Adam Lambert’s Fan Club: The Key to His Longevity?

What I Learned about Adam Lambert and His Fans

I’ve always maintained that practicing journalism, particularly in the contemporary form known as blogging, is as much a learning process as it is the dissemination of information and ideas. Writing any article or blog post involves collecting information about the topic at hand. And post-publishing, the gathering of knowledge continues through the interaction with readers. The beauty of blogging is the possibility of an immediate dialogue between author and audience. The process of reading becomes more than a passive pursuit. It is now an active contact sport, with the potential for learning on both sides.

I learned a lot from the massive response to my recent post on Adam Lambert. The main nugget of information that I picked up is that Lambert’s fans are an extremely loyal lot. Sure, you don’t go gold or platinum without holding someone’s attention, but if there’s no real passion there, success is likely to be fleeting. If fan devotion is any indication of an artist’s potential for longevity, I’d say that Lambert is in a good place. Judging from the response of his fans, I’d say that in addition to being loyal, they are also smart, well-spoken, polite and accepting. I was impressed by how intelligently and calmly they expressed their opinions, without resorting to hysteria or name calling.

I also gained further understanding of Lambert’s September 16 altercation with the paparazzo in Miami. We might never have all of the minute details of what went down between Lambert and the cameraman (only those present know for sure, and in true Rashomon form, there are probably as many different takes as there were spectators), but there are a few things we know for sure: 1) Lambert did diligently pose for photos. 2) The cameraman got out of line. 3) Lambert snapped. In interviews after the incident, Lambert has seemed contrite and somewhat embarrassed about his part in what went down, which says a lot about his character. As for the paparazzo, who claimed that Lambert assaulted him, he obviously has no case.

My amended advice to Adam Lambert would be to keep smiling for the camera. Never leave home without security. And always give props to the fans. They put him where he is, and they’ll likely keep him there.

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