by Jordan Meehan
The pop music gods be praised! Adam Lambert has finally given us the lead single off of his next album! Adam's new single 'Better Than I Know Myself' is everything I could have asked for in a pop song. Stellar production, meaningful lyrics and a sweeping, synth-tastic instrumental make this a great lead single for his upcoming album 'Trespassing.' While this isn't nearly as uptempo as past singles, such as 'If I Had You' (my favorite from his last album), this song serves as a powerful electropop ballad that really shows off Adam's power-house vocals.
I will admit though, that I was a little hesitant about getting excited about this song when I heard that it was produced by superproducer Dr. Luke. In all honesty, I have never been a fan of Dr. Luke or most of the artists he produces music for. To put it bluntly, I think most of his work, while well produced, is disposable, lowest common demoninator, mainstream pop garbage that isn't worth my $1.29 on iTunes. While I might dislike Dr. Luke, I have to hand it to him with this track. It's infectious, well produced and has lasting quality, which is rare for a pop song to have these days.
When I first heard the snippet of the single a week or so ago I had the realization that I couldn't remember the last time I was excited about a single from a male pop act from the United States. This realization led me to examine the current male acts on the iTunes chart and see just how dismal the male pop scene has become.
For the past year or two, male pop in the United States has mostly consisted mostly of hip hop/rap artists infusing rap with eurodance beats with more vocal features than one can imagine. Rappers spitting out the same old tired verses about cheap women, clubbing and popping bottles and usually some featured singer singing an auto-tuned chorus over a recycled, club ready beat. Or you'll find yet another whiny Bruno Mars song about heartbreak and explosives or whatever auto-tuned, generic mess LMFAO is subjecting us to this week. And don't get me started on Jason Derulo. Even now, as I'm writing this article, I'm scrolling down the iTunes singles chart and all there is for male acts is a few country singers, one or two rock star wannabes, and more rappers and hip hop singers dragging out the tired rap-meets-eurodance trend than I can stomach. I don't mean to sound like such a pop nihilist, but is this really all there is in the mainstream American pop scene?
It's definitely no secret that pop music is a female dominated genre, but is a talented, male pop star who isn't completely reliant on auto-tune and recycled lyrical concepts really too much to ask for? I can name tons of phenomenal European male pop acts that constantly amaze me and only one mainstream American: Adam Lambert. That is not to say that the States are completely devoid of good male pop acts, they're just extremely hard to find and rarely ever get the recognition they deserve. Adam Lambert might just be my last remaining hope for mainstream American male pop, and his sophomore album will undoubtedly put my faith in him to the test. However, I still remain confident that he'll blow me away once again.