Adam Lambert, "Whataya Want From Me" Hot100: #10!

[caitlin1974]

The problem with Adam is this respect is, like someone said upthread, he's gay but he's also pretty polarizing for reasons that have nothing to do with being gay. So it is hard to point to just one thing and call it THE reason any given person might reject Adam since he gives several plausible reasons to reject him. AND, we are not even sure he has really been rejected by Cumulus yet, they just might be late. They've added others late in the past.

There's a dj in LA who pretty much gave credence to my theory of why some stations didn't play FYE, besides thinking the song wasn't very good, they didn't want to jump on the bandwagon and proclaim Adam to be a superstar before he actually achieved anything.

Adam has done very well so far, but still, the hype is still out pacing the actual results, and maybe Cumulus still feels the same way. Or, maybe they just don't feel that the song fits their stations right now, and either will or won't add it later.

[lucytor]

Feb 23, 2010 16:27:19 GMT -5 caitlin1974 said:

The problem with Adam is this respect is, like someone said upthread, he's gay but he's also pretty polarizing for reasons that have nothing to do with being gay. So it is hard to point to just one thing and call it THE reason any given person might reject Adam since he gives several plausible reasons to reject him. AND, we are not even sure he has really been rejected by Cumulus yet, they just might be late. They've added others late in the past.

There's a dj in LA who pretty much gave credence to my theory of why some stations didn't play FYE, besides thinking the song wasn't very good, they didn't want to jump on the bandwagon and proclaim Adam to be a superstar before he actually achieved anything.

Adam has done very well so far, but still, the hype is still out pacing the actual results, and maybe Cumulus still feels the same way. Or, maybe they just don't feel that the song fits their stations right now, and either will or won't add it later.

The exact same reasoning should have applied to Kris, or to the two Davids from last year, but it did not.

FYE's history is weird. RCA released it; there was no promo; two weeks after release and a week before the AMAs, RCA introduced WWFM during OHP. I'm guessing something weird went down with that song, but have no idea what it was.

[overboard]

NO ONE has ever come off of Idol with as much hype as Adam has. People will occasionally get put off by being told what is the next big thing instead of letting it happen naturally.

FYE failed because z100 refused to play it from the start and because people were going to associate it with the dreadful AMA performance. If homophobia was secretly the reason that FYE wasnt pushed, then homophobia did Adam a favor because FYE was never going to take off after that AMA performance.

[Rumors]

Feb 23, 2010 13:14:24 GMT -5 overboard said:

Anyway, songs experience stalls and bumps in the road. You cant possibly expect a song from a polarizing AMERICAN IDOL contestant to sweep top 40 adds, getting all of them before even reaching the top 10. The only problem I see here is the ridiculous expectations some people have had for the song (#1SMASHSEHHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). The only thing that possibly hinted at this going #1 was the quick adds by the top 3 markets and z100 putting it into power early, though all of these hint at payola more then #1.

Good post. Looks like a lot of new Adam fans have joined this post.

I just wanted to say thank goodness for Cumulus pop stations. They are very good to my favorite artist, Rob Thomas. Those stations are really the only pop stations that are still supporting an older HotAC artist. There's always two sides to a coin. I'm sure they will add Adam eventually.

I personally think this song has done very well to date. It's just an okay, pretty solid song. It's not groundbreaking or anything like that. It's hard to say what hits the top 10 on pop these days.

I also agree with the poster that said it sometimes takes time to build up a relationship with radio. I've followed Matchbox Twenty and Rob Thomas for about 10 years and the amount of radio promo they have done over the years is ridiculuos. Sometimes it takes time to build those relationships. The big spins for Adam and other AI at some of the big stations isn't a result of building a relationship with those stations but the label having a relationship with that station. Maybe a little different. A DJ meets an artist and really likes him or her. I think they go the extra mile to support that artist.

[Rumors]

Feb 23, 2010 14:01:13 GMT -5 krisella said:

no hes going on a "personal crusade" bc they know they arent adding adam bc hes gay, nice try though:)

That's your opinion....not fact. Who is the owner of Cumulus that is against gays as you say?

[Rumors]

Feb 23, 2010 14:14:55 GMT -5 soundUPsceneDOWN said:

And I like a bunch of other artists that aren't Idol related. Just so happens a lot of the interesting convos are in the Idol threads simply because there's more discussion. lol.

Bingo. I've posted in a bunch of AI threads over the years on this board yet I've never been to an Idol's website or message board. I kind of like following the newbie's for a year or two to see if they are going to make it or not. Then I just post occassionally in a few by AI folks that I do like (not a big fan of any Idols). I haven't even watched AI this season but I did check out who was in the top 24 today on CNN. Looks like a lot of 20 year old and people from Texas. Must be something in the water down there.

[Rumors]

Feb 23, 2010 15:54:16 GMT -5 Rurry said:

Cumulus has ignored songs further up the chart that were performing better than this one so it's not necessarily 'homophobia'.

Like I posted above...they play Rob Thomas so my guess is that the Cumulus pop stations lean more HotAC. This is just a guess because I just don't have access to that kind of information. I have read somewhere that the guy who does their programming is a BIG Rob fan so sometimes people are just fans of an artist or not and have the power to program their stations the way they want to.

I have to add that you AI fans have really been spoiled. I can't believe that someone in the know (the mod) posted about the Cumulus station. Like I said I've followed Rob Thomas for about 10 years (like some of you will do for Adam) and I have NEVER seen any kind of official news about how a song is doing, or how the album is selling. It just amazes me how much news and information you all get.

[aTunes]

I think the stations that are supporting this will have to put it into heavy rotation and get it into or near the top 10 on the overall chart before a lot of the rhythmic leaning CHR stations (like mine) will even think about adding it.

[Rumors]

Feb 23, 2010 17:31:02 GMT -5 aTunes said:

I think the stations that are supporting this will have to put it into heavy rotation and get it into or near the top 10 on the overall chart before a lot of the rhythmic leaning CHR stations (like mine) will even think about adding it.

I think you are right and that's probably how the rhythmic leaning stations treat any non-urban/hip-hop artist.

[saga]

Article about 2 dj's from a Cumulus station...

www.pitch.com/2010-02-18/music/shorty-and-the-boyz/

Mike and Chantal, hosts of the show Shorty and the Boyz, often butted heads with their employer. Whether it was the choice of music, the ironic skits or the on-air support of American Idol contestant Adam Lambert, the show ran into trouble at nearly every turn.

[soundUPsceneDOWN]

Feb 23, 2010 17:23:36 GMT -5 Rumors said:

I have to add that you AI fans have really been spoiled. I can't believe that someone in the know (the mod) posted about the Cumulus station. Like I said I've followed Rob Thomas for about 10 years (like some of you will do for Adam) and I have NEVER seen any kind of official news about how a song is doing, or how the album is selling. It just amazes me how much news and information you all get.

Uh... make that Adam Lambert fans. It's the first time I see mod do that, period. I've never seen a mod do that for any other former Idol contestant. Most fans of former Idol contestants are just as much in the dark as fans of artists not coming from Idol. I don't get what's up with that particular mod from Lambert's official website - frankly I don't think RCA should allow him to post all the stuff he does, but whatever.

Feb 23, 2010 17:42:35 GMT -5 saga said:

Article about 2 dj's from a Cumulus station...

www.pitch.com/2010-02-18/music/shorty-and-the-boyz/

Mike and Chantal, hosts of the show Shorty and the Boyz, often butted heads with their employer. Whether it was the choice of music, the ironic skits or the on-air support of American Idol contestant Adam Lambert, the show ran into trouble at nearly every turn.

I suspect they ran into trouble with how they went about supporting Adam, not the fact that they supported him.

[jesse]

Been reading this board for a couple years, first post.

I read a few comments about Adam being so polarizing. He is only polarizing inside the Idol bubble, I know many people who are casual Idol watchers or just heard WWFM on the radio and bought the single or the album. They have no clue how many red carpets Adam walks, they don't follow him on twitter, they don't read blogs on the internet. They know he's gay and that's about it. Maybe the people I run into in every day life are more enlightened because they couldn't care less that he is.
I know nothing about 90% of the people on the radio, I don't need to. I either like a song or I don't.
As far as Cumulus goes, out of curiosity I checked some of their playlists, they play Gaga, Pink, etc. Seems WWFM would fit right in.

[soundUPsceneDOWN]

The only people that Adam matters to is people who listen to Top 40 radio anyway. If you listen to Top 40 radio then you're might be in the demographic that might watch Entertainment Tonight, or Access Hollywood, or watch MTV, or VH1, or watch awards shows, or maybe even read non-Idol gossip blogs. Does every person who listens to Top 40 radio pay attention to Adam - no. But to say that nobody but Idol watchers do is a stretch.

It's not just people in the Idol bubble that know some of what Adam has been up to or as said. The LA Times just posted online a strange unneeded defense of Adam's quote maligning Susan Boyle's album. And it wasn't in their American Idol blog.

Once a former contestant exits the Idol stage and starts getting played on Top 40 radio, and going on talk shows and making appearances on non-Idol-related TV shows, it is very, very possible for people who aren't huge Idol fans to know what that artist is up to. So yes, he's polarizing to more than just folks in the "Idol bubble." If anything, people outside the bubble have had more exposure to him than other former contestants because of the massive hype and mag covers he garnered right after the show ended, not to mention the AMA debacle.

Plus, he's not necessarily polarizing because he's gay. For some people that will matter, for many others it won't. Some people may just find his personality or style not to their liking.

[overboard]

Feb 23, 2010 18:20:41 GMT -5 jesse said:

They know he's gay and that's about it. Maybe the people I run into in every day life are more enlightened because they couldn't care less that he is.

He is not polarizing because he is gay. His voice, his style of music, his actions, his attitude, and the words he chooses to say are what makes him polarizing. Its very possible to be completely past the fact that Adam is gay and still dislike him.

[Maximillian]

WOW. Is everybody being serious right now? Soundscene.... why the overwhelming attacking structure? Adam fans? Same questions to you?!

If you want a debate, have a debate. Attacking isnt gonna get you anywhere!

At the days end, if Adam's song breaks through Cumulus and becomes number 1 ... or 10... or 20.... Great for him! Hes already broken a lot of ground. Maybe hes not destined for radio at this time. I hope he is, I personally love him!

HOWEVER, if he doesnt make it, THE WORLD WILL STILL SPIN TOMORROW! It doesnt give anybody a reason ... Soundscene and others ... to just attack each other and belittle opinions!

Soundscene... you point was made when you spoke about your "college class". Very well put. All the people who are saying he is not being played because he is Gay... maybe... we wont really know for a while. Hes come very far already, only time will tell. And i do agree, homophobia clearly still exists.

And finally, for the member who is "crusading" to speak with Cumulus... WHY DO YOU CARE IF HE IS "CRUSADING" and telling people on Adams site? Does it kill you to see people trying to make this song succeed? Does it kill you that so many people want to see it succeed? Why all the hate and negativity? Has it affected your personal life in any way? NO. So calm the F Down!

Let your comments blow up now.

[soundUPsceneDOWN]

I'm not attacking.

I was responding. lol. I don't recall saying anything bad about anybody, or belittling anybody for that matter.

Confused would be an understatement. lol. Oh well.

[overboard]

Discussions suck. Lets try this...

#1 SMASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Maximillian]

Feb 23, 2010 18:44:22 GMT -5 overboard said:

Discussions suck. Lets try this...

#1 SMASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overboard... you and me have the same Top 5 at the moment... minus Derulo and add Resistance by Muse.

Scars by Allison Iraheta is quickly coming up though

[olivian]

Er...it's possible that Cumulus is motivated by homophobia and possible that they aren't? The Dixie Chicks idiocy doesn't look good for them--it definitely seems like they were letting their conservative tendencies affect what they put on the radio--but they could also just consider Adam a riskier proposition as a new artist and be waiting until WWFM gets higher before adding him.

Either way, sounds like RCA is working on it, the song's been doing well and will hopefully continue to do well (as in hopefully this is just a blip, though the song's still done pretty well if it's not), his album is gold and selling pretty steadily, and he's got what sounds like some pretty fantastic international promotion coming up. :)

So...breathe?

Feb 23, 2010 18:29:46 GMT -5 overboard said:

Feb 23, 2010 18:20:41 GMT -5 jesse said:

They know he's gay and that's about it. Maybe the people I run into in every day life are more enlightened because they couldn't care less that he is.

He is not polarizing because he is gay. His voice, his style of music, his actions, his attitude, and the words he chooses to say are what makes him polarizing. Its very possible to be completely past the fact that Adam is gay and still dislike him.

To be totally fair, he's probably polarizing to some people because he's gay and to others because of his style of music, voice, actions, etc. An openly gay artist is bound to be polarizing for a lot of people in the US, and so is any artist--gay or straight--with an in-your-face personality and style. :) So yeah, people can dislike Adam for homophobic and non-homophobic reasons.

Anyway, I like WWFM. Not nearly my favorite song on the album, but then songs that end up as singles almost never are. But he's amazingly talented, the album's really good, and he seems like a sweet person, so hopefully he'll continue to do well. :)

[caitlin1974]

The exact same reasoning should have applied to Kris, or to the two Davids from last year, but it did not.

I don't agree. Unlike Adam (at least earlier on, especially when FYE was released), Kris worked his butt off, and continues to do so in order to make strides with radio stations. He's done so many radio interviews and radio sponsored contests and events that I doubt that he can keep them straight. RCA didn't go that route with Adam, and in fact it seemed like they felt that this route was beneath Adam. It wasn't until December that Adam really started to do radio interviews.

I think PDs have always been skeptical of those who come from AI. None of the former contestants have ever had an easy time, and a lot of the PDs treat these songs like they are novelty songs. Those from AI have always had to work extra hard to prove themselves, and to show that they don't expect special treatment just because they were on a reality show. With Adam, a lot of people seem to think that he does deserve special treatment, and that he shouldn't be treated like a new artist who has yet to prove himself.

[aTunes]

This thread is making my head hurt.

[overboard]

Feb 23, 2010 18:46:35 GMT -5 Maximillian said:

Overboard... you and me have the same Top 5 at the moment... minus Derulo and add Resistance by Muse.

Scars by Allison Iraheta is quickly coming up though

Im definitely long passed my Rock phase, but if I were to get back into it, it would most definitely be led by Muse. Awesome band :)

I really liked Scars when i first heard it, but it burnt out on my quickly. My favorite song from her album is Just Like You.

[jesse]

Feb 23, 2010 18:29:46 GMT -5 overboard said:

Feb 23, 2010 18:20:41 GMT -5 jesse said:

They know he's gay and that's about it. Maybe the people I run into in every day life are more enlightened because they couldn't care less that he is.

He is not polarizing because he is gay. His voice, his style of music, his actions, his attitude, and the words he chooses to say are what makes him polarizing. Its very possible to be completely past the fact that Adam is gay and still dislike him.

I think you misunderstood what I meant, the people I know who like his music, don't know anything about his actions, his attitude or the words he chooses to say.
A few of them saw the AMA performance and thought he didn't sound good, that was about it. I don't personally know anyone who was offended by that performance.
We are a different breed here on the internet, the general public can't tell you what a radio ADD is, they have no idea what a spin means. We follow this stuff and it's important to us.
soundscene
I don't know if you were going off on me, but I'm talking about the general public, yes Adam was on a couple magazine covers, the article in Rolling Stone is pretty much what you would get if you are a reader of RS. I don't know anyone who gets Details or some of the other mags he his going to be in. The EW was all about the "OMG he might be gay"
He has been very sweet on the talk shows he's been on, i.e. Oprah, Leno, etc. I can't think of anything he said that would be so polarizing.
You said: "Some people may just find his personality or style not to their liking." Can't this be said of anyone?

[Maximillian]

^^

haha. it can be said of most people on this board today!

[lucytor]

Feb 23, 2010 16:58:45 GMT -5 overboard said:

NO ONE has ever come off of Idol with as much hype as Adam has. People will occasionally get put off by being told what is the next big thing instead of letting it happen naturally.

FYE failed because z100 refused to play it from the start and because people were going to associate it with the dreadful AMA performance. If homophobia was secretly the reason that FYE wasnt pushed, then homophobia did Adam a favor because FYE was never going to take off after that AMA performance.

RCA replaced FYE with WWFM a week before the AMAs.

I'd love it if anyone here has an explanation.

[soundUPsceneDOWN]

Feb 23, 2010 19:46:26 GMT -5 jesse said:

soundscene
I don't know if you were going off on me, but I'm talking about the general public, yes Adam was on a couple magazine covers, the article in Rolling Stone is pretty much what you would get if you are a reader of RS. I don't know anyone who gets Details or some of the other mags he his going to be in. The EW was all about the "OMG he might be gay"
He has been very sweet on the talk shows he's been on, i.e. Oprah, Leno, etc. I can't think of anything he said that would be so polarizing.
You said: "Some people may just find his personality or style not to their liking." Can't this be said of anyone?

I wasn't going off on you, but I was responding to your comment. Just disagreeing with the assessment as you were disagreeing with other people's assessments.

Yes, it can be said that for everybody some may not like their personality and some may like their personality. I just don't think it's difficult to understand why there are more extremes when it comes to Adam. People still remember the AMA performance and its aftermath, and for some that is all they have to go on. That's Adam's burden to bear. And really, that's enough--without everything else--for people to have formed their opinions of him. Maybe that's not entirely fair, but that's what happens.

By the way, my Dad gets Details. lol. I get Billboard (he and Kris were on the cover), and of course there was Rolling Stone and a couple others. It's not like he was featured in obscure magazines.

Feb 23, 2010 20:31:31 GMT -5 lucytor said:

RCA replaced FYE with WWFM a week before the AMAs.

I'd love it if anyone here has an explanation.

Probably tested poorly with audiences or PDs weren't responding favorably after it was sent to radio stations. It was out long enough to determine that.

[Rurry]

FYE failed because it was a terrible song. It had no hook and the lyrics were trashy and poorly written.

[kod]

I thought the lyrics were tacky but the melody was good- I think Britney would have had a hit with it.

[lucytor]

Feb 23, 2010 18:49:41 GMT -5 caitlin1974 said:

The exact same reasoning should have applied to Kris, or to the two Davids from last year, but it did not.

I don't agree. Unlike Adam (at least earlier on, especially when FYE was released), Kris worked his butt off, and continues to do so in order to make strides with radio stations. He's done so many radio interviews and radio sponsored contests and events that I doubt that he can keep them straight. RCA didn't go that route with Adam, and in fact it seemed like they felt that this route was beneath Adam. It wasn't until December that Adam really started to do radio interviews.

I think PDs have always been skeptical of those who come from AI. None of the former contestants have ever had an easy time, and a lot of the PDs treat these songs like they are novelty songs. Those from AI have always had to work extra hard to prove themselves, and to show that they don't expect special treatment just because they were on a reality show. With Adam, a lot of people seem to think that he does deserve special treatment, and that he shouldn't be treated like a new artist who has yet to prove himself.

RCA's treatment of FYE was weird, and not weird because they acted as if Adam was too good for a certain kind of promotion. They simply did not promote FYE, period, and replaced it with WWFM a week before the AMAs.

Anyhow, I don't think it was the djs taking it out on an overproud Adam, or a question of Adam's lack of work ethic, or RCA's hubris. I haven't a clue what it was, but it was weird.

[lucytor]

Feb 23, 2010 20:34:48 GMT -5 Rurry said:

FYE failed because it was a terrible song. It had no hook and the lyrics were trashy and poorly written.

That's a matter of opinion. It's far from my favorite song on that album, but I prefer it to Aftermath or Sleepwalker or WWFM.

I grew up in Turkey, so my take is foreign. I believe that RCA is sticking with FYE for foreign promotion, and will release it as the single in Japan and the UK. imo that's the right decision; FYE is far more likely to succeed abroad than something like WWFM or Sleepwalker. imo Fever would do even better, so I haven't a clue why they're not going with it.

Anyhow, let's not knock different ways of looking at things. It's all very subjective.