It’s his collaboration with Queen (my favourite band) which got me into listening to Adam Lambert, but his debut album For Your Entertainment, released a decade earlier, is what introduced me to him as an artist. I think I may have been vaguely aware of him on American Idol, but I definitely heard a lot of him on the radio in 2009 and the very early 2010s. Looking back it’s clear that the homophobia that hampered his career reached me, I can’t remember whether I knew it in these terms, but I’m pretty sure I understood his music to be gay and uncool. In retrospect it’s very funny.
For Your Entertainment is quite gay, and as a queer man, I find that to be a strength. From the musical theatre elements of Pick U Up, the song Strut, and the Lada Gaga-penned Fever, the album is clearly influenced by queer culture. It’s not the only thing which makes it stand out from other pop of the time, but it’s a big reason why I love it.
The album is undeniably a pop album, but it comes with a heavy dose of rock, evident in the guitar solos of Music Again, Strut, and Sleepwalker, and in Sure Fire Winners, which I think is best described as a rock song. I really love this combination of rock, pop, glam rock and queer influences. It feels really modern (at least for 2009) while being grounded in much older genres which I also love. The album showcases a wide range of styles and songs, alternating between subdued numbers like A Loaded Smile and the punchy If I Had You.
Opening with Music Again1, the album has a great start, with the first three songs really setting the tone for me. They each represent the main styles present on the album: Music Again is one of the album’s more rock-oriented tracks, For Your Entertainment is a very typical pop songs (though a good one), while Whataya Want from Me? is more subdued. It’s not really a ballad, but it does start off a bit like one.
Whataya Want from Me? was originally written by P!nk and was offered to Lambert after it was left off her album. The song is about a relationship, but I think it also takes on a bit of an extra meaning sung by Lambert. During his time on American Idol he was heavily scrutinised and many people (including me) believe that being gay is what prevented him from winning2. The song Whataya Want from Me? is kind of Lambert asking the public what their problem is. He’s just going to be himself.
The thing that really makes the album amazing is Lambert’s voice. His wide range is evident on the album, from the warm lows of Broken Open to the soaring high notes of Pick U Up, which is not even the highest he sings on the album, though I think it’s the most impressive.
My favourite moment on the album is the key change at 2:42 in Pick U Up. After a climb up that feels like it was plucked directly from musical, the key change underneath Lambert’s soaring voice is such a triumphant moment. At the end of the track you hear Lambert laughing like he knows how good it just was.
The following track is Fever, written by Lady Gaga. It’s kind of the naughtiest track on the album and I love it immediately following Pick U Up. It’s like after reeling you in, Lambert knows you’re his and now it’s time for the, uh, you know what. Fever sounds like a Lady Gaga track (not a bad thing) and it’s not hard to imagine her singing it. But Lambert is more than up to the task and I think the song is even better for it.
After Fever the album shifts in tone, which I really love. It’s winding down (though not completely) and the gentler Sleepwalker fits perfectly after the bombast of Pick U Up and Fever.
One thing I do have to criticise the album for is that it is too long. I’m not sure which songs I’d take out (and perhaps that’s why they didn’t) but the album clocks in at 56 minutes and I don’t think it deserves it. It’s a good album, and I’m not complaining about having the extra songs, but the album begins to feel like it’s dragging towards the end. It’s probably in big factor in why I rarely listen to the album in full.
But I really like For Your Entertainment. It’s an album that really shows Lambert’s capabilities as a singer and explores modern updates of the many genres that influenced him as a musician. It’s very obviously an album that Lambert enjoyed making and his personality comes out very strongly in it. I love it. 5 stars.
An interesting thing I discovered while researching this is that four tracks on this album (Music Again, Soaked, Sure Fire Winners and Time for Miracles) were produced by Rob Cavallo, who is the long time producer of another of my favourite bands, Green Day. Lambert collaborated with a lot of other artists and producers on this album, but it’s still cool to find unexpected connections like that.
While Lambert wasn’t actually out yet, he was gay as fuck and Americans are really homophobic.