It's Just a Little Crush...

I have a confession to make. I'm watching American Idol this season. Why is this a confession? Well, I've always prided myself on having never watched American Idol, ever.

I'm not completely sure why, except that it came out at a time when I was really hating non-scripted TV with a passion (I still do, but more out of principle than passion) and it immediately became THE big thing, which always turns me off.

So, I've held my head high all this time, like some kind of television elitist snob. (You know, the kind of snob who will watch daytime soaps, but not talent competitions! Aren't there a lot of us out there?)

Then one night not long ago, I turned on the TV. The plan was to fire up the Tivo and check out the day's shows, but before I could get to the menu, I stopped. There, on my TV, was a really gorgeous guy, singing beautifully.

Before I could even wonder what I was watching, the scene shifted to the all too familiar panel of judges, known even to those two or three dozen of us who haven't tuned in before. Oh, no. American Idol! I should have switched over to my Tivo menu right there, but I was entranced.

They cut off this hot guy's singing way too quickly and passed their judgement. I wanted to kick Simon when he said the guy was 'too theatrical', but all four ended up voting him forward to the next round and he was adorable as he told Paula she was his first pop concert when he was 10 and kissed her hand.

Who was he?! I had to know. It turns out, his name is Adam Lambert and he's been in the L.A. cast of Wicked as Fiyero for the last few years. He also did a musical on stage with Val Kilmer called The Ten Commandments (yikes!) about four years ago and was in the later movie version as well.

I took this info to YouTube, where I discovered several clips of Adam performing both on stage and at the Upright Cabaret as recently as New Year's Eve. I'm not entirely sure on this, but it seems like Adam may be openly gay. I say this because of the New Year's eve clip on YouTube, where he's talking to the audience about having kissed his female co-star in Wicked and that, even though it may not be his preference, it was still nice.

I know from reading blogs and such that while there have been people on the show that came out after the fact (Jim Verraros, who I loved in the Eating Out films, and Clay Aiken to name two) no one has been acknowledged to be openly gay while still on the show. I think it would be awesome if Adam was the first. Even better, if he went on to win the whole thing.

Needless to say, my crush intensified after my YouTube viewings and the next thing I knew, I'd added a season pass to American Idol on my Tivo. There, that's my confession. My name is Seth, and I watch American Idol. All those people I was secretly looking down on for no very good reason for the past seven years can now laugh in my face.

Even worse, I'll never be able to listen to Jay Brannan's song American Idol again without feeling like I've betrayed the sentiment behind the song! ("American Idol, get the hell off my TV")

Adam was barely featured in Wednesday's episode (the first I'd recorded), but he did move forward to the next round and I'll be watching as long as he's on. What can I say, he's really talented. Yes, he's also beautiful, but it was his voice that kept me from changing the channel when I first saw him.

If you haven't heard him sing, go to YouTube and search his name. In fact, follow this link for a compilation of several of his performances that are on the site, including the American Idol audition that caught my attention.