FlipBoardAdam Lambert paid tribute to Madonna”s 30+ years of hitmaking at Sunday night”s VH1 “Divas,” with this odd cover of “Ray Of Light.”
Dressed in some kind of very strange hieroglyphic robe, or perhaps as a medieval knight, Lambert starts off really shaky vocally, but then he rises to the occasion. It”s an amped up version of Madonna”s take on the song. We”re not sure about the squat thrusts.
[More after the jump…]
If you want to skip the Madonna tribute and go straight to Lambert”s performance, go to the 1:30 mark.
Lambert wasn”t the only one paying homage. As Miley Cyrus continues to put as much distance between herself and her Disney past as she possible can, the leather-clad singer crowd surfed, grabbed her breast and did her best Billy Idol imitation on a cover of “Rebel Yell.” The song came out almost 10 years before Cyrus was born, by the way.
She”s belting as hard as she can, but there”s still something strange about watching an artist trying so hard to reinvent herself by stepping a million miles away from what the public had perceived to be her comfort zone…when it turns out it was our comfort zone, not hers.
Like Lambert, she give it her all. That doesn’t make it enjoyable.
There were plenty of other performances, as each singer seemed to want to shriek louder than the next, whether it was Natasha Bedingfield/Booty Collins/Iggy Azalea’s remake of Dee-Lite’s “Groove Is In The Heart” or Jordin Sparks, Ledisi and Melanie Fiona giving it their all in their salute to Whitney Houston. If you guessed that their medley would include “I’m Every Woman,” you would be 100% right. A newly-engaged Kelly Clarkson got to sing her own song. Check out her take on “Catch My Breath.”
Do you think Lambert and Cyrus give the originals their due?
If you missed any of it, you can watch the full “2012 VH1 Divas” here.
Yeah, Adam did start badly (tugging on his earpiece, so maybe had some sound issues) but ultimately got it together & the performance was OK — though I sure wish he’d done a different song (Like a Prayer, maybe?) to show his considerable vocal abilities in a better light. And I actually really enjoyed Miley’s take on Rebel Yell, even though I’m not a Miley fan. To me it was the fiercest performance of the show and somehow the most genuine – maybe only that she genuinely wants to not be a Disney good girl anymore, I suppose, but I got the sense that she actually *felt* the song in ways the others didn’t. Could’ve done without the caged Scottish kilt-wearing Thor-y dancers, though.
Back to Adam: he was better in the Donna Summer tribute and the opening Bowie cover, and even better in his non-singing spots, such as the pre-taped opener or other bits (such as demo-ing his back-pocket dance move). A host is born?
I loved both performances! Miley’s was first and although I’ve never particularly been a fan, I thought she looked great and gave a kick-ass rendition of a classic. Loved Adam’s performance of Ray of Light, too, including his outfit, which was appropriate to the song! And the beginning was off because of his feed (couldn’t hear himself until he shouted “there it is”) at which point, the performance was fantastic! (and the glory note he hit towards the end of Last Dance! Whoa!)
I’m obviously an enthusiastic and unapologetic Adam fan; if you haven’t heard him sing live at one of his own concerts yet…ya gotta do it. Incredible.
Also, the skit at the beginning of the show was hilarious! The man has many talents, and I’m so very happy with how he handled his first hosting gig!
I thought Adam was amazing as a host and a performer. Only reason I watched! No- one performs like adam today! Drop dead georgeous also!
I think Adam did outstanding as as host and a performer!! Only reason I watched not to mention he’s drop dead gorgeous!!
I don’t understand why they had Mylie Cyrus on the show singing a rock song by Billy Idol. She is definitly trying to hard. She looked uncomfortable and to me had no stage presence. Most of the time she was stooped over.
This is just a Lambert hit piece considering he sang three numbers and the issue on Ray Of Light was obviously that he couldn’t hear himself in the very beginning.
I enjoyed both performances. I heard there were some sound problems and the artists couldn’t always hear themselves. That would definitely cause a problem in a huge, loud venue like that one. Who knows.? They both sounded great to me!
Loved Adam Lambert’s hosting/performing. He has charisma.
Loved Adam Lambert as a host and performer. He has great comedic timing . You could tell he had trouble hearing himself in the beginning of Ray of Light–got way better after that.Guy has charisma
Lambert nailed the song, despite the sound issues at the start. He’s an incredible vocalist who seems to do justice to any genre. We can now add hosting to his repertoire of talents.
Hot mess..didn’t enjoy any bit of it! More like a Vegas show than a tribute to legends..& what is that cover to ‘ray of light’? It was musically off & what was that boy wearing? Where does a wizard outfit says ray of light? The whole night showed that the music scene is not about music anymore..it’s about the show! And that was not even a good one!
Lambert could sing nursery rhymes and make them special! I’m not a big fan of Madonna or that song and the mixing seemed a little off at first, but he ended it big. His first song and medley were the best. His hosting was spot-on, funny, and he never flinched. He is a true pro.
Despite the sound issues at the beginning of the Madonna tribute, Adam nailed it. He’s the most gifted vocalist of this generation, and can do justice to any genre. Now we can add “host” to his growing repertoire of talents and accomplishments.