- Title: JAPAN: Adam Lambert melts down Tokyo fans
- Date: 16th March 2010
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) REI FUJII, 7-YEAR-OLD BOY AND PARTICIPANT OF ADAM LAMBERT IMPERSONATION CONTEST, SAYING: "He looks great with his thick make-up."
- Embargoed: 31st March 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVABFOE9Y2OC4XH66UCFJTUPK16Z
- Story Text: Lambert, 27, took a flair for showmanship, powerful vocals and sexual ambivalence all the way to the finals of top-rated U.S. TV show "American Idol" last May where he lost the title to boy-next-door Kris Allen.
Lambert came to Tokyo on Sunday (March 14) to promote his debut album "For Your Entertainment," which hit record stores across Japan last Wednesday (March 10).
During the concert, Lambert manifested his flamboyant showmanship and style with emerald-colored glitters splashed over his head and metal thorns embellishing his shoulder.
Some two-hundred Japanese fans, dominantly female in 20's or 30's drew among 10,000 applicants through the internet and radio, waited hours before the concert began only to get a closer look on their idol.
"And, remember. Always believe in yourself and be free with who you are and who you want to be," Lambert, nominated for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's 2010 annual media awards, told raging fans.
Last year, Lambert told Rolling Stone magazine that he was gay following months of speculation.
Also staged in Tokyo was a impersonation contest where 15 men and women mocked singing and dancing of Lambert in front of him.
Once having competed on a similar stage, Lambert, however, was a judge that day, who gave all contestees big cheers and thumbs-up at the end.
"I burst into tears because meeting someone I admire was so amazing," said Kazuma Okamoto, a 20-year-old college student and the winner of the contest.
"He looks great with his thick make-up," a 7-year-old contestee who sang "What Do You Want From Me" acoustically told Reuters about what of Lambert attracted his young hearts.
One of the audience found the gay celebrity appealing to her with manliness.
"More than anything else, he's very manly. He's cool."
Lambert, a former musical theater performer nicknamed "Glambert" for his flamboyant showmanship and style including male eyeliner and black nailpolish, was considered a front-runner due to his strong vocals and creative rearrangements of well-known songs.
His racy performance at American Music Awards in November 2009 has sparked controversy as he kissed a male keyboard player and pushed the head of another performer into his crotch.
Complaints poured into the ABC TV network that aired the show watched by more than 14 million people, leading to the cancellation of Lambert's morning TV appearance but causing his album sales at the time to jump.
Released on November through Sony Music Entertainment, "For Your Entertainment" was No. 3 on the iTunes U.S. album chart during the first week of its launch and sold 553,000 copies in the U.S. by the end of 2009.
Lambert is scheduled to appear on Japanese networks' variety shows on Tuesday (March 16) and Wednesday (March 17).
ENDS. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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