High time

COMMENTARY

Adam Lambert just released a new song called Ghost Town, and it's killer.

The first single off his upcoming album The Original High, Ghost Town is dark, dynamic and dancey.

It starts off slow and spare, with the US singer cooing over a simple guitar riff about how he's walking around the streets and wallowing in his sinfulness.

Then a sexy house-type beat kicks in for the chorus and Lambert snarls, "My heart is a ghost town" over and over.

This song takes you on a little journey into the darkness, and it's just so refreshing.

With Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor and Katy Perry dominating the charts recently, it's like pop music has become one big self-help book.

But Ghost Town makes you feel naughty, a little dirty.

Though I suppose it could be categorised as EDM, it has the attitude of a genuine rock song because Lambert has a genuine rock voice.

He sings with a really sharp cutting edge, which isn't something you hear from the current crop of pop teddy bears like Ed Sheeran.

The first time I heard Lambert was on the eighth season of American Idol back in 2009, and I was convinced he'd come out tops, though he ended up finishing second behind Kris Allen.

Since his Idol days, Lambert has done okay for himself, but he's never really had a huge hit because, let's face it, the songs have been mediocre.

Whataya Want From Me is his biggest post-Idol success so far, and it peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On Idol, he flat-out crushed titanic 70s rock tunes such as Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, Foghat's Slow Ride and Kiss' Rock And Roll All Nite.

It got my hopes up SO MUCH thinking he might go in that direction.

Alas, he ended up playing things way too safe - Sanitised. Pasteurised. Simon Cowell-ised.

He went for middle-of-the-road, and got crushed like a guyliner-ed possum.

Then something amazing happened. Queen happened.

WOWED JUDGES

When Lambert first auditioned for Idol, he sang Bohemian Rhapsody and wowed the judges.

For the final results show of the season, he actually ended up performing We Are The Champions alongside the actual members of Queen.

After that, Lambert and the band ended up on stage together periodically, finally embarking on a proper worldwide tour last year.

I honestly think this is where Lambert's career actually begins.

Playing with one of the world's greatest rock acts night after night is the best musical education he could possibly have.

He's hanging with real musicians now, not the timid, weak-sauce writers and producers who worked with him on his first few albums.

In a musical landscape littered with knob-twiddling DJs and pandering divas, Lambert could set himself apart as a true rock star.

Can't wait to hear the rest of the album that drops June 16.