwalker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAYwe0MRLQM

Whataya Want From Me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOHLy_RAtXU

Soaked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP2F-YD9da8

Aftermath:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFahJzj_PEA

Sure Fire Winners:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVZniW1DW-M

Strut:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj1u-0vnUBY

Music Again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MUVoVTSfCg

Broken Open:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO6jYmPsLBE

If I Had You:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA-p4JOkGDY

Mad World (Encore):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr3JMAdhpng

Voodoo, Ring of Fire, Down the Rabbit Hole:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPJzUhmh ... r_embedded

Fever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBKmGMaJ ... r_embedded

Sleepwalker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKRbpDlL ... r_embedded

Whataya Want From Me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4VoaJlE ... r_embedded

Soaked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNuk4dee ... r_embedded

Aftermath:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8vA1Cse ... r_embedded

Music Again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGyc_3Qw ... r_embedded

Sure Fire Winners:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8O1QYUqWoI&

20th Century Boy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOeGEzv3 ... r_embedded

Last night in Atlanta GA...the crowd was respectful, the sound man seems to have gotten it right and I think these are some of the clearest vocals from the tour yet. For Egor, Cas, JRB et al..(Suz526 has the best live videos on YT usually)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GOZZRl1t4I Strut
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN-HyGkj-PE Sure Fire Winners (@4:32)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzJ18WJ-4EU Sleepwalker(@1:24)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgq7QJwKiiQ Soaked
She has the entire setlist, as you will see. I hope this helps. Thanks. :)

Soaked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro0Pu38ri38
The Opening: Voodoo & Down the Rabbit Hole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4TP7VWEQXg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvIjY7dnH-E ROF (3rd of 3 songs for opening)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT-y4A4MsyQ (Fever)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw0TqsiF4yc (Sleep Walker @ The Ryman Auditorium) OR if you prefer, the one in Houston,TX:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpXA2vNoASI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EQKtQ7Grzs (Whataya Want From Me)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE27ZFj8F2A (Aftermath)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z39USb6JYxk (I included this version of Strut because he dropped a prop, included it and kept going...shows professionalism and not taking himself too seriously, imo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT963PSpzD0 (Strut, no flubs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRXJGL8hDUI (Sure Fire Winners)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ5Ng_3_YeU (Music Again)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxrIka4dnIs (Broken Open-which he dropped for Aftermath later)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4emuqMjbAg (If I Had You-with band and dancer intros)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEkbLf_qWZQ (Mad World&WLL Encore @ Foxwoods)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a1Nlc3v-Tc (TCB-first time performed)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiiN3X-f5Ss (MW&TCB in Providence, 'cos of the tongue diving and insane notes!)

Thanks for asking Bishop. The version that JRB is talking about (from the GLAAD awards show) isn't MY fav...but here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EviLKEsVNdk
That said, probably this one is my pick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOEQtgzlsyY (E! True Hollywood Story was there taping for a special about his life this night) OR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxDgUZh3Qrw
OH....I see that you already have a Nashville version...He didn't forget any words Bishop.But he does improvise (goes off-script) from time to time. There may be two more worthy of consideration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p-yxYGDJkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmoMzO1o7i8

I totally agree about the belting part in Glaad, which isn't usually as well executed in the GNT versions due to the lack of breath as he dances a lot more in them. However, he does execute it really well in here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUGj3xO0PHU&#t=2m17s

Also, this is another version (AOL session) where he does a really nice vocal belt in another section. I think this was the first live version of Fever, and wish it could have been on the album instead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYSLszlNHE&#t=2m48s

Good morning, all, and happy holidays.

I received Lambert's acoustic ep yesterday, and here are my thoughts on it.

1. Whataya Want From Me. I love it. I had the version from AI 9 version tagged as my pick, but this version is very soothing and shows off the beautiful tone in his voice and is now my favorite. Two thumbs up. In fact, all ten fingers up on this one. Listening repeatedly to it.

2. Music Again. I have never been fond of this song. I would have picked any other song from his album. ANY one. That said, <sigh>, this track of Music Again was okay. I am giving it a few more listens to see if I will upgrade my thoughts on this one.

3. Aftermath. Again, not one of my top five. It has grown on me, however. The whole "it gets better" anthem has helped me to listen to it with an open mind. And his voice is so good that I could listen to him sing just about anything and not turn it off.

4. Soaked. Beautiful. Love it. 'Nuf said.

5. Mad World. I have grown a bit weary of this song, but I like this version. To me, it is kinda like his cover anthem. His first performance of this song on AI can never be topped, but this updated track is really good.

What would I have rather heard on Lambert's acoustic ep?

Time for Miracles is my first thought. Man, I would pay some good money to hear an acoustic of that. That song did NOT get the accolades that it deserves.
Or an acoustic Sleepwalker could have easily replaced Music Again.

What about Can't Let You Go? Or Broken Open or A Loaded Smile. I understand why they are not there. I think he only performed each of those last two maybe one time on his tour, and has never performed CLYG live.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the EP. Four out of five get thumbs up from me. I would have bought it for WWFM and Soaked alone.

Finally listened to EP today, very good stuff, Adam's voice shines as always.

WYWFM - Little bit better than the original
Music Again and Aftermath - Much better here.
Soaked - Same quality.
Mad World - Worse than the Idol version.

More in-depth look at Acoustic Live!

Whataya Want From Me: My favourite of the acoustic versions, love the soft runs. The studio version is still my favourite though, I'm not really a fan of the lower key of the unplugged versions.
Music Again: This song doesn't translate to a live setting well, with all the overlapping vocals and whatnot. The studio version is almost the worst song on FYE for me and this isn't much of an improvement. As it was said earlier, Sleepwalker, Can't Let You Go, Broken Open, etc. would have been much better choices.
Aftermath: Best use of Adam's lower register ever right here. Not sure I like the falsetto on the choruses, but when he starts belting on the final chorus it sounds really good. Great runs here again.
Soaked: Good stuff... prefer the studio version but really they're pretty close.
Mad World: Like this arrangement, the studio version is my favourite but this is good too. Hits a ton of C3s. If I had to choose a different cover for him to have done acoustically I think a full version of Believe would have worked well...

In other news I solved the mystery of the Can't Let You Go G2s... Claude Kelly is hitting them... but that G#2 in the Sure Fire Winners harmony if a bit forced and weak sounds legit to me. Counting it as his new bottom note - yay or nay?

Regarding "best of - live", I have the opposite problem as with the studio versions. Lambert has done approx 70 concerts this summer. While there are several songs I think should go on this list, and possibly in the top ten, there are so many versions of them. Which is most representative of his technique? I enjoy listening to him, but don't intend to search YT for all 70 versions of SFW, for example.

So, these songs are noteworthy.

WLL, obviously. Don't think that Foxwoods was the best. I seem to recall one where he hit a C3 at the bottom and brushed a Bb5 at the top, but don't know which. The Seattle one goes from C3 to G5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzsIXXAK ... re=related

Sleepwalker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpXA2vNoASI in Houston was Fierce. Starts at 1:30

SFW has improved throughout the summer. Last night's has an example of riffs he has added near the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3KaprGs ... r_embedded

Soaked: with the powerful passaggios that sound almost like a tenor aria also shows technical prowess, a nice version recently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BNhhyfXl2w
Also the performance of Soaked in Berlin was remarkable. Rich mid to low register. Powerful mid to upper 4th octave notes. Smooth shifting of registers. Strong breath support. Lyrical phrasing that goes beyond the musical phrase for effect. Variations in dynamics and tones. Controlled vibrato. No, it is not pounding rock with glory notes, but the strong technique is obvious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11d-edxduS4

Aftermath: Chose this one cuz it was outdoors, in the cold (57 degrees) with the challenge of a fireworks display. Thought it was funny. Range C#3 to D5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-dDOcLWoOY

When choosing the "best ", listen to WLL at Royal Oak, Michigan; the riff from 4:00 on, (up to Bb5), puts it in serious contention. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipO9pTH3Tmw

If this list is to demonstrate Lambert's all-round technical ability (not just ability with rock songs) it should also include My Conviction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sS2IQ9TdQ

This is just "sick" in the best way -- totally over the top camp/brevity combining pure operatic tones with silly, half giggled broad, flat vowels that destroy the tone intentionally. Most mezzos would be thrilled to produce the E5 and G5 Lambert does.

The nuance, control, breath support, purity of tone and interpretation of Come To Me Bend to Me impresses the hell outa me. That little song is deceptively hard for a tenor to sing well. I have heard a number of them attempt it and stumble. Cracks on the G and the B4. Some don't even try for the latter. Strain or a dark tone in the lyric phrases that should be light and lilting. Obvious shifts in register.

To sing it as Lambert does takes a great deal of technique with placement, support, and sustain. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJYyqzUr6jU

Like I said, these are not necessarily the best examples, but with so many choices, I just picked a representative version of each.

Not hugely relevant or anything, but:

'Things you may not know about Adam Lambert

1. Lambert's female following started early. A group of Mormon girls in the choir with Lambert at Mt. Carmel High so idolized him, they were like a virtual harem. Yet while he was the star of chorus and drama, Lambert was not a very good math student. "Adam wasn't born with the math gene," his father, Eber Lambert, said.

2. Between musical theater jobs in 2003, Lambert worked at a cosmetics counter in an L.A. department store. His makeup and people skills were so admired, the cosmetics company offered him a $50,000-a-year job as a cosmetics demonstrator/trainer, but he turned it down to follow his performance dreams. A year later, he hit a career low when his father declined to lend him money to record an album and they had a brief falling-out. He eventually found work as a blond-haired football player in the execrable "Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical" in Lake Tahoe. The show was so bad, Lambert wouldn't let anyone in his family come see it.

3. When Lambert called his father to say he was quitting the musical "Wicked" to take part in "American Idol" last year, his father was shocked. He'd never heard of the Fox series and couldn't understand why his son would quit his job "to go on a game show."

...'Eber Lambert said the most notable thing to him about Adam's AMA performance wasn't the kiss ---- after all, female pop stars have been doing the same theatrics for years ---- but that his son's nerves and adrenaline affected his usually flawless voice.

"It was the worst live performance I'd ever heard from him, but in all the stories that came out afterward, nobody mentioned his singing."

Notably awesome notes on the album.

"Music Again": G5 (falsetto)
"Strut": G5
"Sure Fire Winners": Ab5
"A Loaded Smile": F5
"Pick U Up": F5
"Aftermath": Ab5 in the outro.

Throughout he hits a lot of E5 during the bridges, climaxes, or harmonies of songs, but the highest not he sings is Ab5.

Just wanted to add that "Soaked", written by Matt Bellamy of Muse, is pretty great.

His tone changes in his registers, but his passagio is totally clean and he's got great support throughout his range (though I've never seen him go very low). He also does fantastic runs and rarely misses notes. So, yeah, I guess he's "shoddy" in the way that Geoff Tate is shoddy.

Lambert's low notes were apparently darkly shaded third-octave notes.

he has a ton of power and support in his upper ranges.

He can sing softly, wail in head register, great falsetto control, and has that light tenor tone.

Adam's runs are certainly more impressive, especially since most of them are done in high full voice.

Come on guys, your finding these little things wrong with him and really it seems like your just searching.

When he sings falsetto, its soft, like Buckley's, otherwise a strong head voice like Tate. He doesn't use falsetto like Gillan in Disturbing the Priest, it's more like the mid part of Grace, which is also noticeably different than Buckley's head voice.

Here's Track of My Tears, he blends his upper chest and soft falsetto nicely. Let alone his dynamics on sustaining notes is awesome, whether it's like the end of this song (similar to the So Reeaaallllll) or his Queen of the Reich notes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c4s2JfBj-M (don't bother with the slide show, I just clicked the first one)


Him in theater, just listen from 3:00 onwards. And the control scaling from 3:38-3:53 is just glimpse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEnEUg0fzdQ

And for the record, I would love to see him do Gethsemane. Put the right group around him, you watch, just my opinion.

Did you listen to the performance of Mad World? Towards the beginning he is singing in a light breathy voice purposely, but a little after that you can clearly hear resonance, support, tone, and volume control even though he is still singing relatively softley. My only critique with him is that sometimes he jumps into this weak,raspy falsetto randomly and it sounds really out of place(he does this in Satisfaction some other performances). Overall I think he executes the high notes really well when its the right time for them.

I think he would do well with Grace but I don't think he has the sustain or control of falsetto liike Buckley. He does have a lot of power and very good control of head voice, especially when he is singing lightly but still maintaining good support and blend. I suggest listening to his cover of Dust in the Wind on youtube, really powerful.

He uses the same 'belt a note/slide up to a scream' technique all the time (still like him though)

Adam's screams are in head, right? They sound too thick to be falsetto.

They definitely sound like head to me. His tonal difference between chest and head is vast (as Jester has pointed on a couple occasions ;)), but almost all of the screams I've heard from him have been in head. The end of Play That Funky Music has some strong falsetto screaming though.

Adam's screaming tone is very similar to mine in head voice (even if he's 10x the screamer that I am). It doesn't have a lot of "chestiness" to it, but it's still very strong. And his falsetto is typically a lot thinner (like the end of Trail of Tears).

Well I think the very high wails he does are without question falsetto, like the F's and G's he does are well projected with strong breath support in falsetto. Anything below maybe an F5 sounds like head voice though. But for the most part, he keeps does keep all of the normal highs in head voice. He could be using pure head voice on those high screms, but it's to hard to distinguish from falsetto screams.

I really don't think its head voice because there is pretty much no resonance and they have a very different, but great sounding, tone compared to his lower full voice register. It makes no difference because the notes are very well supported, and projected, giving them loads of power. His falsetto might aswell be a strong head voice.

I was talking about a tenor singing in the middle to high second octave. Regardless of the approach the tenor takes in doing so, singing down there is simply unnatural and in most cases sounds throaty, diconnected from the speaking voice, poor timbre, lack of resonance, and a somewhat forced alignment. A tenor who forces himself down here too often is doing damage to his voice, just as a baritone or bass who pulls up and tightens his larynx to reach a note in chest at around a G4/A4 or higher. Doing both of these things results in an unsupported or throat-friction generated sound that can eventually cause notable damage to your chords. Now obviously, many tenors like Lambert have the ability to occasionally float around the A2 to C4(even slightly lower) range with respectable timbre and connection, but as I said before, if it was done in excess, it would be detrimental to their overall vocal health. About Lambert probably being able to sing in the lower ranges for a gig or two, I wouldn't be surprised if he could. But if he very frequently sang as low and as forced as he did in that live Crazy performance, it would not be healthy for his voice. That being said, he obviously wouldn't do that, especially when you consider that he was more or less joking around and has rarely ever has done that before.

Are you sure about that?
Unless you're implying that a tenor is straining their voice just to hit F2s or G2s, singing in a comfortable C3-C4 or A2-A3 range isn't a fair comparison to an unsupported high note in chest or head voice.
I'm sure with all the technique Lambert utilizes, he'd be able to sing two gigs in a row in a low register without putting any harmful strain on his vocal cords.

Very good points made about taking care of his voice. Too many great singers have destroyed their instruments because of improper technique. (Oh Whitney...) I think Lambert will be okay for quite some time. He has found a way to create a lot of resonating space while he sings by actually sticking his tongue OUT of his mouth for the insanely high notes.

When I speak of Lambert's versatility I am not talking about singing songs in diverse genres as much as singing those songs with different techniques and sounds. For example, both Soaked and Come to Me, Bend to me are slow ballads. Yet, his vocal tone and approach to them sound quite different. The latter is very musical theater, lyric tenor, and the former is a rock/pop power ballad. And the tone, approach and technique he uses in My Conviction sounds so different than his pop stuff that many people argue it isn't even him. Same for the dark lower register he uses in the Take One songs. That's where I come from in discussing versatility, but your approach is equally valid.

Perhaps this is commonly known, but it was new to me. Lambert, in a recent interview, said he started taking voice lessons at the age of ten. Initially it was in the musical theater style, then, at around 16 he took a year of opera to strengthen himself and his technique. After that he continued with more training until the age of 22. In the past year he has again worked with a vocal coach (knew that part) to brush up on technique.

CAS here. Ummm, what are we debating? Breath support required to sing and dance? Breath support to sing opera vs rock? Opera vs rock vocal technique? The point being?

Well, dancing is a cardio workout that increases the consumption of oxygen and causes you to breathe faster whether you are singing opera, rock, or pop. Heck, I am proud if I can maintain a decent conversation during or immediately after a workout.

I agree that it takes more breath support to sing opera/classical than rock. Not just because of the different placement of the resonance to get the appropriate sound, but because rock music tends to have very short musical and lyrical phrases. There is no need to maintain a legato line. Rock is usually short and punchy rather than sustained and lyrical. And before you protest, yes, rock has its extended, awesome glory notes. Talking about the flow of the entire song. So, yes, if you gotta execute dance moves while singing, "you need cooling [breath] baby I'm not fooling [breath] I'm gonna send ya [breath] back for some schooling [breath]" is easier to execute than an aria.

Having said that, a rock singer still needs enough breath to hit the note on pitch, bounce it around to the appropriate sweet spots for resonance (if they do that instead of just push the note out as strongly as possible) and sing the short phrase. Add to that, the opera signer performing an aria, or Adam performing CTMBTM as mentioned, does not have to think about interacting with the audience and maintaining that sizzling rock energy while executing dance steps, back bends, and bendy bendy moves. The rock performer is multi-tasking to a greater degree than the aria singer. Apples and oranges.

Is Lambert singing while dancing, bending, gyrating? Sometimes, but often the moves are between the musical phrases. Technically, it would be next to impossible to sing a legato, extended note while jumping up and down. How would you completely control the diaphragm while physically, the jumping pushes the air out of the lungs? Not gonna go into the different muscle groups used in holding a back bend and in maintaining a breath stream, but, yeah, let's not try doing them at the same time --- but if you can, amazing!

So, what was the point we all were making? Oh, yeah, I remember. Adam is an awesome performer with some killer technique, in any genre.

I'm sure he can sing fine in a C3 - C4 or A2 - A3 range - though I think that his comfortable range is higher. On Idol, his low notes in each song:

B3, D4, B3, C#3, C#3, G#3, F3, E3, D3, A3, C4, G3, F#3, G#3, F3, C4, D4, A3, B3, F#3, E3, A3, F#3, F#3, G3, C4, A3, A#3.

(e.g. song 1 = B3, song 2 = D4, etc.)

You're probably right that he could do two gigs in the C3 - C4 or A2 - A3 range -- but it probably isn't his first choice, either.

In Brigadoon he breaths in at 3:22.

The dust in the wind one was great. I enjoyed that performance.

His brother posted on the SomethingAwful forums during Season 8. He was asked whether Adam had perfect pitch:

The fundamentals of technique of singing are more or less the same (the breath support, the head resonance/space) are more or less the same. However it's how you manipulate the sound as it leaves your mouth the really changes the tone from, say, the style of "Nessun Dorma" to "Whole Lotta Love". The more open and spread and resonant it is the more classical/operatic it will be. And Lambert's rock-style countertenor notes are more of a full-on belt, while I've learned that most of the operatic high notes (e.g. tenor C5s) are actually a very powerful and resonant mix voice.

Maybe this is in the wrong place on this Forum but thought this segment of a review of Adam Lambert's voice by a professional Opera singer (who is obviously now an Adam fan@Starlight8AL interesting.

"Of course, we all know that Adam can sing, but he REALLY sings. By that I mean he doesn’t fool around with falsetto trickery, sloppy diction and lazy breathing, which so many pop singers do. He sings with a full head voice into his falsetto range and he never lets go of a seamless legato line. Like many great opera singers, he not only sings a musical legato line, but also a lyrical one and extends the line beyond the phrasing. This is particularly obvious in a song like ‘Soaked’ which is technically difficult because it ranges through his passaggio (register break), but you’d never know, because his voice is incredibly well-trained and he negotiates his passaggios so well. And like all the great tenors of the opera world, he knows how to milk every phrase for emotional content. And talking of phrases; not only does he keep his phrasing interesting and fresh, he is clearly hiding a third lung in there somewhere, because he sings some marathon phrases, along with those mad coloratura type passages, which he always infuses with meaning and purpose, whilst gyrating, strutting and jumping his way through the concert, all with perfect support and breath control - I defy any opera singer to do that! Another hallmark of a great singer is the fact that his diction is so perfectly clear and seemingly effortless in every song. And his pitching is another amazing feat of genius, because even great opera singers sometimes hit a bum note, but I had to wait for a fraction of a note in TCB for that to happen and he corrected it instantly, which shows not only impeccable professionalism, but also how aware and how in touch with his instrument he is. On top of all that, Adam performs with incredible sophistication and finesse, something which is not always immediately obvious when watching the videos on You Tube. Yup, he wasn’t kidding when in his audition he said “I can seng”!"

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/275141/producer-rob-cavallo-exclusively-discusses-adam-lambert-album/

Good information about the album and working with Lambert.

"Adam Lambert is probably one of the most gifted singers I've ever recorded. He's unbelievable - he has a limitless range, he can actually sing every note that's on the guitar, from the lowest to the highest, which is a very, very unusual thing."

No idea what that means, but it sounds good.

I have read some fan reviews of Lambert's concerts, and several mention sound issues. Say he sounds like a chipmunk, or on helium. Haven't heard of such a phenomenon before. Do you guys know what they are talking about, and what causes it? They say that wearing earplugs helps.

to quote myself at a gig from a few years ago.. 'Turn the high-end down, or i'll cut ya.."

I think I am following you. I know about the physics of sound and frequencies, but not about sound systems. If the highs of the instruments are not dampened the voice sounds clipped because there is not room for the higher frequencies? and If the lows are not dampened, Adam's lower frequencies are reduced, leaving the higher overtones to over power? But, why would Adam's voice be more heavily compressed than the instruments?

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense. I didn't know the job of sound man was that complex. Certainly the overtones in Adam's voice are part of what makes it sound so full yet bright and ringing. Also explains why he sings full out in sound checks even tho he is trying to protect and save his voice. It would be impossible to set the balances and EQ if he wasn't producing the overtones and volume he will in performance.

Is sound mixing done "by ear" or are by gauges that represent the frequencies, or both?

I think there's a huge difference between singing in a musical where audience is silent (for the most part) in an auditorium with great acoustics, compared to a rock concert where people are screaming and completely drowning out your own voice (plus it gives the band the freedom to move around as well without being affected by sudden changes in acoustics).

Here's a good article w.r.t the Beatles that discusses this http://www.talaske.com/?p=453

In ear monitors also help protect the musicians from suffering from long term hearing loss + other benefits. Here's an article that goes into some technical aspects http://www.sensaphonics.com/downloads/church1.pdf
And another: http://www.audiologyonline.com/articles ... le_id=2115

ETA: Here's a short audio clip (it's the last clip) of what the guitarist of Adam's band, Monte, had to say about the sound issues during the AMAs
http://www.rockstarweekly.com/monte-pittman.html
Direct link here: http://www.rockstarweekly.com/mp3/montepittman/13.mp3

So uhh.. i've found a couple of examples of Adam using autotune... :shock: in the line "have a ball" in Pick U Up at about 1:37 , the bolded is auto-tuned, as is the melisma at 2:25 in Can't Let You Go! I'm sure there's more, but i've picked up on these specifically.

To be fair, autotune (even if just very faint pitch correction) is in about 99% of music today and Adam probably had no say in the production of any of his songs. It's cheaper than booking the studio time to do take after take to get natural vocals sounding perfectly ironed out. And yes, I can see why they could possibly use it on Adam, as his performances aren't always 100% pitch perfect, but the problems he does encounter are pretty unimportant when looking at the big picture of the performance.

It's incredibly difficult to sing an entire song, on stage or in the studio, all the way through in one take without having even the slightest of technical or pitch issues. We all know Lambert can sing extremely well and I doubt there are many who are extremely bothered by the fact that maybe there was a slightly less than perfetc moment the was ironed out ever so slightly.

Hell, even the very beginning of his epic D5 in the live Feeling Good was a tad shaky before he smoothed it out.

Your right, that is a very hard song to sing because there aren't a lot of places to take breaths. His lower register is also not his strength. In the studio version, the verses are quite low (for him) and in a way dont really sound like him pobably because of studio "trickery".

As for the higher notes... well, I dunno. Thats usually his strong suit and he sure sounded good on Sure Fire Winners singing higher notes. Maybe he'll get better at this one.

Well then that's part of it too. He's definitely improved from the first performance. The verses are much lower than he normally singes.

There are parts (mostly the bridge really) that he just can't seem to reproduce live. Don't know whether it's phrasing, melody, or tone or whatever, but every time he tries to sing it like the record it turns out like the AMA performance. The riff he does on the word "scream" is really incredible hard, especially at the register, so he just changes it to one big glissando.

Try singing the bridge section of FYE (and singing ti well) and you'll see why it's difficult.

I personally like the track, but it seems to have given Lambert a fair bit of grief.

Yeah, I get it. The song has no real pause, it just keeps going, and no space for any showing off at the vocals besides the bridge...

Actually he improved the live vocals of the song significantly in subsequent performances around April. He made the tone warmer in these subsequent incarnations. It translates better to TV (although what I've heard is that the performances prior to that sounded much better live than what the crappy audio recorders from consumer cameras were able to capture)

And yes, it's a very hard song to sing live because it lacks breathing spaces and comprises vocal layers, but I think he's found a good balance in the subsequent live versions

You sure? I mean, they could have, but based on what I've heard from him in the past, I don't know that it is out of the realm of possibility.

I am not going to keep telling y'all that I am not a technically skilled musician or singer....last time right here, right now. I am starting to give myself an inferiority complex !!
Moving on...in relation to this post which I also saw in the Lambert thread, I have a question which I have posed before, and nobody really convinced me that what I think is wrong. The bridge in "Pick You Up" at the 2:23 - 2:43 mark. Real or Memorex? Because I think it is his third lung....real. Convince me it is contrived? Great video, btw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUP4cUSoV-4

Well if Morton (who I love) can sing a sustained 20 second note in "Summer Moved On" then absolutely Adam Lambert can too. I'm also doubtful Lambert would agree to the studio using multiple takes stitched together to enhance his breath support to 20 seconds in his track "Pick U Up". (I also think he's too talented and honest a guy to create a false inpression and doesn't need to). I'm swinging to Lambert doing it for real

Yeah, I'm convinced. I think there is a break or maybe two..in the phrases from 2:23 - 2:34, too.

How about 2:35 - 2:50 , JRB? Any cuts there?

Possibly between the worlds "life" and "I've". But thats where he'd take a breath anyway. Plus, that section there wouldn't be the most difficult to sing in one deep breath.

The video in question is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnWdjfJluSg

It's the 2:33 mark. It's about a semitone above E2 (I tested with a tuning fork as I don't have perfect pitch). He's singing in full vibrato and actually sounds like a baritone with a strong lower range to me (in fact he's in bass territory I believe). I wouldn't be surprised if he could sing lower than that or higher than what he has shown to be able to sing. Anyway to me, it's not so important whether he can sing four octaves or not, it's how seamlessly he seems to be able to jump between scales with ease. It's kinda freaky.

I don't doubt that he definitely could show more than the 3 octaves he has, but he would be pushing his voice quite a bit more and it would probably not sound very good. Based on how much he strains a bit to hit some lower notes live I'm guessing he could maybe go another whole step down if he were in a relaxed environment in a studio (certainly not while gyrating on stage) and I'm guessing he could probably get up to a B5, but I'm thinking a C6 in full would be pushing it just a bit. I'd be curious to see though.

Regarding Lambert's range, and range discussion in general. I have to agree with Bishop that what is important is not the number of octaves one can possibly produce a note for a second or less, but how large the usable range is. I have heard Lambert touch a Bb5 a couple of times, very briefly, and sing a Bb2 in one song, again, just touching it. In the songs I have heard, tho', for sustained notes I would say C3 to A5. Still very impressive, but not 4 or 5 octaves.

Lambert is known for his vocal gymnastics and enjoys showing them off, so if he had higher notes comfortably in his repertoire I think he would have used them during his live performances. So, in answer to the question of whether he can make sound lower or higher than Bb2 and Bb5, he probably is capable of it. Can he use and rely upon them in a live performance? Probably not. That does not detract from the fact that in his concert tour he sings C#3s up to F#5s every performance; a usable range few singers can boast.

Could Adam actually be a legit countertenor? His tessitura's way too high and he regularly sings 5th octave notes like F5 and up (live as well and day after day). That's not a regular tenor--that's at least a leggerio tenor/high tenor voice.

well, that's sort of a misnomer to start with... Only countertenors can sing "countertenor notes". There is no classified range etc... especially because a great deal of today's countertenors are sopranists, so they have your average male voice.

Notes that are in alto, or soprano range sung by anyone with a lower voice type, is nothing but an indication of a large, or at least high, range...

Countertenor would just mean that their tessitura ("generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable range for a given singer or, less frequently, musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding texture or timbre," for anyone who doesn't know) naturally lies in one of the female vocal ranges - so F3 - F5, G3 - G5 or C4 - C6.

And it's not that they can hit those notes, but it is where their voice naturally sits. I'm not sure any of them are bonafide countertenors, by that measure.

Here's an Isreali countertenor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-1U-ikcF0Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3EuH1Ki ... PL&index=3


Another song where he sings mostly with his "regular" voice (don't know how to call it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuveymbk ... re=related

Adam is just a tenor with the ability to hit and maintain his voice through countertenor notes.


From what I've been told, in the classical world, you dont need to hit the countertenor notes in full voice to be considered a countertenor, as head voice/falsetto is used way more in that style.

Lambert has done 71 shows since the beginning of June. That's about 5 shows a week, 70 minutes per show. Every show he is hitting those 5th octave notes in multiple songs. And tonight's SFW demonstrates that he is still hitting stellar F#5s. Don't hear any signs of nodules yet. Tenor? High tenor? Countertenor? Impressive work.

After much research (and gnashing of teeth!) I do believe Greg and JRB are correct re: what type of voice Lambert has. I hope this post helps, even if only a little.The source is: http://www.adamofficial.com/us/node/1067810
"I am studying voice with a professional opera singer (I decided to switch my voice teachers when I fell in love with Adam, because he inspired me so much.) I sent her the SSB from the Steven Spielberg event to show how Adam goes in and out of head voice so incrediblly. I am working with my teacher on balance between head and chest, and it's really hard. These are her technical comments on his voice. I thought it would be interesting for folks to read. (For those of you who don't know, a castrato is a male singer who has removed his family jewels. Men in the olden days did this to sing opera, because women were not allowed to perform.) Here is her response...
He is singing it in a very high key - in D, that is D above middle C. He is a very high tenor, which I already knew. Because of the pitch area, he flips back and forth between chest and head in two ways: 1) singing with chest voice (the high tenor chest voice sound, with some falsetto involved - coordinated, yet chest voice dominated) then literally flipping into the head voice register, 2) doing a diminuendo, to an almost breathy sound and allowing the balance to switch from chest, through coordinated, to falsetto (head voice). In one phrase towards the end, he is definitely singing in a more balanced coordinated sound where both registers sound as if they are more or less equally present.
You have to keep in mind that his voice is very unusual. Although there are high tenors floating around on the planet, they usually do not have as much power accessible to them the way he does. He almost sounds like a castrato. There is a recording from the 1920's of a man in his 70's - he was the last living castrato. A very unusual sound somewhere between a strong almost dramatic soprano, high tenor and high baritone. Nothing like it."

Well, I don't agree with the high tenor thing. Adam's singing in high tenor range regularly and insanely but he just doesn't sound like one! His timbre is just like pure/standard tenors and his highs just make people think he is a high tenor.
For me, he will always be standard tenor, Geddy Lee, Michael Jackson and Jon Andersson are better examples of true high tenors.

Yeah I'm really not buying Lambert as a high tenor. He has a traditional tenor timbre. The strength of his highs is more range than tessitura. Balsamo and Farnham have higher voices than Lambert does.

A standard tenor's tessitura is usually topping in the lower 5th octave--Adam has a relatively weak low register, and a consistent 5th octave. That's what's swinging me towards high tenor.

I think he's a high tenor. A particularly high tenor. His tessitura is only down to about Eb3 or D3 most of hte time... thats the bloody tessitura of an ALTO with an exceptional range on hte top end... He's definitely not a standard tenor.

I think he's a tenor with a freaky upper range. There is that article with opera experts where one dude even thought he might be a baritone :)
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-12 ... am-lambert

He sounds like a soprano here though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sS2IQ9TdQ

Queen:

This time I didn't need the links to vids cuz I was there at the ATL concert. Man puts on a fierce show.

What impressed me the most about the vocals was how much better they sound in person than on vid. Lambert's high notes rang out thru the venue, spot on pitch and with no sound of strain or reaching. He was definitely never pushing the top of his range. Don't know if the cameras filming clip the higher harmonics or my computer speakers do. Probably both.

I can now definitively say to fully appreciate a live performance one has to be there.

I have already recommended that Soaked, SFW and SW be included in the "best of" list. Which version I am not gonna nitpick. Won't argue against ATL, tho, as I KNOW how compelling those vocals were.

Man ....that guy kicked my ass...
Seeing that WLL live was incredible
And also anyone who thinks that his vocal power on the vids just came with the recording is seriously wrong! He's really that powerfull!I also never realised how powerfull the mid range belts from Soaked really are!


I also seriously recomend you all to check out his improvised version of the IIHY bridge and also SFW which is imho better than that on on the list.

But that WLL was just something..

He also seems to be a really nice guy.

My highlights: WLL(!),Sleepwalker,SFW,Aftermath(his mixed voice there was earth shaking!),Soaked.

Everybody who has the chance to see him,DO IT!

Hallowed Be Thy Name (would be either total win because of his theatrical style or a total miss)
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Dreamer Deceiver (to see if he could do it in head voice)
Golden Dawn
Metropolis
I Die
Faithfully
Sunshine Of Your Love
Livin' On A Prayer
She's Gone
Street Of Dreams
Stargazer

Thank you for your list, Wanted...quite interesting and a few were a bit obscure, to me at least. Here is my list and it has just a few more than 10 but I couldn't leave any out...so please forgive me.
1. Diamonds and Rust (Judas Priest version)
2. Renegade (Styx)
3. Sweet Child of Mine (GNR)
4. Africa (Toto)
5. Tom Sawyer (Rush)
6. Roxanne (Police)
7. Crazy Train (Ozzy)
8. Ironman (Black Sabbeth)
9. Panama (Van Halen)
10.Dude Looks Like A Lady (Aerosmith)
11.Black Betty (Ram Jam)
12.Separate Ways (Journey) OR Faithfully.....
13.More Than a Feeling (Boston)
14.Freebird (Skynyrd)
15.She's Gone (Steelheart)
That's my "dream list" and though I agree that rock isn't selling like it used to...I also believe that the reason for that is most of rock today is shit, imo. He does like rock best.I have the belief (and HOPE!) that one day in the not too distant future, he will lean more in a rock direction. Pop is what sells now so he has to carve a niche in popular music and establish himself as a successful recording artist before he can change too much. That said...he definitely rocks more live than on his album.The Beatles were changing their sound with each new album so why not Lambert?
Anyone else care to venture a "dream list" of classic rock covers for Lambert? Thanks!

1. Steelheart - Sheila
2. The Beatles - Hey Jude
3. Celine Dion - All By Myself (Come on, epic!)
4. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child o' Mine
5. Christina Aguilera - Hurt
6. Deep Purple - Child in Time (He would nail the highs!)
7. Simply Red - Something Got Me Started
8. Heart - Alone
9. Elvis Presley - Hurt (I'd love to hear him try the operatic style of the song)
10. Skid Row - I Remember You

I threw some songs there which could possibly work with his theatrical style, songs like "Hurt by CA or Heart's "Alone" would fit his voice really well, and he could also nail the high notes of them.

Ok, here’s my list, or the draft of it. Not in any particular order. I didn’t choose anything you people have already listed. (NOTE: I’m thinking about LIVE versions of these, not studio!)

1. Wind of Change (Scorpions)
2. Crazy (Aerosmith)
3. Jailhouse Rock (Elvis)
4. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin)
5. Heaven (Bryan Adams)
6. Slaying the Dreamer / Ever Dream (Nightwish) - Haven’t decided yet… and I know, not classics! Just my weird idea.
7. Crazy on you (Heart)
8. Wicked Game* (Chris Isaak/HIM) - Adam’s version of HIM’s cover of Isaak’s song!
9. Think (Aretha Franklin) - Weird, I know. But it’d be interesting to hear what he’d do with it.
10. Move Over / Half Moon / Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin) – Updated male versions of Janis’s songs… oh yeah!

I’d like to hear him cover Queen too, but can’t decide the song. Suggestions?


* I'm not sure if he'd manage the lowest parts, what do you think?

Classic rock is being used too liberally here....

Putting Enter Sandman , WLL and Born to be wild all under the 'classic rock' banner just sounds wrong....they are quite different from one another......

quality pop music is appreciated. however, his vocals demand respect and music like gaga's wouldnt really help him.....

anyway - IF Lambert got an album out of covers - in a manner where i would appreciate his delivery , then this is the setlist of 10 songs I can think of......


Communication Breakdown - Led Zeppelin
Jesus Christ Pose - Soundgarden
Welcome to the Jungle - Guns n Roses
Lover you should have come over - Jeff Buckley
Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson
Mother Father - Journey
All in Love is Fair - Stevie Wonder
Danny Boy - Jackie Wilson
I will always love you - Whitney Houston
I drove all night - Roy Orbison

Slightly OT -

For those living in the United States, E! Television just finished broadcasting Adam's episode of "True Hollywood Story". It was pretty decently done as these things go (and aired directly opposite the American Music Awards [insert irony]). E! will broadcast a batch more times, but there are already a number of YouTubes of the show posted.

If you're interested:
Pt #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TegeiUTBfJs
Pt #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bi_xbPvWKQ
Pt #3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0XWlb7N2jQ
Pt #4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhhUs7P1YQA
Pt #5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTpxMfSJ ... er&list=UL
Pt #6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNBl7S3 ... er&list=UL
Pt #7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29pKLydB ... er&list=UL

alternative location: http://bit.ly/c31SzF

Note: There's a possibility that these vids will get pulled since the show is still being actively broadcast in the US, so these links may not work for long.

there are seven notes:

C,D,E,F,G,A,B

the next C would be the 8th, completing the "octave".

therefore, C-C is one octave.

So, Bb2-Bb5 is 3 octaves.


for example, C1 - C2 is a complete octave.

Honestly I think 3 octaves of mere chest+head voice is very impressive, especially if those 3 octaves are included in their tessitura.
If you go to a vocal school, you won't find many men that can have a resonant G2 in chest, and have a controlled G5 in head or mix voice.

Yeah, and a lot of those who have 3 octaves, have very unimpressive (shitty?) either low or high ends.

Exactly. Hitting the pitches that make 3 octaves =/= 3 octave vocal range.

uhhh head voice is considered belting just the same as high chest....

When I use the term 'belting,' I use it to mean that the singer is using increased force/volume, usually in order to hit higher notes at the expense of an amount of control over those notes.
For example, if I were to sustain an A4 or B4 in head voice, I may be able to crescendo/decrescendo on that same note (to a degree- I'm no professional vocalist)- however if I were to just 'belt' out (with plenty of force, air and volume) an F5 in head voice and then tried to decrescendo on that note, my voice would crack and it'd sound stupid because apart from the volume and the air, I have no real support for that note.

Basically your vibrating the notes off your hard pallete and not your soft palette when you belt. I don't think you use your nostrils, and if you do, you're doing it wrong

You know what I mean. If you use your nasal cavity as a resonator you're belting wrong

not as resonator....and i didn't say anything close to that... i siad the voice is blasting out the nostrils.... so, i think you know what I mean.....
Maybe a may 'layman's' version would be to say when belting, more air is purposely pushed through hte nostrils, rather than the mouth...

And hey using your nasal cavaties as a resonating chamber is totally legit for belting, in fact its the most common way.... especially since the majority of belting is mixed voice or head......

Opened vowels involve the tongue being more flat and less curved upward toward the roof of the mouth, allowing for more surface area and open space in the mouth cavity, and less chances for the root of the tongue to impede the air flow. Think like "ahhh" or a wide open "ohhhhhhh" or "uhhhhhhh". Closed vowels like if youwere to sustain the word "freeeee" or "sheeee" involve the tongue being more curved towards the roof of the mouth and intern results in somewhat of a constriction in the amount of open space for the vibrations to travel. As a result the air has less space to expand and the sound coming out is more pressurized. Closed vowels are usually riskier to go for high notes on as they require more muscle memory and coordination.

No, I think falsetto is actually the hardest register to sing in for most. This is because there is no resonance channeling through and your just blowing air through a small hole created by folded over vocal chords. Like Jester said, falsetto is much harder to control as far as jumping around in pitch but it is easy to transition into. High head voice is harder transition into than falsetto, but it is much more natural than falsetto because chest resonance is influencing the sound and you can support it properly. I'm a low baritone so bringing head voice extra high up for me causes pain, because it is not in my natural range, so I use falsetto. Making falsetto have good tone is very difficult because most people falsetto's have shitty tone(imitating girls voice's etc.) Plus your singing from your throat mostly with falsetto so its even harder.

Bottom note on a standard tuning guitar is E2, the 24th fret on the high E would be E6, so that's four octaves from the bottom note to the top. Most guitars have 22 frets though so it would top at D6. Professional Janes have about 2¾ octaves in full voice on average I'd say, while Joes have about 3.

Is it possible to get rid of nodes without surgery?

If they're small enough then yes, they can heal over time. But they are essentially calluses on your vocal chords. And the surgery can be risky (Julie Andrews... :( )

I think it's just about trying to catch them as early as possible and RESTING once you know you have them. I try to get mine checked every few months.

I've often noticed that.

I'm also sometimes fooled into thinking notes are higher or lower than they are by the register the singer is using and how dark or light their timbre is. For instance, an opera tenor hitting a C5 sounds much, much higher to me than, say, most of the Cs in the clip of high Cs that we made here. And a lot of Orbison's high notes are so pure and crystalline that they sound higher to me than they actually are.

On the other side of things, having a darker timbre with very low intensity can make things sound much deeper than they are (witness the debacle when you first came here about Lambert's D2 that wasn't really). It also seems to happen a lot with female singers who are just darkening their voices, but aren't actually singing in the second octave.

well, thats kind of an oxymoron.... If you're pushing, its not really natural... Thats projection... You know like when you blow across the top of a bottle to make a note, and you gotta get the angle right so it resonates loud enough to be worth doing? Well, essentially you're doing the same thing so its pretty much just technique to use whichever resonating cavity you're using to it's full potential.. your chest cavities amount to a lot more than your facial ones so naturally your chest voice is a lot more resonant and booming.
Head voices are almost always more projection, except Freddie LOL.

And you should be aware that "gasping" is a technique that many singers create tension/distress/emotion

Any 5th octave note is always more projected than a 4th octave note unless it's the very top of your range when you thin out...

As for the soft singing causing a break in the voice, it most often happens when singers are singing toward the top of their chest voice and have to use lots of breath and push to vibrate the cords at that pitch. When they back off the breath to sing softer, they can't vibrate the cords, and you get that breathy break. Yes, it can also be used stylistically, but most of the time it is a technical issue.

Harmonics are overtones above the fundamental note, and consist of even or "in tune" and odd or "out of tune" harmonics. Even harmonics are multiples of 2. Harmonics add color and character to the sound and are what differentiate different sounds from each other. Take away all the harmonics and you have a sine wave which is a purer, "bell like" tone. Since a smaller portion of the vocal chords are used in falsetto fewer harmonics are produced especially the odd harmonics. On a stringed instrument what are referred to as "harmonics" (which is in reality a suppression of odd harmonics and the fundamental) are produced by lightly touching the string at certain spots on the neck when using open strings (half, thirds, fourths and multiples thereof) and then plucking hard. This suppresses the fundamental note and the odd harmonics resulting in the purer tone. More harmonics can be produced by fretting the string and then using a similar plucking method. These are often referred to as pinch or false harmonics although they aren't "false" at all. (that's my physics lesson for the day) Smile BTW your head and chest are not producing sound but instead, when used in singing, are resonating the sound from the vocal chords which greatly changes the character of the sound.

Yes. You use only the ligamentous edges of your vocal chords, hence producing a higher (albeit much airier) sound. The way that I tell the difference between falsetto and head is the strength and airiness of the notes in reference to the singer's head and chest voice.

I have read some fan reviews of Lambert's concerts, and several mention sound issues. Say he sounds like a chipmunk, or on helium. Haven't heard of such a phenomenon before. Do you guys know what they are talking about, and what causes it? They say that wearing earplugs helps.

to quote myself at a gig from a few years ago.. 'Turn the high-end down, or i'll cut ya.."

I think I am following you. I know about the physics of sound and frequencies, but not about sound systems. If the highs of the instruments are not dampened the voice sounds clipped because there is not room for the higher frequencies? and If the lows are not dampened, Adam's lower frequencies are reduced, leaving the higher overtones to over power? But, why would Adam's voice be more heavily compressed than the instruments?

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense. I didn't know the job of sound man was that complex. Certainly the overtones in Adam's voice are part of what makes it sound so full yet bright and ringing. Also explains why he sings full out in sound checks even tho he is trying to protect and save his voice. It would be impossible to set the balances and EQ if he wasn't producing the overtones and volume he will in performance.

Is sound mixing done "by ear" or are by gauges that represent the frequencies, or both?

I think there's a huge difference between singing in a musical where audience is silent (for the most part) in an auditorium with great acoustics, compared to a rock concert where people are screaming and completely drowning out your own voice (plus it gives the band the freedom to move around as well without being affected by sudden changes in acoustics).

Here's a good article w.r.t the Beatles that discusses this http://www.talaske.com/?p=453

In ear monitors also help protect the musicians from suffering from long term hearing loss + other benefits. Here's an article that goes into some technical aspects http://www.sensaphonics.com/downloads/church1.pdf
And another: http://www.audiologyonline.com/articles ... le_id=2115

ETA: Here's a short audio clip (it's the last clip) of what the guitarist of Adam's band, Monte, had to say about the sound issues during the AMAs
http://www.rockstarweekly.com/monte-pittman.html
Direct link here: http://www.rockstarweekly.com/mp3/montepittman/13.mp3

So uhh.. i've found a couple of examples of Adam using autotune... :shock: in the line "have a ball" in Pick U Up at about 1:37 , the bolded is auto-tuned, as is the melisma at 2:25 in Can't Let You Go! I'm sure there's more, but i've picked up on these specifically.

To be fair, autotune (even if just very faint pitch correction) is in about 99% of music today and Adam probably had no say in the production of any of his songs. It's cheaper than booking the studio time to do take after take to get natural vocals sounding perfectly ironed out. And yes, I can see why they could possibly use it on Adam, as his performances aren't always 100% pitch perfect, but the problems he does encounter are pretty unimportant when looking at the big picture of the performance.

It's incredibly difficult to sing an entire song, on stage or in the studio, all the way through in one take without having even the slightest of technical or pitch issues. We all know Lambert can sing extremely well and I doubt there are many who are extremely bothered by the fact that maybe there was a slightly less than perfetc moment the was ironed out ever so slightly.

Hell, even the very beginning of his epic D5 in the live Feeling Good was a tad shaky before he smoothed it out.

Your right, that is a very hard song to sing because there aren't a lot of places to take breaths. His lower register is also not his strength. In the studio version, the verses are quite low (for him) and in a way dont really sound like him pobably because of studio "trickery".

As for the higher notes... well, I dunno. Thats usually his strong suit and he sure sounded good on Sure Fire Winners singing higher notes. Maybe he'll get better at this one.

Well then that's part of it too. He's definitely improved from the first performance. The verses are much lower than he normally singes.

There are parts (mostly the bridge really) that he just can't seem to reproduce live. Don't know whether it's phrasing, melody, or tone or whatever, but every time he tries to sing it like the record it turns out like the AMA performance. The riff he does on the word "scream" is really incredible hard, especially at the register, so he just changes it to one big glissando.

Try singing the bridge section of FYE (and singing ti well) and you'll see why it's difficult.

I personally like the track, but it seems to have given Lambert a fair bit of grief.

Yeah, I get it. The song has no real pause, it just keeps going, and no space for any showing off at the vocals besides the bridge...

Actually he improved the live vocals of the song significantly in subsequent performances around April. He made the tone warmer in these subsequent incarnations. It translates better to TV (although what I've heard is that the performances prior to that sounded much better live than what the crappy audio recorders from consumer cameras were able to capture)

And yes, it's a very hard song to sing live because it lacks breathing spaces and comprises vocal layers, but I think he's found a good balance in the subsequent live versions

You sure? I mean, they could have, but based on what I've heard from him in the past, I don't know that it is out of the realm of possibility.

I am not going to keep telling y'all that I am not a technically skilled musician or singer....last time right here, right now. I am starting to give myself an inferiority complex !!
Moving on...in relation to this post which I also saw in the Lambert thread, I have a question which I have posed before, and nobody really convinced me that what I think is wrong. The bridge in "Pick You Up" at the 2:23 - 2:43 mark. Real or Memorex? Because I think it is his third lung....real. Convince me it is contrived? Great video, btw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUP4cUSoV-4

In that clip there are multiple spots I heard where takes could have been spliced together. The longest I've heard his go as of how is 18-20 seconds.

Well if Morton (who I love) can sing a sustained 20 second note in "Summer Moved On" then absolutely Adam Lambert can too. I'm also doubtful Lambert would agree to the studio using multiple takes stitched together to enhance his breath support to 20 seconds in his track "Pick U Up". (I also think he's too talented and honest a guy to create a false inpression and doesn't need to). I'm swinging to Lambert doing it for real

Yeah, I'm convinced. I think there is a break or maybe two..in the phrases from 2:23 - 2:34, too.

How about 2:35 - 2:50 , JRB? Any cuts there?

Possibly between the worlds "life" and "I've". But thats where he'd take a breath anyway. Plus, that section there wouldn't be the most difficult to sing in one deep breath.

:lol: I agree. That is a very stupid post I made. 'Scuse me while I delete that.

Edit: Face=Saved