"I had to get some s**t out, I had to get it off my chest. It's like therapy, this album," Adam Lambert announced at the Civic Theatre last night.
Lambert is one of those performers who attracts an extremely devoted fan base - so much so, they were lined uparound the block in anticipation before the doors' opened.
Lambert was in Auckland for a special free show at the Civic, thanks to iHeartRadio and 2degrees mobile.
The venue was packed and buzzing from the start, a mixture of young, androgynous types and middle-aged mums out for a dance.
Opening with Evil In the Night from his latest album, Lambert prowled and pranced across the stage in outrageously tight pants, basking in the gaze of his "Glitter Tribe" in the front row.
Lambert's cover of Chris Isaak's Wicked Games was a real highlight and showed off his impressive vocal range, complete with soaring falsetto.
"I want to sing something from my new album," is often the most dreaded phrase at a show but Lambert's new tracks were well received.
It's clear he's been doing some soul-searching, having recently switched labels. "I'm a grown-ass man," he declares moodily on There I Said It.
Tortured and yearning seemed to be a theme, with some old Hollywood glamour thrown in the mix.
Photo / Steve Dykes
Photo / Steve Dykes
Launching into Whataya Want From Me - one of his big post-Idol hits - straight after a new release brought us back into familiar territory and got the crowd dancing again.
His latest single, the Max Martin produced Ghost Town, was an even bigger hit with the crowd, who sang along enthusiastically. It's such a catchy tune, with its whistling chorus and acoustic guitar strums. The line "my heart is a ghost town" can't help but fill you with teen angst.
"Here's an old song that... we kinda smoked it out," Lambert announced before launching into a reggae version of If I Had You from his first album - and it really worked. Plus, it gave new meaning to the name of his latest album, The Original High.
For an encore, Lambert presented a foot-stomping cover of Queen's Another One Bites the Dust. It was a great way to end the night, proving any doubters wrong regarding his secondment as Freddie Mercury.
