Adam Lambert - Ghost Town

Newly signed to the Warner Bros. label, the American Idol alum has released the lead single from his 3rd album The Original High. Produced by Pop wunderkind Max Martin, the song fuses Acoustic and Folk elements with 90s House. The deep bassline that comes in 1/3 of the way through the song is reminiscent of Marc Kinchen's signature sound which has recently made a comeback. Adam's vocals sound fantastic from the ballad sections to the uptempo sections. It's one of the strongest singles he has released in a long time.

Listen to the song here (YouTube)

Grade: A

Adam Lambert - Never Close Our Eyes (Remixes)

This is the second single from his Trespassing album. The Electro-Pop original is pretty good but an unusual choice for a single. Adam's vocals are wonderful as can be expected. The production feels a little generic. However, there are some remixes by Almighty, Digital Dog, and Sunship. Almighty's mixes are light and uplifting. Digital Dog's have a harder electro edge. Sunship's house and breaks mix is really fitting. The Sunship mixes are the best of the bunch.

Watch the music video for the original here (YouTube)

Grade: B+ (for the original)/A- (for the Sunship remix)

Adam Lambert - Better Than I Know Myself

This is the lead single off of his sophomore album Trespassing. Produced by Dr. Luke (known mainly for his work with Kelly Clarkson, Ke$ha, and Katy Perry), this song is a light Electro/Pop midtempo. It has some of the production cornerstones of Dr. Luke's work, however, this has a freshness that many of his productions have lacked during the few years. Vocally, Adam sounds pretty good. He shows a little restraint on this one opting not to show off his impeccable range. This one is a nice change from the full-on ubiquitous Dance/Pop sound of late.

Adam Lambert - If I Had You

There's another uncommissioned remix of Adam's third single, and it is by Trypsin & Billy Waters. For those wanting something a bit more circuit-oriented, this is it. They manage to maintain the fun vibe of the original while making it more club-friendly.This is really great.

Watch the remix video made by DJ DigiMark


Adam Lambert - If I Had You (Trypsin & Billy Waters Mix)(DJ DigiMark Remix Video) from DJ DigiMark on Vimeo.

Grade: A

Adam Lambert - If I Had You

This is the third single off of For Your Entertainment. "If I Had You" is and uptempo Dance/Rock/Electro track. It's a little edgier than the last single ("Whataya Want From Me"), but it's still good. There are remixes for this by Jason Nevins and Dangerous Muse. Jason's mix is his standard Dance/Rock offering. It loses some of the energy that the original has but it's still decent. On the unofficial side, there's a great mix by newcomer Bit Error. The mix captures the fun and energy of the original while making it dancefloor friendly.

Watch the music video here (YouTube)

Grade: A- (original version), A+ (Bit Error remixes)

Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment

This is the much-awaited lead single from his first album due in Noveber. "For Your Entertainment" is an uptempo dance/pop track very much in the same vein as Sam Sparro's "Black & Gold", Christina Aguilera's "Keeps Gettin' Better", and Amii Stewart's "Knock On Wood." Parts of the song instantly call to mind those other ones. That's not a bad thing. Vocally, Adam sounds great. His performance is restrained for a good part of it, but he really lets loose with high notes towards the middle/end.

Listen to it here (YouTube)

Grade: A

Kris Allen - No Boundaries

This season of American Idol yielded quite a surprise when Kris Allen won. Many had expected early frontrunner Adam Lambert to take the title. It's too soon to tell which will be the more successful of the two.

Both recorded "No Boundaries", a song written by Kara DioGuardi, Cathy Dennis and Mitch Allan. Both performed the song during the finale last week. Many felt that Adam's more emotive version was better, however, others felt that the more subdued one Kris delivered was more fitting. There are significant differences between both contestants' versions, however, the more subdued one works much better. It's more effective. While it may not be THE single that launches his career, this could be a good step in the right direction.

Buy it here (iTunes)

Grade: A-