ADAM LAMBERT WRAPS TORONTO PRESS TOUR FOR "TRESPASSING"

Adam Lambert in Toronto - May 2012

Pop Superstar Adam Lambert just wrapped-up his whirlwind three-day Promo Tour in Toronto in support of his latest Disc, Trespassing. Prior to flying to Montreal for yet another round of Press, the top-selling Singer made one last round of goodbyes to Fans before heading off. We spotted the Singer shortly after his arrival in the City earlier in the week here.

Although his Schedule was rather hectic while here, he did manage to meet-up with fellow Popstars One Direction (who happen to be distributed by Sony Music Canada) and Emeli Sandé quickly!

Now for the fun part - who wants a Signed Adam Lambert Photo? The Item is rare as he doesn't often sign Autographs outside of Signings and he often keeps a low profile.  To qualify, simply "like" Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven on Facebook and also this corresponding Post before Sunday, July 1, 2012. You should also be following on Twitter too. Good luck!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

ADAM LAMBERT IN TORONTO FOR "TRESPASSING"

Adam Lambert in Toronto - May 2012

Riding the wave of his success both north and south of the Border with U.S. and Canadian number one-selling Disc Trespassing, former American Idol First-Runner-Up Adam Lambert made a welcomed visit back to Toronto today, his first here since headlining 2010's KISS 92.5 Wham Bam. 

After an appearance in Washington, D.C. yesterday at the 94.7 Fresh FM Festival,  Lambert flew-in to Toronto earlier this afternoon for a busy day of Work, which saw him co-hosting MuchMusic's New.Music.Live and later meeting 200 Fans at HMV Queen Street for an Autograph Signing.  Lambert has the distinction of becoming the first-ever openly Gay Male Artist to achieve a number one-selling Billboard Album.

I caught-up with Lambert as he exit KISS 92.5 Studios, staying for just-under an hour pre-taping an Interview for CHFI 98.1 and also CityTV.  Although he was in a rush and unable to sign Autographs for a handful of Fans who waited patiently for him in the blistering heat, he did roll-down his window quickly to apologize, "Sorry, I've got to go!", simultaneously throwing a handwave.

Lambert is Montreal-bound next for another round of Press, including a Visit to Musique Plus.  Trespassing now is in-stores via Sony Music Canada. Download it here.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

ADAM LAMBERT ARRESTED IN FINLAND

Adam Lambert in Toronto - June 2010

Former American Idol Runner-up Adam Lambert is all smiles now, but that certainly wasn't the case last night at Helsinki Gay Bar DTM (Don't Tell Mama) where he and his Finnish Boyfriend Sauli Koskinen, a Reality TV Star also, where seen sparring. The argument got so heated that they were both arrested and jailed overnight for seven hours according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Both are being investigated for four assault offences in total. A mutual Friend, Sofia Ruusila, apparently was hit by accident amidst all the quarreling.

Probably not the type of Publicity Lambert needs with his new Album Trespassing - which ironically also is a criminal offence - on its way March 20, 2012.  Are we entering the Dark Phase of Lambert's Career?

The Singer took to Twitter to clarify that his actions simply are the result of too much Vodka and Jetlag, laughing it off, making him pretty much a Poster Boy for why we need to drink responsibly over the Holidays.

Adam Lambert's Tweet

In the meantime, check out his latest Track Better than I Know Myself produced by Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke:

P!NK - GREATEST HITS.... SO FAR!!! REVIEW

Nobody can deny that P!nk is one of the most important Artists of the past decade. A critical and commercial darling, the tough-exteriored Singer/Songwriter has sold over 34 million albums worldwide since debuting as a pseudo-R&B/Pop Artist in 2000 with Can't Take Me Home. It wasn't until she found her own voice of 2001's Missundaztood that things sky-rocketed for her with smash hit Get This Party Started, followed by decidedly more Pop Rock singles Don't Let Me Get Me and Just Like a Pill. She sprung a surprise and people responded. And people just haven't stopped responding, thus the decision to release Greatest Hits.... So Far!!!

The 19-track Collection, a comprehensive review of P!nk's phenomenal career, is offered to Fans with the inclusion of two new recordings, Raise Your Glass and Fuckin' Perfect. Neither particularly remarkable, although the former did land on-top of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Overseas Editions of the album include even more tracks, like her original version of Whataya Want From Me, eventually recorded by Adam Lambert (his version wins) and Heartbreak Down.

ADAM LAMBERT, SUSAN SARANDON AND KATY PERRY AMONG STARS AT SCISSOR SISTERS SHOW IN NYC

Scissor Sisters took to the stage at New York City's Terminal 5 last night and the celebrities came out in full force to show their support. Among last night's guests were Adam Lambert, Susan Sarandon, Katy Perry and Parker Posey.  Perry for one, had a great time Tweeting "I bow down to Ana Matronic" - the group's female lead vocalist.

Check out this photo below of lead singer Jake Shears with Lambert and Posey. Perry, who is in New York right now still promoting her new album Teenage Dream, was a little more low-key, ducking from Paparazzi.  More pics posted at JustJared.

I'm also pleased to announce the five winners of Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven's VIP Ticket Giveaway for their Sound Academy show next week: Stephen, Brad, Max, Gavin and Jon.  Perhaps we'll see a star or two of our own next week?  Have fun at the show and see you there!  xx

(Photo credit: Splash News)

MMVAs RECAP

I hope you all enjoyed my MMVAs coverage leading up to last night's show! In case you missed it, a complete list of award winners are listed at the show's official website here. What you need to know is that Hedley took home the show's major awards including Video of the Year and also Best Post Production for their single Perfect and Best Pop Video for Cha-Ching. Yawn.

Miley Cyrus won Best International Video Award for Party in the USA, which should come as no surprise since she was asked to host this year. Hot Rapper Drake nabbed two awards including Best Cinematography and Best Hip-Hop Video for Successful, while teen-darling Justin Bieber also took home awards in important categories like Ur Fave New Artist, International Video by a Canadian Artist and also, Ur Fave Video for Baby. Surprisingly, Adam Lambert won Best International Video for Whataya Want from Me which he performed also last night considering he was up against stiff competition, namely Lady Gaga.

ADAM LAMBERT DEBUTS NEW HAIR FOR TORONTO AT MMVAs SOUNDCHECK

Adam Lambert debuted his new Rihanna-esque hairstyle for Toronto at his Soundcheck this afternoon on Stage Right at MuchMusic's headquarters on Queen St.  He also donned an interesting glittery insert in his left ear, perhaps to serve a stylistic purpose or practical purpose in distorting noise to act as a monitor of his mixdown... or both.

In typical Diva form, Lambert demanded the sound be perfect,  running through the opening bars of his hit Whataya Want From Me repeatedly over a 30 minute span, before appearing content with the results.  Lambert then left the venue for the KISS FM Wham Bam concert at Molson Amphitheatre featuring openers Kardinal Offishall, Fefe Dobson, Orianthi and more.

MUCHMUSIC'S 2010 MMVA NOMINEES AND MORE PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED

Nominees for MuchMusic’s 2010 MMVAs have been announced and rapper Drake leads the pack with a stellar 7 nominations. Canadian rockers Hedley follow closely behind with six nominations, while perhaps the biggest star of this year’s awards Justin Bieber, has a total four nominations. All the above are expected to be in attendance Sunday, June 20, 2010 at the station’s headquarters.

Also added to the show are performers Adam Lambert and Ke$ha, both good friends, plus Canadian rockers Down With Webster and Mariana's Trench.  Lambert will be in town doing his first headlining tour at Molson Amphitheatre the night before.

To view a full list of nominees, visit their official site here. Above is a photo I snapped of Drake at the Beyoncé concert last summer at Molson Amphitheatre. He was just a few rows ahead of me and trying his best to be low key amidst all the flashes and cameras.. and it wasn’t even his concert. (Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

VIDEO: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE "WE ARE THE WORLD 3" PARODY (MUST WATCH!)

Occasionally our friends at NBC's Saturday Night Live nail it and when they nail it, they nail it good. Watch their hilarious spoof We are the World 3, to raise awareness for the disastrous charity single We are the World 2010 for Haiti featuring Rihanna (Jennifer Lopez), Eddie Vedder, Adam Lambert, Shakira, Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani (Kristen Wiig)!

What do you think - cruel or funny?

JOHNNY WEIR'S PINK CORSET

Make no mistake about it,  25 year-old American Figure Skater Johnny Weir is the Adam Lambert of Men's Figure Skating.  Talented, flamboyant, fearless and underrated when it counted most - Weir in tonight's Men's Short Program at the 2010 Winter Olympics; Lambert in the season eight finale of American Idol.   Weir stunned as the event's Dark Horse in a black and pink Burlesque-inspired corset.

Weir's sixth place ranking tonight from a conservative panel of judges drew collective boos from the audience at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum.  Despite this injustice, the star of the night was handsome American competitor Evan Lysacek who ranked second.  Timelessly classic and technically perfect.  I'd like a second helping that, please.  Thanks!

The Men's Long Program competition will air this coming Thursday on NBC and CTV at 8 PM EST.

ADAM LAMBERT REUNITES WITH TORONTO

So apparently Adam Lambert's promotional visit to Toronto today wasn't his first.  Three years ago, before he became the glamorous RCA Records recording artist and American Idol runner-up we now know him as, Lambert lived in Toronto for a few months while he was part of the ensemble cast of Broadway smash Wicked.  He was the understudy of the character Fiyero,  but after not getting many opportunities to play the part he had rehearsed so hard for, he then decided to quit and in his words, "become a rock star".

The screams of his fans, mostly teen girls and mothers, were deafening at MuchMusic's headquarters today.  Lambert arrived fully made-up, chatted with VJ Sarah Taylor about his rise to fame and also fielded questions from the audience.  He did struggle a bit hearing some of the questions through all the shrieking, and one super-fan got to sing a couple lines from first single For Your Entertainment in-front of Lambert,  from his album of the same title, before getting a hug from him and being told she was "sweet", which then of course led to some more shrieking.

Lambert revealed that he has become very good friends with Ke$ha, who just visited the studio a week ago.  Click here for pics from that visit.  The label mates revealed that they may just spend Valentine's Day together this year, eating lots of chocolate and rolling around in glitter. 

Glambert, a name the pop star is also known affectionately as, indicated that the key to his success is avoiding gossip and not paying mind to what others in the media say about him.  Whatever he's doing, it seems to be working as his second single, the P!nk-penned Whataya Want From Me is currently at number 50 on the Billboard  Hot 100 chart, an improvement over his debut.  Lambert is slated to appear as Entertainment Tonight's Red Carpet correspondent at the Grammys this Sunday, which he seems excited about.

Check out these pics I got of Lambert today at MuchMusic's headquarters:

BARBARA WALTERS' TEN MOST FASCINATING PERSONALITIES OF 2009

I don't watch much television, but on Wednesday nights I am sure to put aside the gym, light some candles, pop open a bottle of wine, cuddle on the couch with my dog Billy and enjoy a hot little hook-up named Glee. During a commercial break, I realized that Barbara Walters would be revealing her annual Ten Most Fascinating Personalities on ABC. I am always curious to see whom she picks and her eclectic 2009 list includes:

10. Lady Gaga - pop's new megastar; it turns out she's not a hermaphrodite (!) and that she enjoys sex with women. Out of respect, she took her sunglasses off for Walters.

9. Jenny Sanford - wife of adulterous South Carolina governor
8. Tyler Perry - director, actor, producer and cross-dresser who overcame an abusive childhood
7. Glenn Beck - Fox News' outspoken television personality
6. Brett Favre - recently retired and then not retired NFL star
5. Kate Gosselin - recently divorced mother of eight and reality television star
4. Adam Lambert - openly gay American Idol runner-up
3. Sarah Palin - former U.S. Vice Presidential candidate and now sexy author; her second time appearing on the list.
2. Michael Jackson’s Children - Paris, Prince Michael and Prince Michael II ...the world is watching more closely than ever
1. Michelle Obama - American First Lady and trash television lover

Who's missing?

SUSAN BOYLE > LADY GAGA/ADAM LAMBERT/RIHANNA/SHAKIRA

Astonishing. Early album sales projections for the current week have surfaced at Hits Daily Double and Susan Boyle will be the clear winner by a landslide. It is estimated that her Sony Music debut I Dreamed a Dream will sell in-excess of 600,000 copies, making it one of the biggest selling albums of 2009, let alone being the biggest selling debut album of the year. This woman does not cease to amaze me and if you haven't checked out her amazing work on the disc, please do.

Lady Gaga also is no slouch in terms of sales with the re-release of her debut album The Fame, titled The Fame Monster expected to push approximately 350,000 copies (200,000 in its Deluxe Edition format and 150,000 in its single disc EP format). This is my favourite album of 2009 and her commercial success is an accomplishment well-deserved; she is the Lady of Pop. I am unsure though if the two album formats will be tracked separately on the Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart seeing that they are being released under the same title. My guess is that the totals can be combined.

Adam Lambert seems to be getting publicity much ado about nothing for his male-male kiss/simulated oral sex stunt at Sunday night's American Music Awards. He is expected to post sales of 200,000+ for his debut album from RCA Records For Your Entertainment, deeming him a commercial success for the Idol franchise. The series has produced more misses than hits in recent seasons.

THE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS - A 1.5 MINUTE RECAP

It's been an extremely busy day on the blog from naked Babydaddys to a review about a football film. You cannot criticize me for not trying to branch-out! I'm not going to go into too much detail, but as per multiple requests over Facebook Chat and text messages to my Blackberry, I am going to re-cap for you my highlights of tonight's American Music Awards. No nonsense, just straight to-the-point.

• Janet Jackson opening the show with a mimed medley of hits that included her latest track Make Me (not technically a hit) from her just-released Number Ones compilation. It appears that Jackson is back to the original weight she was at when she released her ground-breaking Control album and I love it. She looks healthy and content.
• Need I mention how amazing Lady Gaga is? Her medley of new hit single Bad Romance and Freddie Mercury-esque ballad Speechless was the highlight of the show. I do think though that her costume would have looked better with claws. I admit I was a little petrified seeing her play on a flame-ignited piano, as it looked as though her wig would get singed at any moment. I'm still trying to figure out what the deal was with the breaking of the empty (fake sugar-glass) Johnny Walker bottles. And yes, I feel truly that she was robbed of the Breakthrough Artist award which went to country band Gloriana. I'm so ready for her Toronto show this Saturday!
• It was amazing seeing Whitney Houston's celebrated performance of I Didn't Know My Own Strength from her I Look To You album. Although her vocals were all over the place, certainly she is getting there slowly but surely....
• Jennifer Lopez was stunning in her mimed performance of new single Louboutins. Yes, she did fall on stage after climbing on-top of her male dancers (as seen in the photo below), but being the consummate professional she is, she made it look deliberate and carried on. It is ironic though that she was wearing a pair of Louboutins and fell in them; product placement gone wrong.
• Although I am not a fan of the track, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' performance of Billboard Hot 100-topping Empire State of Mind was quite enjoyable. The New York, New York intro was a nice touch.
• Shakira is always a pleasure to watch and although I have my doubts about her choice for the second single off She Wolf, her performance of Give It Up To Me was stellar... as usual.
• Rihanna's new album Rated R sucks. She can call it "art" all she wants, but it still sucks. And seeing her perform a track live did not make it suck less.
• Is it just me or does Mary J. Blige's new track I Am sound like a Mariah Carey B-side?
• I love Kelly Clarkson but she really needs to step-up her game. Her performance of single Already Gone was far from engaging.

NEW MUSIC: ADAM LAMBERT - FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT

American Idol season eight runner-up Adam Lambert premiered his debut single For Your Entertainment this morning on The Ryan Seacrest Show. The single is produced by the amazing Dr. Luke who brought us recent hits like Katy Perry's smash double of I Kissed a Girl and Hot N Cold, Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone, Britney Spears' Circus and P!nk's Who Knew.

For Your Entertainment picks up where Sam Sparro left off on his single Black & Gold with that signature Goldfrapp shuffle beat. Sparro has found much recent success with his track finding a second life in appearing on trailers and soundtracks. My initial thoughts are that something is missing here, perhaps melodically. The production undeniably is very polished though. Lambert's vocals of course, are stunning and that mixed voice he has mastered in those effortless high notes has me in complete awe. I'm just not sold that Lambert is at his best here doing what his voice was made for and honestly I don't foresee this single replicating the success Dr. Luke had with some of his other collaborators. Keeping a tab on the next single. I much prefer season eight alumni Allison Iraheta's Friday I'll Be Over U, previewed a couple weeks ago here.

Listen to Lambert's single in full below courtesy of Sony/BMG Records:

SUSAN BOYLE AT #1

If early numbers are any indication, Britain's Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle's debut album I Dreamed a Dream is set to break records. Amazon.Com (U.S. and Canada) has released an official statement proclaiming that the album, named after the Les Miserables tune which propelled her into overnight stardom, has received a record number of pre-orders. In fact, it is still at number one on their album sales chart and it isn't even out for a month.

The Sony/BMG release is due in-stores November 24, 2009, but don't expect a cakewalk for Boyle. She will be facing some very stiff pre-holiday competition starting with American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert who is also releasing his debut album For Your Entertainment that day. As blogged about previously, that album's cover is outright hideous and this just may hinder sales. And it doesn't get any easier for anybody aiming for the top as dueling princesses of pop Lady Gaga and Rihanna both have new releases due that day also. The former is re-releasing her multi-platinum debut album re-branding it The Fame Monster, while many eyes will be on the latter as she is releasing her new studio album Rated R. And let's not forget the amazing Shakira album She Wolf, reviewed here recently.

Although it looks to be a tough one, I'm putting my pocket change on Boyle for the win.