The Queer and the Missionary Hold Hands on "American Idol"

It turns out Adam Lambert was too weird to win American Idol. Possibly gay, possibly Jewish (here's a video of him singing in Hebrew!), definitely wearing nail polish, Lambert was too much of a challenge, as they say politely, to American notions of masculinity. There was no way he could stand up to cutie Kris Allen, a missionary with a crooked grin and a passel of blond relatives who all look like Reese Witherspoon.

One is tempted to grumble about homophobic Americans who can't handle the new bi/queer/transgender reality. But here's the kicker: "Guy next door" and "Guy-liner," as they call them on the show, spent the whole finale loving on each other, swearing the other one should win, and promising to buy each other's albums. When the winner was announced, Allen himself couldn't believe it. "Adam deserves this," he said, and gave him a big hug. Remember when Obama, in his Notre Dame speech, mentioned the gay activist and the evangelical preacher who just couldn't bridge the cultural divide? They were enemies, but the radical thing was putting them in the same sentence, and so close together. Same thing last night.

There they stood, arm in arm, as enemies and friends. Allen looked tiny and wimpy and drained of confidence. Lambert looked like a graphic novel hero with his jet black anime hair and his big imposing figure in black leather and chains. It wasn't in the end clear who was more manly, but it was clear that in that last hug there was no room for a cultural divide. National metaphor, maybe?

Tags: adam lambert, american idol, gay, kris allen

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Hanna Rosin Double X co- editor, reporter, prefer my friends live.

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good article

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The year was 1966. Betty

By: acotas548 | Mon, 08/10/2009 - 01:42

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AI Winner

By: phpeter | Fri, 05/22/2009 - 12:13

Although Kris one, Adam proved is a more talented singer of a specific type of music, just not one that is popular today. Look at who he sang with today, KISS, Queen...20-30 year old bands that have little pop relevance today. Kris has the ability to be current and successfull ala Jack Johnson, Matt Costa, Ben Harper...all very popular and current.

Adam was/is very weird, but I think many didn't like him because he came off as smug and arrogant.

"It turns out Adam Lambert

By: kluhman | Fri, 05/22/2009 - 09:38

"It turns out Adam Lambert was too weird to win American Idol."
This article doesn't provide any evidence to support this conclusion.
Perhaps the viewing audience simply liked Kris' performances better.
The author is surprisingly derisive in the references to Kris considering that her articles normally seem fair and even-handed. (This is coming from someone who has never seen American Idol and has no interest in it.)

I wanted Adam not to win

By: shanendoah | Thu, 05/21/2009 - 14:49

My two favorite contestants this year were Adam and Allison. But I can not tell you how happy I was that Kris won. Why? Because of the awful song the winner has to release as their first single. Other than "A Moment Like This" I can't name (nor do I want to) any of the forced singles.

Its not that I am happy Kris is stuck with a crappy song. I like him, he's talented, but at least the song will fit, thematically, with the rest of the album he'll release.

That song does not belong on any album I would want Adam to release.

And then there's my husband's conspiracy theory (the only other time he watched Idol with me every week was the Daughtry/Katherine McPhee/what's his name year) that the person with the best prospects never wins - because they'll be able to release an album people will still buy six months after the finale.

Overload

By: Lindsay | Thu, 05/21/2009 - 13:53

While I don't know if this is possible, given the likely voting age of AI fans, could pop culture fatigue also play a part? I feel like Lambert's been everywhere lately (EW cover just one example), and while I actually feel he is the better artist, I was secretly rooting for Allen.

I disagree...

By: Kate the Great | Thu, 05/21/2009 - 13:25

I don't know if the reason Adam Lambert didn't win was really due to him being too "weird" or too much of a "challenge." He has that hipster, metrosexual thing going on that I think a lot of youngsters think is cool. And remember, he was in the top two! Obviously there was a lot of acceptance.

But the fact is that most of the American Idol voters were likely young, hormonal girls, and I suspect that they voted for the cute, clearly straight guy of their fantasies (whom they could imagine dating) than the cool guy who had a bit of a gay vibe.