American Idol's Adam Lambert is everywhere. The 26-year-old singing sensation graces the current cover of Entertainment Weekly with the headline "Adam Lambert: Shaking Up 'Idol.' " Over at ABCNEWS, the headline speculates whether the former theater actor will be the next Idol. Newsday, US Weekly, even the political blog the Huffington Post, all have long feature stories on the singer.
And if Google Internet search results are any barometer of who is going to win, then Lambert is a lock. As of Tuesday afternoon, Google Trends, a measure of search popularity, had Lambert's name eclipsing the other two competitors, Danny Gokey and Kris Allen, during the month of May by a factor of six.
In other words, Adam-Mania is running wild.
But will Lambert be able to maintain his edge in tonight's semifinal?
Lambert and the other contestants tonight will sing two songs -- one of their choice and the other at the request of the judges. While Idol typically keeps its song selection secret, the popular anti-Idol site Vote For The Worst as leaked three of the songs from tonight's play list.
In what could have the makings of another "Mad World" moment, Lambert will sing, "One" one of U2's iconic rock songs. Will Lambert keep it mid-tempo or slow it down like he did with "Track of My Tears," a few weeks back?
Kris Allen, according to the site, will sing "Apologize" by Timbaland and One Republic. That leaves sappy Danny Gokey to sing, yes, wait for it, "You Are So Beautiful." Vote For The Worst points out that everyone's favorite American Idol Taylor Hicks sang the same song on the same week three years ago. Hicks of course went on to win the show, then sold a whopping three copies of his album (well, it was a little more than that, but not much compared to other Idol winners.
Gokey, of course, was the early favorite to win the show after Idol endlessly told the story of how his young wife tragically died from a heart condition. But Lambert, with his heavy black mascara, earrings and ambiguous sense of fashion, shot ahead of the pack with his dynamo performances. Still, Lambert appearance offends some, leaving Gokey in a good position to win the show.
Allen too has benefited from the show's script. Producers frequently show his young gleeful wife in the audience, portraying Allen as American Apple Pie.
As for Lambert, who's live pre-Idol performances can be found easily on YouTube, no contestant in Idol history has sparked so much media attention before actually winning American Idol. Will it translate to votes with the American Idol audience? So far so good, but he's not getting any help from the show's haters. In protest to the show's concept of manufacturing stars on live television, the rebel Web site, Vote For the Worst is urging voters to back Gokey. Despite the alternative push, it looks like it's still Lambert's race to lose.
