I’m sure this has been debated quite a bit on the internet but I’ll still ask the question: Who is the better rocker of American Idol? James Durbin or Adam Lambert?
Adam Lambert A Great Talent And Worked Well With Other Artists
Adam Lambert is no doubt a phenomenal singer. He electrified the stage of AI and was runner up the year he was in the race. Many believe that he was robbed of the American Idol title and that he was the better contestant. In my opinion, I would have to say he was the best singer the year he took second.
One thing that I really liked about Adam was that he really worked well with the other artists that were preparing with him each week. He really did gel with the studio musicians and the guest musicians as well. He always gave them credit for making him sound great. I was really excited to get to see him perform with long time axe man Slash from Guns n Roses. That was one exceptional show to see such a phenomenal singer interact with one of the best guitarists of all time.
There are some people that believe that Adam was robbed of the Idol trophy because of his lifestyle. I have heard that many times over and I sometimes wonder myself if that really had a lot to do with the voting.
James Durbin Wows The American Public
James Durbin may have busted out in 4th place on the 2010 American Idol but it seems that he gained a great fan base along the way. James also has such an impressive voice that he naturally catches the attention of anyone that watches him perform. He has also had to deal with a disease that a lot of other singers did not have to worry about. Not that I am feeling any pity for him because I am not. James does not want any pity either. However, I do wonder if that made a difference to the voters.
Many people not only believe that James got the boot too early but they believe that he should have won American Idol outright. I could not disagree with that ( no offense Scotty McCreery) . I think that any of the top 4 could have won but I would put Lauren Alaina last in the group.
To me, James was the best at the top of his range. Many times I would think there would be no way he could reach the high notes and that his voice would crack but he would belt it out. James was also versatile. I really think he can do many styles of music. If given the right choices, he could really do some great things.
James Durbin Vs Adam Lambert Poll
OK, So I wrote a little about the singers. Tell me what you think in the poll and please leave comments if you like.
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Both are very talented but I think Adam Lambert is a one of a kind singer. Never heard him out of tune or not make the high notes. Plus he really emotes when he sings and gives a phenomenal performance.
James will do very well I am sure and I would like to see him stick with heavy metal and maybe reignite it.
Adam- I see doing incredible things including movies and probably will be offered a big starring role on Broadway someday–in the meantime I look forward to his second album.
I can actually say that I cannot remember Adam being out of tune. never flat or sharp. Good point Lori. I should have noted that earlier. Thanks.
An example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpLIFM9WKHQ&feature=player_embedded
I have heard Adam sing out of tune, his AMA performance was hideously off pitch and he himself admitted it. I’ve come across a couple of his live performance clips on YouTube where he isn’t pitch perfect either, nothing major but definitely not vocal perfection. There is no such thing as a singer who is pitch perfect 100% of the time, it doesn’t matter how much vocal training they’ve had.
Alex of course you are bashing Adam most Durbin fans do as they are very jealous of him. Did you see James sing NA at a game? It was a disgrace he embarrassed himself and everyone in the stadium. Durbin will never make it big his attitude and lack of real talent will interfere with his career.
So you believe it isn’t possible for Adam to sing off despite the fact that he himself admitted that his AMA performance was hideously off pitch? Bet you believe in Santa Claus too. Geez, Glamberts really are the most delusional fanbase out there, even Adam doesn’t think that highly of himself.
Yes he does. When he sings he doesn’t use any auto tune. It is just his gorgeous voice. I can’t think of anyone I would rather hear. I love his voice in my ear. I wish James all the best. I did like James. I thought he should have won AI or at least come in 2nd.
I agree there is no one like Adam. When you see him live he takes your breath away with his talent. He is already a big star and rising.
I’ve seen Adam live and he didn’t take my breathe away – sorry.
Well then darling you were not paying attention.
I was in the front row. It was pretty hard to not pay attention. I just have a different opinion from yours and I don’t drink the Adam kool-aid. His glamnation tour had good moments and slow moments. Voodoo was fun as were a number of other numbers. But for a one hour set he had too many costume changes and was off stage for too long for such a short show. The choreography was distracting rather than enhancing except in a few numbers like Voodoo. The concert was a show, not really a concert – more like he was doing a Broadway show about a concert. I realize he is into the whole story-telling thing. But all in all, I totally agree with what Rolling Stone said about the show. But, he does has great vocals. I would not call him a rock vocalist, but he is an excellent technical vocalist and he sells a song well. He can sing, he has talent, he has potential to be even better, and maybe then he will take my breath away. But thus far he has not.
He absolutely took my breath away…
This comparison is stupid. It’s an attempt to stir up the fan bases. That being said, I have seen both Adam and James live in concert multiple times, so I think I can speak to this issue. Rocker? That’s a broad term. James has put himself in a very narrow genre. He has a nice tone to his voice, but he cares not for pitch or nuance. The concert voice I heard was very unpleasant, loud and with no control. He is dramatic on stage, but not pleasing. If he broadens his music and works on vibrato, breath control and pitch, he would be better.
Everyone knows Adam has one of the best voices in the industry. It is well trained, and he is able to reach emotional levels that few artists can. His pitch is always perfect, his vibrato flawless and his expression unique. The same song sounds different each and every time he performs because his voice and personality allow him to take those liberties. He can do every style, and this has been his biggest negative. His album coming out later this month is highly anticipated. He apparently wrote or co-wrote all the music, so we will see. Outlaws of Love (the one new song he has performed) is emotional and simply beautiful.
I agree completely, Richi; Adam and James already met personally, exchanged teets and showed they are NOT sour about each other, were actually friendly and this pool only serves to fuel a cyber war between Adam’s fans and James’ fans. It has no REAL goal at all.
I do think this poll rather antagonistic by pitting 2 crowd pleases from American Idol, simply because they do similar music.
I favour James simply because I watched the past season for the first time. There is something about this young man who obviously loves to perform… and that is wonderful for those like me who are into rock from the 70′s. He has good vocals and shows a passion that amazes me. I believe he could be the frontman for many groups… that will be his experience… the working way..unlike Lambert who was polished before American Idol.
Be fair to James…he is fresh, animated, and yes…I like tears… most women do!
Who is the better American Idol rocker? Is that even a question? James of course because he actually is a rocker, Adam is not. There is a HUGE difference between being able to sing rock and being a rocker – a rocker bleeds rock n roll – they are passionate about the genre and their image reflects this. That is James 100% to the T not Adam. Adam doesn’t even do rock music, his album is electro-pop. Adam is a fantastic vocalist and is very versatile, he’s also a very flashy performer so for me, I see him more as a modern Michael Jackson and his current musical direction fits that as well. But James is as Jimmy Iovine put it “a 100% child of rock n roll”, he rocks every song he sings, he has the look, the image, the pipes and the passion. And he won’t be putting out an electro-pop album, hell no. James is really the only true rocker American Idol has ever had.
Although I agree with Richi that “this comparison is stupid. It’s an attempt to stir up the fan bases.” and I repied it, I must agree with ALEX – JAMES is a rocker, Adam, although a wonderful polished, perfect pitched singer is NOT: he’s Glam/Pop Eletronica. It’s not that he can’t sing rock, he can sing everything, just like JAMES (who already won a price for country music!). It’s just that as it’s not Adam’s nich, not Adam’s interest to go into Hard Rock/Metal, it’s not JAMES’ intention LEAVE Hard Rock/Metal nich, as he always claimed America “to give Metal a chance”. But I disagree of those who said JAMES chose a narrow nich – there are layers and layers in Hard Rock, and many sub-genres in Metal. And he’s the only one so far with voice, will and popularity to dig itno it right now.
I became a fan of Adam Lambert from the time I saw his audition. No singer since Jeff Buckley has blown me away like Adam. When you wrote that , in your opinion, “he was the best singer [that] year…” I had to re-read the end of the sentence, because I thought you were going to write “the best singer to ever appear on the show as a contestant.” That’s the way I feel, and of course I’m biased, but I feel I have good reason to be.
I enjoyed James on Season 10, although he wasn’t my favorite. I admired his spirit, but I didn’t feel that his voice was exceptional. And, when you wrote that James is “versatile,” I jumped back a bit (figuratively) — I wondered how you could use that word for James, and not for Adam — He’s sung rock, pop, show tunes, ballads, bluesy songs, cabaret and soaring anthemic numbers. I honestly wonder if there’s anything he can’t do. James has the potential to be versatile, but I can’t imagine his pulling it off on the same scale as Adam has shown he can. I think people compare the two singers merely because they both have an unnaturally high range. Truthfully, though, I don’t feel they’re in the same league.
Speaking of Jeff Buckley, he is a perfect example of “to each his own.” He is widely regarded as one of the best vocalists, if not the best ever, in pop and rock music. Yet, although I recognize his talent and skill, when his songs come on my pandora I have to quickly turn it off because it sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard to me – lol.
Adam has a beautiful voice, and it sounds like he has learned that his strength is his vocal skill and we will hear more of that and less of the pop/electronica on the next album which is a good thing. Adam can sing anything, but when he sings hard rock it is a waste of what his real strength and gift. So, I’m glad that he is learning.
James, on the other hand, has a pretty voice which I also enjoy listening to, but he is a rocker through and through. I love his rocker approach. He can sing a pretty ballad and it is still rock. There is no doubt who he is as an artist. If he sings metal, heavy rock, rock, or ballads – it is all rock.
They are both talented artists – for different genres. To each his own.
I think it’s somehow an unfair pool. Adam is more into Glam Rock/Pop Eletronica and James into Hard Rock/Metal. The only common fact is that both reach high notes. As for Adam having more “polished” notes, he had years of formal singing lessons. James is a self-learner who listened to Ronnie James Dio, Steven Tyler, Freddie Mercury and Rob Halford and challenge himself to keep their notes and sustein – so his “roughness” is more than adequate to the genre he choses. I rooted and cheered for Adam in the finale as much as i did for JAMES this year. I think Adam was not the winner because of his sexual orientation (prejudice) as much as James for facing off the producers (including for his friends, when Casey wanted to sing “Nature Boy” and people told him he should get the boot righ away for battling Iovine) for his genre and for his disability (therefore prejudice again). I am a rocker chick, that’s why i chose JAMES, BUT I THINK A POOL LIKE THAT ONLY INCITE CYBER WAR AMONST FANS OF TWO AMAZING SINGERS. I THINK ADAM’S FANS AND JAMES’ FANS SHOUD UNITE AGAINST THESE “FABRICATED SINGERS BY RECORD LABELS” WHILE BOTH ADAM AND JAMES ARE SO OVER THE TOP, SO ORIGINAL, SO UNIQUE IN THEIR DIFFERENT STYLES. Remember that they met and cleared the air and said this comparisons are senseless and have nothing against each other: WHY SHOULD FANS OF EACH ARTIST HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST EACH OTHER THEN?
In my opinion I don’t see much of a comparisson between the Adam Lambert and James Durbin. I was a fan of Adam’s way before Idol even started and ever since Idol I’ve become a much bigger fan of Adam’s! With James Durbin, he’s completely different, yeah he can sing but to be honest I was not much of a fan of his. I find anything wrong with him, but I’m just not into the whole Heavy/Metal type of music that he played on the show. When Adam Lambert was on the show my mouth dropped after every performance and he gave me goosebumps after ever high note that he sang. For this poll though who I would pick is the better “rocker”.. I would say Adam Lambert for sure because the guy can sing anything and everything!!
” For this poll though who I would pick is the better “rocker”.. I would say Adam Lambert for sure because the guy can sing anything and everything!!”
Um the poll question is “who is the better rocker” NOT “who is the most versatile”. Being versatile has nothing to do with being a rocker.
I’ll say this just once since it seems to be a sore subject with a few already. This poll was not created in incite a war between the fan bases. I personally like polls to see what people really think. Plus I get to see real numbers unlike the polls on T.V. – I appreciate also when people leave comments because I get to learn more about the artists as many of the the people commenting have taught me things just by reading their comments. That being said there are a few that will always try and tear down the other fan base or artist for some reason. As you can probaly tell, this website lets people express their opinions as long as they are not seriouly attacking someone to a severe degree or attacking someone’s race, religion, etc. – This is tue even if I am receiving negative comments as this poll seems to be getting. That is why this website is called Idol Smack as in smack talk. So people feel free to leave comments (as I always appreciate) just as long as it does not cross the line.
I dont really like this poll but I did vote here is my opinions on James Durbin vs Adam Lambert. I love James I have been a rock fan since rock became popular I am that old. James has the attitude the edginess and the voice for rock heavy rock and metal. Rock at its best is creative with artist pushing the envelope. I love Adams vocals but for me he is not rock he is pop electro and pop rock there is a difference.Adam has been trained almost to much for rock if that makes sense. Every time I have watched him he is skilled and almost to perfect and doesnt stretch or push boundaries. I am sorry Adam fans but the whole ideal of heavy rock and metal is to push boundaries to their limits for some they think a rocker is never in pitch when what they are doing is being creative and stretching the pitch its not really out of pitch if done right. I rarely have heard James out of pitch. Adam never heard him out of pitch but Adam interpretation has always left me saying very nice vocal very staged. I prefer organic a person who lets the music sing him in this James shines. He also will only get better. Adam is exceptional but not a heavy rocker to me. I could bring other rockers from AI into this but wont. There is room for both Adam and James in Rock neither one is a threat to the other. Both sing so differently that it should never be who vs who. Or who is better but about personal taste I have stated mine.
Finally someone here who actually gets it. Yes folks, Rock n Roll is not about “perfect technique” or should I rather say – accepted techniques. Rock is about rebellion – giving the finger to everything the system teaches including how to sing. James melodic sensibility is extremely creative, Adam doesn’t get it.
Execuse me, but you don’t think Adam pushed boundaries on the AMAs? Adam not only pushed sexuality boundaries, but he also gave the finger at the end of his performance. You don’t think Adam pushed boundaries playing at the Zodiac and other underground clubs. Adam also pushed personal boundaries while playing in Hair in Germany in his early twenties, going to raves and alternative clubs, and later year Burning Man. Adam’s favorite movie is Velvet Goldmine which is all about the rock life style. You don’t think Adam pushed any boundaries when he did his sexual version of ‘Ring of Fire’ on AI? I would also challenge you when it comes to who is out of pitch and who isn’t. Never heard James Durbin compared to rockers like Robert Plant, Steven Perry, or Freddy Mecury like Adam has. Slash, Meatloaf, and Brian May are just a few who have exclaimed about Adam’s singing range and how easy it comes to him.
LOL – Adam pushed more than boundaries at the AMAs. He almost pushed his career into the toilet. I don’t think his giving the finger at the end of that performance – a pop/electronica dance number – (and though written by Dr. Luke, it stunk and was pulled off rotation by RCA shortly after release) – was meant to be a statement about rock and roll. But it was incredibly stupid. ROFL! Every time I hear James bashed by a glambert for saying or doing something they think is stupid, I silently think to myself – what, the AMAs were a brilliant move??? I will give Adam credit for pulling one of the all time dumbest moves imaginable just prior to the launch of his debut album coming off of the family-friendly American Idol reality show. LOL!! He eventually recovered, but it cost his management and label a fortune. Velvet Goldmine is a movie, although patterned after the great David Bowie and his relationship with Lou Reed. What does liking a movie have to do with proving you are a true rocker? LOL .I absolutely love that movie – but that doesn’t mean anything beyond the fact that I love the movie. I think Adam is too smart to pattern his life after a movie! And Adam ripping off Dilana by performing her version of Ring of Fire on Idol does not constitute pushing a boundary. Dilana had already pushed that boundary. Adam just copied it.
This argument is so stupid. But it is getting very comical and entertaining! Oh and don’t get me started on Burning Man. It’s nothing but a week of drug-fueled fun in the Black Rock desert – kind of equivalent to Animal House in it’s own way. But there are no boundaries pushed – just removed for the week – along with clothing. LOL!! The merchants of Reno love it though because they make a ton of money off of the supplies people buy on their way to the Black Rock desert and the airport loves all the business they get from all the accountants who fly in for their one week of getting to see nude women without having to buy them dinner first! LOL!! Good old Burning Man. One man’s “psychedelic experience” is another man’s opportunity to make another mortgage payment!!! LMAO!!
Wow, Claire! You are one angry individual! You say this is a stupid argument (and I agree, because there shouldn’t BE an argument) … and then you go into full attack-mode on Adam Lambert, stopping short of criticizing his brand of toothpaste!
I’ll say it again ~ I don’t believe that those of you who are so critical and full of animosity are in any way beneficial to the artist you support. Fans should be supportive of their “idols,” but not to the point of destroying anyone perceived as a deterrent to that artist’s success! Both of these men have characteristics to be admired, and both have had a “rough go” for much of their lives — It must not be a cake-walk to be gay OR to have Aspergers and Tourette’s in this world (although thank goodness we live in an increasingly-enlightened time).
Can’t we just appreciate the hurdles these two talented men have “jumped” in order to be the artists they want to be … and which they have “conquered” in order to pave the way for others who have been similarly maligned?
I realize that I sound like a Pollyanna, but I believe that seeking “harmony” is so much more rewarding than trying to find fault. Adam and James are people, just as we are. They’re not impervious to hurtful rhetoric.
Oh Versalee, lah’s comments were just so funny I could not resist. Just giving lah a little reality check. Taking drugs and partying at a rave or at Burning Man is not pushing boundaries. It’s taking drugs and partying. Giving 10 million people the finger and grinding someone’s face in your crotch on live tv, especially the first time you are on national tv after being a contestant on a family reality show is not pushing boundaries – it’s just incredibly stupid. I’ve had some fun conversations with mild-mannered accountants while they were on board my plane on the way to Reno for their week of post-Woodstock drugs, free love and fun. Lah loves Adam no doubt. And that is fine. But the pushing boundaries argument was so OTT I couldn’t resist. Call me mean-spirited if you want.
Claire I think u have made u point many times. You don’t like Adam fine just let it go.
Adam is fine. It’s his fans I don’t like.
why
Wow it’s like I’m talking to an alien! Seriously you really need to stop now because you’re embarrassing yourself.
I’m gonna have to be blunt now cause it doesn’t look like you have a hope in hell of grasping this any other way:
Adam doesn’t know how to perform like a rocker, which is another reason why he cannot be considered a rocker. Not even Freddie Mercury humped the mic stand or groped dudes on stage. Everyone knew he was bi but NO true headbanger wants to see that (((((****edited****))))) on stage! Performing like a promiscuous slut is what pop princess like Britney Spears do, NOT rock gods like Robert Plant!
And as for the metalheads, they are even less open minded to those kinda stage antics. Rob Halford is gay too but to quote the metalheads themselves “he doesn’t act like a (((((****edited****))))) (((((****edited****))))) on stage!”. Adam’s performance of Enter the Sandman did not go down well with them at all, they said it was a disgrace to the genre (“Mic humping? That’s not metal you (((((****edited****))))) moron!”) and suggested that James Hetfield shove Adam’s head in the toilet.
About the iconic rockers you mentioned singing Adam’s praises:
They were praising Adam’s vocal abilities and NOTHING ELSE. That’s great but vocal ability is NOT the subject of this poll – this poll is about who is the better rocker not who is the better vocalist. This does not mean that they consider Adam a real rocker, in fact Judas Priest called James the real deal, and are still singing his praises because they feel he’s done so much for the genre. The Editor in Chief of Revolver Magazine agrees and tweeted in support of James almost every week he was on the show and continues sing James’ praises. And there’s no way in hell Judas Priest will ever share a stage with Adam, not if he’s gonna mic hump & grope dudes.
If I had to make a comparison, maybe I’d say it’s like Steven Tyler vs. Freddie Mercury. Freddie Mercury had a more perfect voice. Basically no one could compare. Adam Lambert has a gorgeous, amazing voice. He’s a fabulous artist through and through. But to me the answer to this lies in the question. It’s who’s the best “Rocker.” We haven’t seen that much of James yet, actually, so i’m not sure there is enough info to compare. But if I had to (and I don’t see why there’s a need), I’d say James is the better Rocker and Adam is the better vocalist. James just lives and breaths rock n roll and his voice melts. He enjoys his audience sooo much, that it’s simply contagious when he’s performing. James has a real soulful quality to his voice and to his performances that to me, fits a little better in the “rocker’ genre. And, I do beileve that Adam would’ve won Idol if he were straight. I just think manypeople who vote on Idol are probably in parts of the country that aren’t as accepting. He definitely earned that win, that’s for sure.
Ellie G. makes a good point in referring to Steven Tyler vs. Freddie Mercury. They had totally different styles but yet they were still considered rock. Some might say they were pop but in the early days they were rock. As far as Adam being more pop, I can see that but he has a rocker quality as well. I guess I may have a different standard for rock than others. Isn’t Air Supply considered hard rock? But seriously, I do not believe a singer has to do ultra hard rock like Metallica for them to be considered a rocker.
This is why I said its a matter of taste more then anything. Hard rock had many subgenre’s. When Hard rock was first out Steven Tyler,Freddie Mercury, Seep Purple, Uriah Heap and Edgar Winter band all were hard rock. Metal was Judas Priest, Black Sabath. Adam mostly would never be clasified as hard rock but rock, or pop rock. Unless his new album goes into heavy rock I have to listen to it when it comes out. James will be hard rock or metal or alt. rock.
Metallica is thrash metal. And the music Adam has released so far is not rock and he loves pop music and pop artists, rock is not where his heart is. Another thing is Adam’s music is never played on rock stations, that more than anything proves that the rock community does not consider him a real rocker. Queen & Journey aren’t heavy but they did and still get rock radio airplay. When Adam releases real rock music that gets played on rock stations I’ll start calling him a rocker.
Seriously people………………….IF YOU ARE A FAN OF EITHER ONE OF THESE ARTIST……………maybe the best thing you could do as a fan is NOT VOTE ! I am a die hard fan of JAMES and always will be . I ALSO voted my butt off for ADAM when he was on AI. I have my opinion but it is just that ………….my opinion…………..and to the ADMIN:…………………………. there are more and more people aware of this site with it’s polls being posted…….. and if this starts another Adam Versus James war then that is really gonna SUCK !!!!
It is seriously not fair to either if people start to get mad and THEY WILL ……for some reason when you put these two against each other PEOPLE GET ANGRY …………………..if you really want to have this question answered then do not allow people to comment ……..only Vote !!!
No disrespect intended to you ADMIN with that last post and if you do not want to post it I understand just hate to see that whole thing start up again …….way to many really bad remarks being twitted during that time and just want to see JAMES make it home to see his family before the war starts up again !!! He does have disabilities and does not deserve to fight a war he didn’t start .
TheRenegadewoman,
I took your comments as you just expressing your opinion and not as disrepect. I would have posted or approved the comments earlier but I was at the beach. I’m just now getting around to being able to check the website. Thanks for posting. I will always welcome all comments even if it is criticism of this website or me.
As for this being a war, I don’t think or at least I hope it will get aout of hand and start a war. Like the previous poll, people lost interst in voting after a few days.
You are always welcome to post here. I hope you feel like you can express your views here.
COMPLETELY AGREE WITH TheRenegadewoman:
This pool only incites war and HAS NO PRACTICAL PURPOSE other than stir fans of James and Adam in a war BOTH ARTISTS made question to FINISH personally and by Twitter.
Hey TheRenegadewoman,
You said that there are people that are aware of this site and it’s polls. I hope that is a good thing because the polls are just my way of being able to tell the whole truth. This way I can see all of the votes and even where the traffic is coming from (what country and even which state).
Also I’m not trying to start a war. I have repect for both singers. However, I have no control over others but like I said if someone crosses the line, their comments will not get posted. I for one do believe in people being able to express their opinions though.
I will even consider taking the comments away form polls like these but I have not made up my mind yet as I really like people to be able to interact. Hence the name IdolSmack.com, people should be able to talk smack but within limits. I also appreciate you suggesting the no comments idea to me. Believe it or not, I do try and listen to my clients/customers/readers.
Thanks,
Idol Smack Admin
Some seriously low voting numbers here so I would guess it means zip to nada either way…
objectively, a very good topic for discussion which deserves a much bigger space and exposure
although apparently still a sore subject for the fans of these two excellent performers… it’s a good subject because it makes us all finetune our thoughts about what it is exactly that makes us fall in love with our idols, and in a more general way what combination of qualities makes up the best singers of the young generation… i personally have huge respect and admiration for both of the singers because they are both insanely talented and artistically distinct in so many ways… and they certainly have much in common for us audiences – 1) both were eliminated from the show before their time (i personally tracked unofficial vote numbers during the final episodes of season 10 and can tell you with a big degree of certainty that durbin was not eliminated in a fair competition – his numbers were stronger than ever on the elimination week and lauren’s numbers were the weakest… i did not watch season 8 but common sense says that lambert should have won based on his immense popularity)… 2) both took the show by storm and literally and figuratively rocked it like no other before them… 3) both had an ‘overcoming adversity’ story to tell to the public… but in my opinion, durbin and lambert have more differences than similarities which both subscribe to… they have different artistic styles – extravagant lambert vs rebellious durbin; they have different focus on the music they produce – lambert tries a combination of styles and gravitates to a variety of pop while durbin does soft rock, hard rock and metal rock; lambert is being credited for being politically correct and durbin for being more straightforward and outspoken with their musical teams… i can understand why it seems that both lambert and durbin hate it to be compared to each other… they are both unique, you know? they really are…
as far as who is the best ai rocker is, no two opinions here, i’m sure… I liked lambert’s zep performance on the show, but, in my opinion, durbin is the first true rocker the show has ever had (daughtry comes to mind as well)… durbin has huge passion and high level emotions, one of the best rock voices in the industry history (unique bright and clear sound quality, better range than lambert and most of the current and past leading rock vocalists), sings with his heart, and aggressively goes straight after the hearts and souls of the audience… turns everything he touches into songs with a distinct and strong rocky edge (living for the city?, potion #9? what an amazing job!!!) and sings the whole range of rock… he came to ai with a mission to bring metal back and he leaves it with a mission to revive a fading art of vocals/solo guitar rock duet and return metal to the grammy’s… his karaoke zep from years ago on youtube is of a quality ai has not produced yet, in my opinion… don’t know about you, but i believe durbin is embarking on a most ambitious, difficult and noble missions that there is in modern music… and together with many other rock lovers i hope that durbin’s rare combination of confidence, talent, heart and soul – all as huge as they could only be – is a good omen for us and the future of rock music!!!
administrators, thank you for coming back to this difficult but soul searching subject…
Well said marina. It’s hard to add anything to what you said there. I will say this, I think James Durbin really captured a lot of people’s hearts. He has really touched people and has left a lasting impression on the wathers of Idol.
I think some of the Durbin fans are delusional. You go on and on about how Durbin is passionate and sings with his heart and goes after the souls of the audience. What kind of clap trap is this? You act as if Durbin is the only performer that loves what he does. How arrogant are you people to say Durbin has better range than Lambert and most of the current and past leading rock vocalists – are you kidding me? Adam has been singing for almost 20 years, don’t you think he is passionate about his music? You act as if Durbin is so edgy – how? For goodness sake, he sand “Love Potion #9″ – what a cop out? He wants to bring metal back – its never been gone! Metal is like a cult its not for everyone, it has a different vibe. James has a long ways to go to prove himself a metal rocker, singing one song with Judas Priest proves nothing.
i took part part in some of the previous debates on the topic and am copying my snapshot response of the moment that applies here… ‘James Durbin comes from more than a humble background, does not have special singing training or money supporting him through the show like many other contestants, but what he has is the same aching love for rock music as millions of us, authentic commitment to the genre, unbridled passion for metal, unimaginable talent in making rock songs that audiences love from practically anything, bleeding heart, artistic honesty and respect for other performers and his fans. That’s how he’s grabbed our hearts forever…’
I hope my earlier post wasn’t seen as divisive — I was sharing my opinion, but I realize in retrospect that I got a bit carried away with my praise of Adam Lambert, and lost track of the SUBJECT of the poll! This is, you might have noticed, a fairly common phenomenon among Adam’s fans (Hahaha!) — We tend to lose our objectivity at the mere mention of the artist we (obviously) find so exceptional!
So … back to the SUBJECT of the poll ~ Who is the best rocker? I would have to agree with Ellie G., who feels that James is the better rocker of the two, and Adam the best vocalist. Although … if you listen to Adam’s take on Whole Lotta Love, Born to Be Wild (both from Idol) and pre-Idol songs he performed with The Citizen Vein (with Monte Pittman), youmight think we have a contest. And, BTW, I don’t agree with the person who said Adam’s voice is too highly-trained for rock; It sure didn’t hurt Freddie Mercury. I think there’s room in the genre for both the “scruffy,” undisciplined voice AND the trained one.
Versalee,
Your comments did not seem devisive to me and maybe I should have stated how Adam Lambert was versatile because he was and is. Adma was incresible on ameriacan Idol. Not many people catch my attention but Adam did. An yes, freddie Mercury was well trained. Not many people know Freddie’s ties to opera. This was one of the greatest influences on one of Queen’s biggest hits Bohemian Rhapsody.
I’m glad you brought that up.
I dont think Adam is to trained I am not sure I am one said that. Because I am not sure what the word I need to use for me rock has to be creative on stage as well as off. That means less staged in that it needs to be able to change from performance to performance. When Adam sings rock I know exactly what I am going to hear and how he is going to perform from concert to concert just like I would buy a recording. This is the biggest difference btwn James and Adam with James he is going to sing to the people in that arena or concerts he will adapt chg the song to fit the crowd. For me this is a Rocker they are willing to be creative on stage and make mistakes or make something epic. Each performance will be different in some way. Yes Freddy Mercury was trained but if you went to his concert you were not going to get exactly what you heard on the recording he adapted to the crowd.
Evidently, you haven’t attended any Adam Lambert concerts or you would know he changes up his songs all the time. In fact, in concert many of his songs have more of a rock feel to them. Adam also adapts to the crowd and vibes coming from the audience and changes things up accordingly.
I hated to see this poll too because this has been debated to death, and I personally think they are both very talented. The difference to me though, is although I was rooting for Adam to win in season 8 and was amazed at his singing ability, I have no interest whatsoever in him post-Idol. The singles I have
heard of his I have hated so far. But I think a lot of that is his style – he is way too pop for my taste. He’s also way too “polished” for my taste, if that makes any sense.
Not only do I love James’ voice, but I love his personality. I feel like with James, what you see is what you get. There is no front put up for the viewing public. It’s all raw emotion and brutal honesty – he is completely himself and I love that. And you can also tell music is his life. I think that’s what makes him such a fantastic performer – his passion is contagious to everyone who is watching him. I also agree with Alex above who said James is the only true rocker AI ever had. That is completely true. If you don’t agree with that statement, then you know nothing about real rock music. That’s why I could never understand the Adam/James comparisons to begin with, since to me they are completely different in every single way. Just because they can both hit high notes doesn’t mean they are anything at all alike.
Again, I COMPLETELY agree:
This pool only incites war and HAS NO PRACTICAL PURPOSE other than stir fans of James and Adam in a war BOTH ARTISTS made question to FINISH personally and by Twitter.
“I also agree with Alex above who said James is the only true rocker AI ever had. That is completely true. If you don’t agree with that statement, then you know nothing about real rock music. That’s why I could never understand the Adam/James comparisons to begin with, since to me they are completely different in every single way. Just because they can both hit high notes doesn’t mean they are anything at all alike.”
Thank you Kerry, glad someone here gets what I’m saying. Bottom line is Adam is not a rocker, so pitting him against James is totally meaningless. I don’t care about Adam’s Whole Lotta Love cover, or that he’s versatile or he’s an incredible singer (which he is), because none of these things make one a rocker. Adam doesn’t do rock music, he does electro-pop music. He loves pop culture, pop music and pop artists, rock is not where his heart lies and you cannot be considered a rocker if you don’t have passion and dedication for the genre. And again, his music doesn’t get rock radio play which means the rock community does not consider him a real rocker.
Once again I’ll revisit the Michael Jackson comparison. MJ was an amazing singer, though Adam is an even better singer. MJ was incredibly versatile, he sung a variety of styles throughout his career (gospel, Broadway, disco, pop, R&B), as can Adam. He was an incredibly flashy and entertaining performer, as is Adam though Adam isn’t as good a dancer. He could also sing rock really well (Beat It, Dirty Diana, Black or White, Give in to Me), but he wasn’t a rocker, he was the King of Pop. Likewise Adam can also sing rock really well, but that does not make him a rocker.
IOW it’s not a matter of what Adam can do, it’s a matter of what he is and Adam is exactly the artist he always wanted to be – a versatile pop one man showman a la Michael Jackson. And good for him, it fits him well and he’s happy doing that, maybe he’ll eventually have success comparable with MJ and achieve legendary status in the pop industry, he’s certainly talented enough.
James on the other hand bleeds rock n roll, he’s artistically rebellious, a raw, aggressive and uninhibited performer, and an incredible vocalist. His range is extremely rare, his high register is so stratospheric few others can equal it (Adam is not one of those few). His ability to shape the melodic line is phenominal for someone so young and with so little formal training. He makes the songs fit his style, there was never any doubt what kind of artist James always wanted to be. And James is truly passionate about his genre, not only for his own career but for the genre in general, Adam couldn’t care less.
Give an example of how James Durbin is artistically rebellious? Maybe your referring to the song he wrote about whores? I agree that he is raw and agressive. I’ve haven’t seen evidence of uninhibited – what proves that he’s unhibited? How are you an incredible vocalist and raw at the same time. You state that he makes songs fit his style, but thats because he has only one style. Why do you assume that James has more passion for his music genre and his career than Adam Lambert. Adam has been working at his career/music for almost twenty years. Remember both James and Adam started in musical theater. I would bet that Adam is just as passionate about music as James. What has Adam every done to make anyone feel that he isn’t passionate about his music? Adam loves music and is involved in every aspect of it.
Everyone might want to remember that James Durbin started out in theatre as a teenager. He has also received a year of vocal training. There are some similarities between them.
Durbin isn’t the only true rocker Idol’s ever seen – Daughtry and David Cook each did pretty well. I like to call them the 3-D Rockers! \m/ \m/
lol
Adam can sing ROCK and much more.
James sing Rock. And he doesn’t need more.
They are both so different.
james is the better rocker because rock is dead. adam is the better singer, performer and with better staying power.
Rock is dead? Are kidding me? Did you know that the world’s largest and highest grossing music festivals are rock festivals? And do you have any idea how huge rock & metal is in many countries outside the US, especially in Europe, Asia & Latin America. Oh and the classic rock acts like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin are still selling today and most of them still tour to this day. Rock n Roll will NEVER die.
The only thing Adam Lambert and James Durbin have in common is that they both stood on
that American Idol Stage. That’s the extent of it. Durbin shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence or breath as Adam. Adam is in such a higher league. I hope I never see another one of these Polls trying to compare someone like Adam to someone like Durbin. It starts fan wars and it’s done for hits.
Adam has more Talent,Class,Charisma and Style in one of his eyelashes than the other guy ever dreams of having………….
Truth Be Told… O_____O
Adam is better in every possible way .. No question!! and I hate that this poll even exists comparing the two … There is no comparison. James can’t even stay on key half the time he dresses sloppy and his attitude is atrocious.
Anyone who has ever seen Adam do 20th Century Boy or Whole Lotta Love live would not dispute that Adam is a true rocker when he wants to be. I think it is ridiculous to say that true rockers don’t have to sing in tune!! All the best could of them could SCREAM in tune!
Any way..I also think Chris Daughtry is way more of a rocker than James..
I understand that you want to know the truth administrator. But this is the kind of thing I am seeing all over twitter right now from fans who want to make sure their idol wins. This is nothing but fanwaring at this point and it loses it’s legitimacy if it becomes a campaign. I will leave the name of the tweeters off but here is what is going on at twitter today regarding this poll. I will try and find them from fans of each of the aforementioned but so far I’m only finding one side. And I sincerely hope the other side does not engage:
WTF and l see Durbin is winning! idolsmack.com/blog/james-dur…
WTF!!!!!! Glamberts look at this and VOTE!!! http://www.idolsmack.com/blog/james-durbin-vs-adam-lambert-%E2%80%93-who-is-the-better-american-idol-rocker/james-dur…
James Durbin vs. Adam Lambert – Who Is The Better American Idol Rocker? – goo.gl/ZLO8d via @Shareaholic R they Kidding ME! ADAM #VOTE
WHAAAAAAAT??? VOTE GLAMBERTS! http://is.gd/cPvM8C
Poll w/ AL vs.JD & Durbin is winning! GO! Glams!!! idolsmack.com/blog/james-dur…
“whats that bull? i mean REALLY?! RT Glambertoo1: James Durbin vs Adam Lambert Who is Best AI Rocker..? http://www.idolsmack.com/blog/james-durbin-vs-adam-lambert-%E2%80%93-who-is-the-better-american-idol-rocker/james-dur…
REALLY—> WTH http://www.idolsmack.com/blog/james-durbin-vs-adam-lambert-%E2%80%93-who-is-the-better-american-idol-rocker/james-dur…
This BS: AL or JD! GO! http://www.idolsmack.com/blog/james-durbin-vs-adam-lambert-%E2%80%93-who-is-the-better-american-idol-rocker/james-dur…
Strut__Laady Jill
!! RT @AdamLambertRUUA Adam Lambert vs James Durbin? is.gd/cPvM8C
So this is not all of what is on twitter right now – just a sampling of the last hour. I truly understand that you want an honest poll. But when it becomes a fanwar and a campaign it loses all of that – which is what has happened. : (((
Thanks Claire .
HUGE SURPRISE !!!!!……….Thanks for posting those comments !
“Here We Go Again”…..how fitting !!
I don’t see anything bad in those tweets? I guess the author of the poll would like the fans to come vote, otherwise what is the point… lol. Why wouldn’t fans want the idol they like the best to win? Everyone seems pretty tame in the comments so no big deal. Go ADAM
J. Taylor, you are probably right. I was just playing it safe.
The tweets were tame. My point is that the administrator claims to want a fair assessment – which would mean the opposite of a campaign to get all the fans here to make sure whomever their personal favorite idol is wins. It is, according to said administrator, an opportunity to see what people really think. But all this has turned into is another contest where fans whip up their Idol’s fan base in order to “win” another one of these stupid online polls. What meaning and knowledge can one possibly derive from that?
Yeah … I’m thinking a few things —
(1) Whenever there is mention of Adam (especially in any kind of comparison), there are just naturally going to be lots of responses — He just naturally generates opinions, passion and controversy. That’s just a given.
(2) These comments ARE relatively tame — There’s really no reason to go overboard with the attacks and name-calling. I, for one, feel I’ve kept my comments at an acceptable level — I’ve made my opinion known, while not trashing the other in the “poll.”
(3) Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t think the administrator was trying to kick off a fan-war. He’s just a savvy guy who knows how to generate interest in his blog!
(4) I would never get “ugly” when supporting someone I’m a huge fan of — I think we (as fans) are “ambassadors” of the objects of our admiration, and what we do and say is a reflection on them and their reputations. I know there are “crazies” in any group of fans, but I’m responsible for myself and my actions, so I put out there only what I’m proud of.
Thanks for saying that Versalee. In fact, I’m not even sure why it becomes a war. People should be able to separate themselves to some degree. However, I am now aware that people will go to great lengths to protect their favorite singer/performer/artist. I can tell this by the way they pour their hearts into their comments. That is very evident to me. Plus, I would like to let everyone know, I am new to all of this. I just started learning how to build a website at the beginning of this year and this website is only a few months old so I am the one that was naive. I had no idea that fans would be this passionate about their favorites. I’m aware now! This is a definitely learning experience for me.
Versalee,
You are a rare Adam fan (at least among the very vocal ones) in that you understand your role as an ambassador and I applaud that. I sincerely believe that most of his fans are like you. Unfortunately, and thankfully it is not showing up too much in these comments, many of his very vocal fans are more than over the top, they have been stunningly cruel and vicious in their attacks on James. I can only speak for myself when I say that I recognize Adam’s exceptional talent, although I prefer James. And I know that there are some mean-spirited James fans (and one in particular that I participated in getting off of twitter). But the level of vitriol blasted daily towards James from so many of Adam’s fans was nothing short of stunning to me during the American Idol 10 season. It’sleft a bad taste in my mouth, as well as most James fans that I know. And, right or wrong, it has colored mine, and many others perceptions about Adam in a very negative way. I know the next thing out of someone’s mouth here is going to be, “you can’t blame Adam for the behavior of his fans.” Yes, I know that, but it doesn’t change the fact that it has an affect on how I, and how many of us who once considered ourselves fans look at Adam now, which is a shame. It won’t affect him or his record sales in any way. But he definitely lost me as a fan and many others that I know. I threw out my FYE CD and will likely not ever attend one of his concerts again. His fans are exuberant, yes, but I will never forget the level of cruelty and viciousness they displayed – it was that stunning. I simply cannot align myself with a group like that in any way. It seriously made me nauseous.
So, I think Adam’s more over-the-top fans should sit up and listen to you and learn how to behave from your example.. It does matter. The Glamberts have garnered an ugly reputation for being bullies. Passionate, yes, exuberant, yes, bullies, yes. The craziest most recent example was when Adam Levine said he had not heard ‘What Do You Want from Me” before and thought a contestant on The Voice must have done a better job than the original artist. There is no problem pointing out Adam’s version and voicing an opinion about it. But the level of vitriol hurled at Adam Levine was insane. Here he is, one of the most successful singers out there right now, and he is apologizing on ‘E’ to get the crazy glamberts off his back. I read many a tweet from glamberts celebrating their “victory.” To me, this is ridiculously over-the-top. I’m sure many glamberts feel they did the right thing. But honestly, they would jump off a cliff if Adam asked them.
So, this is all my opinion, of course. I can only really speak for myself, although I have a large community of fellow James fans that I communicate with regularly, so what I say about their feelings have a basis in reality.
My hope is that at one point in time, the names James and Adam can be on the same page without inflaming their fans. In the meantime, I will enjoy James’ music and be a happy little camper.
And the campaigners gain ground. Heaven forbid they could ever let their Idol lost anything to their enemy James Durbin, Sorry admin…this is the sad truth of what happens when you pit those two against each other:
Adam wining by a lil bit!!! Vote plz Glamberts!!! “@AZGlamFan: Poll w/ AL vs.JD & Durbin is winning! GO! Glams!!! http://www.idolsmack.com/blog/james-durbin-vs-adam-lambert-%E2%80%93-who-is-the-better-american-idol-rocker/james-dur…”
Rock is a crossover genre for both. Durbin claims metal as his preferred genre, Lambert claims pop as his. They didn’t compete on idol and don’t compete in their real world careers so these lingering asinine comparisons and stale idol-related polls benefit neither of them.
Carry on with your moronic chattering and vote, vote, vote! Adam and James are biting their nails waiting for the victor to be announced so it can be added to their wikipedia page.
Dee12
WELL SAID !!
LOL!
WELL SAID!!! I’m a fan of JAMES & ADAM …two totally different brilliant entertainers…if I had to make a choice it would be JAMES…also remember that Adam has had a 2 year or more start as far as fan bases go, so therefore you know there will be many more fans of Adam voting…I know people will be flocking to JAMES’ concerts for years to come as well as ADAMS…
James is in no way a brillant entertainer. Where is the evidence of it? Until I see Durbin on tour packing in the arenas I’m not buying it. James has no style, he is all over the place on stage, with his music, and in his interviews. Remember, James stated he would be headlining and not be on the sidelines as a beginning act paying for his own tour. I’ve never hear anyone in the business state James is a brillant entertainer or singer. Who has he everybeen compared to? They mention his passion for metal but I don’t recall anyone comparing his voice to any great rockers? How can anyone state James Durbin is a better rocker before he has a chance to accomplish anything.
Rob Halford compared James to Sebastian Bach, one of the greatest vocalists in Hard Rock/Metal. Zakk Wylde loves and praises James Durbin. Mike Portnoy adores James too.
You might not think he’s brilliant, BUT there’s a lot of people out there who would disagree with you.
I think James is incredible and talented. I also think Adam is incredible and talented too.
OK admin – I’m just going to keep posting these so you can see what goes on when you pit these two against one another. I was hoping the Durbinators would not start and just let the glamberts have their fun. But one started. Thankfully only one so far. But here goes again: (and I don’t care about deleting their twitter names anymore – too much work)
((((Edited by Admin not to show Twitter name))))
Please vote for Adam!! idolsmack.com/blog/james-dur…
((((Edited by Admin not to show Twitter name))))
DURBINATORS!!! Vote FOR JAMES DURBIN!!!!!!!! idolsmack.com/blog/james-dur…
((((Edited by Admin not to show Twitter name))))
Poll: James Durbin vs. Adam Lambert – Who Is The Better American Idol Rocker? idolsmack.com/blog/james-dur… – Vote Adam Lambert.
((((Edited by Admin not to show Twitter name))))
Glamberts: It’s voting time again!! Adam has 57% James 43%…we need to increase Adam’s lead. idolsmack.com/blog/james-dur…
And this nonsense will continue until you close the poll. There is absolutely no way to get any real assessment when this goes on. And it probably will never be possible as long as these fans are so determined to win no matter what.
Hey Claire,
Thanks for posting. I did edit the names because I am a little unsure to post the Twitter names. There is probably nothing terrible about posting the names because they can go to the links and see but I was not sure enough.
I also thought this poll was dead. I had no idea that it would jump again.
I agree – this whole article and poll should be deleted. I really am disappointed to see it here. I thought this site was better than another I used to frequent, and now I’m not so sure . I hate anything that encourages hatefulness toward any of the idols because they are all talented in their own ways. This kind of thing always starts out okay, but ends up getting really, really nasty. You’ll see…it ‘s coming…soon the comments here will turn really hateful toward James. And I mean REALLY hateful. It happens every time.
Stupid site just seeking hits.
WOW!!! Fans of these two brilliant entertainers are letting the media once again pull their strings!! This is why I will not vote…I know who I believe is best and no one will change my mind!!!!! The Media has taken Adam’s & James’ comments out of context many times….WHAT A SHAME!!!
Hey Michelle, Not really. This is just a website. I can understand your point but I’m not really the media. The media is does their story because it’s their job. This is not my job. I just wanted to clarify. Thanks for posting.
cont.,,,I hit “post” before ending comment…..there will be alot of people coming to this site because of reading of this contest and also friends telling them to vote who have never been to this site before…is it “ratings” week so that you need to stir up stuff just to show proof that you have more “hits” than the other websites….this is amazing….and not in a good way…
Hey Michelle,
I’m not sure how some kind of ratings week would have an effect on me. I have no idea what other websites get as far as “hits”. Really, I don’t. So I’m not trying to compare to other sites. I guess that stuff goes on and that is a valid guess on your part but this site is not geared towards that. Thanks again.
Oh please Adam Lambert is a way better singer of any genre than James Durbin.
As for James being more rock oh fooey to you who think so. Adam had a rock band long before Idol.
He just knows what is selling now and what he needs to do to get a hit record. In case you haven’t noticed Heavy Metal is DEAD!
I wish it wasn’t as I enjoy rock and metal more than pop-electro but it is what it is.
If any artist wants radio play they need to give the radio stations what will be played.
I like James enough and wish him well. I may even buy his music. But as far as who is a better singer, Adam is plain and simple.
No offense to the members of Citizen Vein and to Monte, but that band was absolutely horrible. I’ve listened to many a youtube of them.
Adam can sing anything, he has a beautiful, well-trained voice. But he is not a rocker, and as much as I absolutely hate to agree with that a**hole Gene Simmons about anything, Adam has a Broadway-style voice, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.That is not at all a put-down. It transfers beautifully to pop and pop/rock. When he sings rock he wastes his instrument – which should be heard. I thought his best song on his CD was the melodramatic Soaked, and it was sung in a Broadway style.
This silly poll is about but who is more of a rocker., not who will sell more albums or have hits on pop radio. James is a rocker through and through. That does not mean that Adam can’t do justice to a rock song. He is a better, more controlled singer overall than James. Just not a better rocker. And yes, I’ve seen all of the youtubes and heard him live singing the same songs that everyone likes to use as examples. He does a fun, rollicking, and good Whole Lotta Love. I personally didn’t care for his rendition of 20th Century Boy. For me, it just was not special at all.
I don’t know why this silly fan war goes on and on. I’m sure that many people will not agree with my assessment and that is fine. But I stand by my assessment. Both are excellent singers and performers. Adam has a beautifully controlled voice that can sing many styles but is best on slower numbers that allow the lushness of his instrument to emerge. His voice sounds thin when he is rocking hard. James, on the other hand, is in many ways the opposite of Adam. He is untrained, raw and gut wrenchingly emotional. And that is his strength. His voice is great singing rock ‘n roll.
I hope they both have long and successful careers, and that their fans will leave one another alone for the rest of time! Please never put a survey up like this again. It leads to nothing good.
Um… “Heavy Metal is dead”.. I think not. Just because it doesn’t get played on American Radio doesn’t mean it’s dead. You go to Finland and guess what is considered mainstream… Heavy ‘((((word edited))))’ Metal. If this country would stop being so prejudice, we’d hear some Metal on the radio. When James does bring back Metal to radio, it’s going to do to Pop/Dance what Kurt Cobain and Nirvana did to 80s Metal. There is no autotune in Heavy Metal for one. Two, it’s different.
Before ppl go and spew there “Metal is dead” crap… maybe they should get their facts straight first. I can’t stand ppl who know nothing about Metal saying stuff like that esp. when it isn’t true.
I could care less about the poll, this is me defending Heavy Metal.
I just find it amusing that so many people on this website has said that Adam Lambert is not even a rock singer and that he is more pop. Yet he is leading the voting for the best rocker between him and James Durbin. Does anyone besides me see the irony here?
James doesn’t need to lead a silly poll to show that he’s the best.. The same goes for Adam. I think they’re both amazing and talented in their own ways.
I think James is an incredible singer. His sound doesn’t bother me at all because that’s what I’m used to listening to. I’m so thrilled American Idol finally had a Heavy Metal idol on their show.
I love that Adam and James are so different. That’s why I love them because they’re unique.
This poll is just for entertainment purpose and some are taking it too seriously. I’ll admit I’m obsessed with Adam, but my obsession with him hasn’t blind me or made me so deaf that I can’t appreicate James Durbin too. Say what you will about James, but he’s going to be around for a long time.
RockMusic4ever…..Could it be that Adam has a larger fan base at the moment because he has at least a 2 year start on James so therefore more fans to vote…James will also develope a hugh loyal fan base such as Adam in time.
I love JAMES & ADAM…2 BRILLIANT different entertainers….I do love James more though…Adam has been around for several years & James is just beginning his journey. IMO people will be flocking to these two awesome entertainers concerts for years to come!!!
LOL – given that Adam’s fans are tweeting how important it is to win this life and career changing affirmation of superiority, it’s no surprise Adam is winning. It comes down to this 1) it’s dumb and James fans know it – on most fan sites I frequent they say these polls, and this one in particular, are meaningless and they refuse to participate. Yes, you don’t have to say it. Save your breath – I know that I am here anyway. 2) Adam Lambert is established with a large fanbase and over 1 million followers on twitter. When his fans decide they want Adam to win a poll and start tweeting one another to vote, if Adam doesn’t win the poll something is wrong. It has nothing to do with who is better at what. It could be about who is better at polka music and if Adam’s fanbase felt it was important to win the poll his fans would mobilize. In the end it means absolutely nothing given how these things work. Nothing against Adam, his fans are just …well….intense about him. Add to that there are a number of them that absolutely hate James for whatever reason, and that intensifies their drive to win a silly pointless poll. So have at it – hahaha – and have fun! Doesn’t change the fact that James is a better rocker. But really who cares, they are both good at what they do.
And to prove for once and for all that Adam is not a rocker:
“That is just not accurate. The Citizen Vein was part of Adam’s experimentation with writing music, and he and Monte did write a lot of stuff together, but the band itself didn’t have a ton of real gigs. Adam said in an interview that it just didn’t come together. In the same time frame that Adam was writing with Monte for Citizen Vein, he was also writing flat out pop songs like Kiss and Tell, Pop Goes The Camera, I Got This, and lots more. He also worked with Fonzerelli on various club remixes.
Heck if you look at the songs Adam actually performed on Idol, he sang just as many pop songs as rock songs, possibly more depending on how you classify them. His old personal myspace which accidentally got opened up right after Idol for a few days had a huge list of fave artists that was crammed with pop. From the very beginning, in any interview where Adam was asked about future music he described it as a fusion of pop/rock/electronic. The idea that Adam gave up some great love of rock in order to pursue pop is revisionist history.
I’m sorry Adam loves pop and you don’t, that must suck if you’re a fan of his. But James is a really talented dude and it’s looking like he’s set to put out a rock album soon, so you will get your wish from him if not from Adam.”
http://www.mjsbigblog.com/james-durbin-tweets-album-deets-a-badass-mix-of-everything.htm/comment-page-3/#comment-1029667
love all of Alex’s comments, they’re so dead on.
Alex didn’t write that though, he just copied and pasted someone else’s comment.
Dont you see how bored people get?Nobody s voting. this poll exists MONTH now..and closes never ever!
If we were having a rock competition between these two I know that Adam would win! His voice has been compared to Robert Plant, Steven Tyler, Freddy Mecury, and his charisma to Elvis and MJ. He has received raves from Slash, Brian May, Meatloaf, and Smokey Robinson. Can the same be said for James Durbin? Every week we waited to see what Adam would do to a song. With Durbin people waited evey week to see what furniture he would destroy or whether he would cry or whine, or brag about something. Adam gave credit to people that helped him, James not so much. Adam always managed to get the audience involved with the song and standing at the end, Durbin had to always coerce the audience by yelling at them and getting down into the crowd and doing OTT physical antics. Some people called Adam’s high notes screeching, but no one screeches better than James did in “A Change is Gonna Come”. Adam has a sense of style, James has no style. James has a sad back story to gain sympathy, Adam did not. James auditioned the same year as Adam and didn’t get through. James stated it was because him and Adam were too alike and they had already selected Adam – do you really believe if they thought James was better singer than Adam and had a great back story they wouln’t have put James through? Oh, I know why they didn’t select James in 2009 – its because he didn’t have a baby with no diapers yet. I in a sarcastic mood, Sorry! If you love James or Adam just keep supporting them by buying their music.
Sarcastic mood or not………EVERYTHING you said in your first paragraph is ALL twisted around………you guys need to understand that no matter how much YOU LOVE ADAM ………………there are just as many people who DO NOT LOVE ADAM……AT LEAST NOT ANYMORE !!!…………….Get over yourselves and PLEASE , PLEASE, PLEASE…………………..ADAM LAMBERT is NOT………..I Repeat ………..IS NOT the best singer , or rocker, or ballad , or anything……………there are sooooooooooooooooo many wonderful artist out there and they have lead the way for the young one’s like ADAM and JAMES and all the ones who are coming next season and next season and next season…….get the point ? JAMES DURBIN IS A ROCKER………….END OF DISCUSSION…………WHO CARES IF ADAM CAN ROCK TOO………..HE DOES NOT EVEN CALL HIMSELF A ROCKER………..DOES HE KNOW THAT YOU GUYS DO…………….DOES HE CARE ABOUT THIS POLL………..DOUBT IT ………..JAMES WOULDN’T CARE EITHER BECAUSE………..HMMMM ………….HE ALREADY KNOWS HE IS A ROCKER AND DOESN’T NEED ANYONE’S APPROVAL TO BE ONE………LOL……..IF YOU ARE AN ADAM FAN THEN YOU JUST HAVE TO BE RIGHT THERE TO SHOVE ADAM DOWN EVERYONE’S THROAT , RIGHT…….WELL YOU CAN NOT MAKE SOMEONE LIKE HIM JUST CAUSE YOU DO…………..I VOTED FOR HIM LIKE CRAZY WHEN HE WAS ON THE SHOW, BECAUSE I THOUGHT HE WAS THE BEST ………..THAT SEASON………NOT FOR EVERY SEASON AND FOR ETERNITY……….LOL…..WOW YOU GUYS ARE JUST A LITTLE OVER THE TOP , YA THINK ????
HERE’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADAM FANS AND DURBIN FANS……………DURBIN FANS KNOW THAT JAMES IS A GREAT YOUNG MAN LOADED WITH TALENT…..WE WANT TO SEE HIM SUCCEED AND WE THINK HE IS AWESOME AND HE DESERVES IT !
ADAM LAMBERT FANS THINK HE IS ………..GOD……….AND ANYTHING THAT MIGHT POSSIBLE EXIST HIGHER THAN ……………..GOD………….!!!!
OPPS …..DID I FORGET TO MENTION I’M IN A……….SARCASTIC MOOD ……………??????
Adam cannot be compared to anyone!
I liked James in Idol becasue I prefer Rock but honestly his Ego got on my nerves, his unsexiness turned me off and the pitchiness was annoying. I never heard a bad note from Adam on Idol.
James did something to make Adam and Adam’s band mad. Adam doesnt like being compared to him as he shouldnt. Please delete this and everyone stop voting
what a silly question!
adam lambert is alwas the best…
no much sense arguing on the given topic… this was supposed to be a respectful discussion with fans sharing what qualities of their idols make them particularly star struck… could be interesting in another world… durbinators are not even participating in this poll because they know how painful this whole topic was for james when he suddenly found himself pretty much demonized after media started comparing him to adam and the ‘fued’ that never was just happened… to be fair to the facts from real life though, come on now!!!!… this is not a question about who the best singer or performer is, or who is most loved by the fans… this is a rock question and it needs to be answered the way it is asked… there is only one rocker here, and EVERYBODY knows who this is… adam can sing rock but he is NOT a rocker, never was and never pretended to be… it is the same as asking who the best country singer of american idol season 10 is – scotty or james – and expect that there may be two answers here… in spite of the fact that james did get awards for performing country, and he sang some country at the show, he and his fans could not possibly claim the title without looking ridiculous and out of the common sense zone… same thing with this rock question… james durbin ROCKS literally every single day of his life… adam lambert mostly pops these days and most days… what are we really arguing about????
not to mention durbin has announced release of the debut album in november, which is a ‘chemical romance’ type of music album he is doing with their producer (do you hear rock, rock , rock???) ; and gave an interview to ‘revolver’ magazine – metal rock magazine that is difficult to get into, btw, unless you are a true metalist; also talks about cooperation with judas priest, skid row; also reportedly impressed zak wylde with his passion and dedication to hard/metal rock so that he introduced durbin to black sabbath musicians, so who knows, maybe some cooperation there in the future as well…… but who does not know that already??? durbin is already widely considered and called by his recording execs a rock star… WHAT OTHER EVIDENCE DO YOU WANT???
and not to mention, James will be working with MICK MARS!
just adam lambert
.” His range is extremely rare, his high register is so stratospheric few others can equal it (Adam is not one of those few). His ability to shape the melodic line is phenominal for someone so young and with so little formal training. ” This statement in one of the above comments is simply not true.
Plenty of experts and forums have analyzed Adam’s voice and his usable range and the quality of his tone, and he is widely considered one of the best current male vocalists in ANY genre, with a very excellent range and power, and certainly of equal range and better quality than Durbin. None of them have shown interest in Durbin’s voice (except psuedo-experts like the one quoted above who know a few terms and throw them around) because his upper register is simply not singing, it is squealing and very unpleasant to listen too. He has a nice tone lower down, but that’s it. That said, you don’t need a pleasant tone to be a rocker, but it is definitely nice to have if you are a rocker (Steve Perry, Freddie Mercury) and certainly doesn’t prevent you from being a rocker. If Adam’s records are more pop/rock fusion, it’s a business decision. But when he performs in concert, he is WAY more rock on every one of his songs from his album. Anyone who has seen him live will know that.
I still believe this is a pointless poll – hopefully, Durbin will find enough success with Wind Up to have a nice career in music and support his family. I wish him luck and prosperity, just as many of the other Idol contestants are enjoying no matter where they finished on the show.
we know that adam is better
silly question. Idk who James is. AT ALL. and nobody in my country. REALLY. sorry, are you talkin bout THE VOICE? and ROCK? where is it? only Adam has it
I can’t believe that Glamberts are using hackers to boost their vote again. They did it on Twitter a number of times and are doing it even here. If you watched the voting pattern the last few days, you noticed that as soon as Durbin vote got close to 50% or over, Lamberts vote jumped by 300-400 votes within an hour or so, after that regular voting would go on until Durbin votes would get close to tipping the vote over. Are there no honest ways that Lambert can hope to be number 1 any more? Even at such a small venue as a blog? How pathetic and uncool!!!
LOL you sound paranoid.
Nathan, what’s comical is that Lambert fans have suspected fans of others in various polls of doing the same exact thing, and they have cited the sudden boosts in numbers of competitors — so crazy voting is certainly not the domain of any ONE artist! This is why I’ve always been against any voting that isn’t reasonably monitored (i.e., one vote per person … or 5, or whatever — but NOT an UNLIMITED number of votes!! For that reason I believe all polls are bogus … as are shows such as American Idol and all the others, which allow unlimited voting. The way it is now, these polls and contests are in NO WAY indicative of one’s popularity!
Can you imagine if we could vote an unlimited amount of time for the leader of our country?!? We have enough problems with our “one person/one vote” system!
Versalee, thanks for not giving me a hard time for even raising this subject. Unfortunately, this is not a laughing matter though, at least not for durbinators who met face to face with Lambert’s hackers on Twitter earlier this year with significant material and psychological consequences to the former. The result is pretty sad as many hard core durbinators I know have strong negative feeling about Lambert and his fans now, and point blank refuse to go anywhere close to such discussions as here. What you are saying probably explains how glamberts came up with the idea in the first place, but they are definitely using. Will tell you one thing though. Can’t vouch for everybody but Durbin’s fan base seems to be real interesting and different from everything I know. Most of his idol fans don’t believe in polls like you. There is a group that goes to polls but will stay away from glamberts or anywhere where it does not smell right. And then there are people who vote on twitter. It seems to me that international fans are voting for Durbin on this site mostly. I think highly of Durbin and hope his fans are not going to follow the road to hell. That means they are going to loose to hackers probably but somehow I feel it should not be a problem either for Durbin or his support group. He’s been a true inspiration to his followers in many ways and we all feel he is just in the beginning of his way to fame and glory, and we want to help him, not let him down.
ADAM LAMBERT IS THE BEST ON AMERICAN IDOL…
ADAM LAMBERT IS BETTER…
Just ADAM LAMBERT…
He is the best singer in the world.
.
.
.
I LOVE U ADAM…
adam lambert is better
Adam is not rock at all, he’s pop. So I don’t get this poll. He may be able to sing rock, but that doesn’t make him a rock artist. Just like James has won some country contests in the past – he can sing country but that doesn’t make him a country artist. So of course James is the better rocker. And Adam is the better pop singer.
I think adam lambert is better
its really stupet.adam is a superstar but james???????omg its enough.it makes me laugh.
adam is the perfect singer in the world,he is amazing,adam is the best but james is not very good,
he is just good but adam is the…I want to say he is realy PERFECT.
Adam… ah best!!! Adam… oa perfect!!!!!!! is that all you’ve got? It’s getting boring as hell and doesn’t add anything to the conversation. When will you guys start accepting the reality that Lambert (OMG?!?!) is not the only good singer out there, or that even he is not necessarily the best one. At least not to everybody. He is a talented and highly skilled performer, who would argue with that? I wish somebody put as much money that went into years of his singing classes in me, maybe I would start singing too? I used to listen to Lambert (before he decided to take the low road with Durbin), but Durbin actually made an impact by bringing new interests into my life. Here’s a piece of information I thought i’d share after doing some research about the voice range and voice quality. No emotions, just known scientific facts. So, whose voice has bigger range and whose voice is better? It’s not a one word answer, so don’t read further if you want an emotional statement to your liking.
Both sing in the male tenor range. First, definition of tenor voice: “The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C (A4) in choral music, and up to high C (C5) in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B♭2 (two B♭s below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C (F5)”. Now, from youtube and other published materials, the voice range is
Durbin C#3 – A#5 (2 octaves and a 7th minor)
Lambert Bb2-Bb5.
For those who don’t know the music notations, the range of both singers is practically the same based on the information out there. Mind you, there are many articles on Lambert’s voice, and just one on Durbin’s to date that I found, so his data may be upgraded in the future. Things that stand out here: 1) Both sing in the extreme low of the tenor range (Bb2 Lambert and C3 Durbin are half a tone apart); and both sing higher than the extreme high of the tenor range (Bb5 Lambert and A#5 Durbin are the same tone, which is 2.5 notes higher than F5 that only some of the tenors sing). So, cool down on the voice range, it’s a draw. However, range in itself is not the most important feature of the voice quality. There are also clarity and strength of sound, timbre, richness of tones, singer’s comfort zone in the range, which makes us like one voice better than the other. The clarity, timbre, richness of tones and especially comfort zone (the best and strongest sounding singing) is where Lambert and Durbin actually differ, which is why Durbin sounds like a classical tenor and Lambert not. Lambert’s comfort zone is below F5, his voice gets screechy and produces more strained sounds that get more characteristics of falsetto notes as he goes higher. Durbin, on the other hand, sings more comfortably around F5 than anywhere else. His perfect ‘Don’t stop believing’ is E5 (one note lower), ‘Living for the city’, ‘Uprising’, ‘Heavy Metal’ are G5 (one note higher), ‘Guitar gently weeps’ and ‘Maybe I’m amazed’ have A#5 notes that are in full modal voice, without any falsetto qualities. What it means is that Lambert is hitting his high limit with Bb5, while Durbin probably could train his voice to take even higher notes and expand his modal singing range. The Guinness record is waiting for the note F6, which is 4 notes and 6 semitones higher than his A#5. Durbin would win the tenor competition. His voice could also be trained for opera singing, which does not accept falsetto as ‘useful’. In this way, Durbin’s voice is actually close to Freddy M’s and especially Robert P’s than Lambert’s. Neither Freddy nor Robert used falsetto.
Very interesting. No wonder Adam made such a point of dissing James.
hey, guys, did you hear durbin sing skid row on youtube? with all due respect, lambert can’t sing like that. durbin releases high charge of emotions in his rock songs, and blends into the song getting lost there sometimes at the expense of ‘perfect notes’. but that’s exactly what rock is – raw emotions first, other things just follow
Now that was a music lesson.
Adam lambert is very nice
wOw! who can choose?! well,i’m in love with Adam but for god sake,it’s jAmeZ DuRbiN!
As for Adam winning the pool about being a better rocker, the reason is simple: 1) There are a heck lot of peeople, including Adam’s fans that have NO IDEA at all what ROCK and a ROCKER really are about!.2 ) Adam’s fans seem to the on their Iphones and PCs 24/7.
Grabbing people onto stage, coreographing sexy moves and smitten eye poses, tons of gel and performing on “alternative” clubs is SO NOT ROCKER!!!! Adam could sing AC/DC, Megadeth, etc and still he is not going to be a rocker.
Of couse, everyone who listens to Adam will praise his VOCAL ABILITIES that are undeniable. But Queen musicians and others that praised Adam’s voice didn’t SAY “He’s a Rocker”, “He’s the Real Deal”.
The main proofs of the fact Adam’s not a ROCKER is that metalhead don’t go to Adam Lambert’s shows. He is not interviewed or has articles in specialized Hard Rock/Heavy Metal magazines as “Revolver Magazine”, “Rock Brigade”, “Kerrang” to mention some.
However JAMES DURBIN is on these same magazines as a ROCKER, mentioned as a ROCKER, with blessings of his VOICE AND REAL ROCKER from no one less than Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Nikki Sixx, Mik Mars and Tommy Lee (from Sixx A.M. and Mötley Crue) Metal God of Guitar – Mr Zakk Wylde, Hardcore Superstar.
Oh, most of JAMES fans are also Hard Rock/Heavy Metal fans, or people that took into liking rock because of JAMES, I wonder why?!?!
As for “Heavy Metal is dead” or “Rock is dead”, the biggest most profitable music Festivals in the world aare Rock / Hard Rock / Heavy Metal festivals like Loolapalooza, Rock Am Ring, Wacken Festival, Monsters of Rock, Rock In Rio, as instance.
Among the shows with biggest audiences all over the world last year and this year (up till now) there was 30 Seconds to Mars, Rammstein, Judas Priest Farewell Tour.
BOTH ADAM and JAMES can sing anything. But the fact they can doesn’t mean they WANT TO. Adam doesn’t want to be a rocker, just LISTEN to his music, watch he’s stage props, choreography and antics. Without sexual prejudice, but kissing and grabbing other men on stage is so NOT rocker as you can get.
JAMES on the other hand, is all about being a ROCKER. He’s not the stereotypical rocker with long hair and “hell’s Angels outfit”, but all his stage moves are not choreography, they’re spontaneous, the backband, jumps and kicks, screams to the audience to stand up and sing along, carrying the mic stand… He’s likes Queen as Lambert, but his biggest influences are Dio, Hardcore Superstar, Kiss, Mötley, Archer and other bands that i’m sure are not in Adam’s influences or CD collection.
As i said, I still think this pool stirs war between Adam and JAMES fans.
But the context is not who is the BEST SINGER but who is the BEST ROCKER and other than Daughtry, Allison Inraheta, Carly Smithson and David Cook, the only other REAL rocker on AI and out of it is JAMES DURBIN!
PS: Lah is more to Lah-lah-lah-gaga!
ADAM LAMBERTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
This post from an Adam fan pretty much sums up the problem with Adam’s (dare I say delusional?) fans:
“adam is the perfect singer in the world,he is amazing,adam is the best but james is not very good,
he is just good but adam is the…I want to say he is realy PERFECT”
puleeeeez!
End of discussion for me on this subject. I will only get more annoyed with the crazy glamberts. I am sorry to all of the reasonable non-vocal majority of his fans. But the vocal minority are just so obnoxious they make you all look bad – and they don’t help Adam either. I realize that James has totally OTT fans too. But I’m not aware of any fan group that can top the glamberts for crazy.
Poof!
I have been a rocker since Elvis Pressley that is a very long time. The rockers that have come out of AI are Daughtry, Bo Bice, David Cook, Kelley Clarkson (was one went another direction), Alison Irahetta, Carly Smithson, David ‘Cook, James Durbin. Anyone can sing rock but to rock it is another thing. I may have forgot someone but I will tell you Adam Lambert is not a rocker. I said earlier that my sis thought Adam was but she since change her mind on that. Adam is an excellent singer he also has more experience and training then James. If you go to you tube and guitarmy videos you will see a very young James singing Zeplin. I think he was btwn 16 and 18 on these songs and you will hear a rocker singing rock songs. Like everyone has said James is rock. Jimmy Iovine said it best James is rocks love child and he is. I like Adam but he is at most pop rock for most rockers pop rock is not the best of rock. I remember Steven Tyler telling James dont get to poppy I know exactly what he meant. I would say more but I dont think it needs to be said.
ADAM IS A ROCK STAR ANYWAY!!!
I JUST CANT IMAGINE S.O BETTER THAN HIM
I gotta love fans of Adam. You are sure passionate! Maybe a little too much as most of the coments are based on “I love Adam”, “I love Adam” and… “I love Adam”, changing to “Adam is the best, let’s vote so he wins the pool”, “Adam is more versatile”, “Adam is perfect” (as far as I know, other than God, there’s no perfection), “Adam can sing anything” and the most hilarious: “Adam is a rock star”.
Adam is a star, no doubt, but DEFINITIVELY NOT A ROCKER, or a ROCK STAR.
Do you people that are Glambert go to a Rammstein, KMFDM, Megadeth, Saxon, Iron Maiden, Disturbed, Judas Priest, Hardcore Superstar, S.O.B., Mötley Crue, Sixx A.M., Destruction concert? I bet NOT.
Well, JAMES fans mostly go and, funny thing, people that go to these concerts, are knowing and recognizing JAMES as one of their own, meaning, hard rock/metal community accepts and states JAMES AS A ROCKER and this is what the pool is about.
Oh, and BTW, Who is the one Judas Priest’s Rob Halford said it was the real deal? JAMES. Who is the one Judas Priest’s Ian Hill said “we owe him a debt of gratitude for bringing heavy metal to the mass media”? The lad JAMES. Who is the one Nikk Sixx, Mick Mars and even Tommy Lee are into recording? JAMES. Whose pAerosmith producers and Sixx A.M. producer worked with during AI tour? JAMES. Who got a recording deal with a label directly focused on hard rock/metal – Wind-Up records? JAMES. Who made chief-editor that NEVER watched AI or any music competition TV program watch AI and cheer for a rocker? JAMES.
No matter how versatile, perfect, lovely, hadsome, vocally impecable Adam is. He wasn’t, isn’t and won’t be a rocker.
You need the ESSENCE OF A ROCKER, not only the voice to pull it off. and JAMES DURBIN HAS BOTH.
Correct on all points. And I have nothing else to add except that Adam doesn’t have a hope in hell of ever being a real rock artist, let alone a metal artist. Not after the stunts he pulled on AI, the AI tour & the AMAs, he’s permanently killed any chances for that.
OMG!! I agree with ya 100%
i agree with u Zenolia.well done!!!
im totally into adam lambert!!!
he is the best….no question!!!
adam is really what he is.!!!!
plz dont offence him
im just amazed to see them with equally votes!!!
frankly..
do u really think they are same???
Looks like this poll is about dead. The votes are 50/50 for Adama and James. I may as well shut it down.
Correction. It is 50/50 with James Durbin true fans not even bothering to come here prove the obvious. Based on this blog in particular, it’s clear that Adam is PERrrFECT, but James IS the real deal. Raw rock talent, an uncompromising passionate rock voice of the young generation. The best AI rocker to date. Maybe ever!!! We’ll see…
I believe that Adam is very very very better than James,He is very beautiful and sing very well.
Adam is a powerful singer and I love him very much,I hope that he is winner!!
plz compare their voice and how they sing.however adam is more famous and handsome but james has lots of talents for singing to0.we all saw james sang lots of powerfull songs.i think adam has many fans bcoz of his strange style not just singing go0d
but I like Adam becuse just he singing very good.
looks like adam is winning!!
so happy
didnt wanna see him in second place again!!!
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOve Adam Lambert
i love James Durbin
he is the best on American idol
Really? Who the ((((edited)))) cares?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPMX3RAMjoo
You know what? The best American idol rocker is David Cook and he actually won.
Hey watnext,
It looks like you took the time to post. I find it funny that you act like you don’t care but yet you posted something on this web page. That is sort of like someone saying they don’t believe in God but then use his name in vain.
i like james more than adam lambert and i believe that adam is better off!but james is not gay so i love him!!!!
adam pls don’t move ur tongue out of ur mouth when u shout!
james is the best r0cker
The things said in this blog about the two singers makes it so transparently obvious that it’s written by a James fan.
As I respect your opinion Fiona, you are not quite accurate in your statement. As I have written in a previous post a good while back, James is a great singer but I feel that I made an objective comparison between him and Adam Lambert.
Please see the post here: http://www.idolsmack.com/blog/is-american-idol-becoming-a-popularity-contest/
As some may think I am biased in one ay or the other, I try and see the strengths and weaknesses of all the singers. That may be tough for some fans to accept. There were a lot of great singers on Idol this year but if people ask them 5 or 10 years from now what the difference is in their skills, I would wager they would say that they were very raw when they were on AI and had learned so much over the years.
Anyway, I appreciate the comments. Thanks.
Who cares? Adam was asked by the greatest rock band of all time to sing with them. If that doesn’t give him credibility, I don’t know what would. Does this poll really matter?
if you really think the poll doesn’t matter, why even bother come here? unfortunately, glamberts have become known by assigning multiple capabilities to adam on an exclusive basis… is he is the best in whatever… noone else can even or should be even compared… it is an attitude that proves loyalty to your idol, but not necessarily the knowledge of the subject, in other words, objectivity… durbin’s whole heart belongs to his family and ROCK music, which he proves every day with what he says in interviews and what he sings… that devotion if nothing else is the highest measure for his fans and rock musicians that collaborate with him of his DURBINROCK personality…
So how come his fans didn’t buy his album? Only 28K?
I came here because I saw it on Twitter and can’t believe someone made a poll on this. Again, Adam fronted Queen. Roger Taylor said he had an one in a 100 million voice and his range was unparalleled. Brian said his voice moves him to Jelly. Music experts at Digital Dream Door ranked him as #2 of 100 Most Technically Skilled Rock Vocalist in the World, #1 Most Skilled Rock Vocalist of the Last Decade, and #12 of 100 Greatest Live Rock Male Vocalists of all time, #2 Best Live Vocal Performances of all time, #1 Best Vocal Performances of 2010and he’s in the top on many other lists there. These forums didn’t even put James anywhere on their lists, but they put Adam on their lists while he was still on Idol.
One thing I like about this comment (and I am not taking sides) is that Mandy listed credentials by other named professionals. It’s almost like a resume.
LOL Digital Dream Door is not an authoritive entity. And Brian May, Roger Taylor, Slash, Meatloaf, etc. praised Adam’s vocals and NOTHING ELSE. Not once did any of them rate him as a rocker. Again the subject of this thread is who is the better rocker not who is the better singer. Adam doesn’t have anywhere near the rock cred James has. You want credentials? Revolver Magazine, which is an authoritive entity, just named James one of the 100 greatest living rock stars, and I quote:
From Revolver’s Magazine’s website about the list of 100 greatest rock stars:
“…The “100 Greatest Living Rock Stars” list takes a no-holds-barred look at the rock arena and highlights those artists who embody rock and roll’s rebel attitude. Whether it’s the well-chronicled debauched exploits of Mötley Crüe or newcomer James Durbin bringing metal to pop’s biggest forum, American Idol, these artists have what it takes to stand out from the pack…”
http://www.revolvermag.com/news/revolvers-mega-100th-issue%E2%80%94featuring-the-100-greatest-living-rock-stars%E2%80%94on-newsstands-now.html
The magazine’s entry for James Durbin:
“No one did more to boost heavy music’s profile in 2011 than this former Dimino’s delivery boy. As a finalist on American Idol, he got over 30 million people to “give metal a chance” when he performed with Judas Priest. Before that, he played with Zakk Wylde and belted a Sammy Hagar tune. His debut album, Memories of a Beautiful Disaster features Mick Mars. No false idol here.”
Not to mention that for the first time this year metalheads celebrated a national “heavy metal day”, that would’nt have happened if it wasn’t for what James did on idol.
And unlike Adam, James actually makes rock music and as a result gets interviewed by some of the most pretigeous rock media like Nikki Sixx’s Sixth Sense radio show & Rockline. None of these entities are interested in Lambert because his music isn’t rock.
When Adam was on AI i was a big fan and thought he should have won.I got turned off with that stunt of kissing a man on stage.I have no problem with him being gay but don’t shove it in my face.That’s his personal life and i am fine with that but i really do not have to see his sexual antics on stage. When i look back at Adam’s performances and compare them with James on AI,Durbin wins hands down for me. When he sings he gives 150% and it shows..the passion,the love and comittment to his music. I find that Adams performance is just that a performance..Sometimes James is not perfect vocally like Adam is but i love that about him.Everything he is he wears on his sleeve…and it is always great to see someone that is passionate about something or the people in his life and that is James.You feel as if you know him..you form a kinship with him.And that is why this 59 year old woman is a Durbin fan.
well said, joanne…
Support your idol. Only 28K bought his album. Where are the rest of you?
LOL this shouldn’t even be a question…Adam Lambert is way better than the screaming Durbin. Please!
Adam has the talent..vocals…charisma…and is very well spoken. He is loved around the world and has over 1 million followers on twitter. I think there is no comparisons here! And I’m in my 50′s too. It’s all a matter of taste! And my taste is the real singer.
I really like James Durbin and rooted for him on AI, but I absolutely feel that Adam Lambert changed AI forever. Never before or since have I seen anyone who captured my interest and had me so hooked on watching the show!!! He had me mesmerized from day one!!! I was not impressed by his performance on the AMAs, but I wasn’t impressed by any of the other performances that night either. I continue to watch and follow Adam Lambert because he is so fascinating!!! That’s why my vote is for Adam Lambert in this category. He truly rocks for me!!!