FINALLY. The release of Adam Lambert‘s highly anticipated sophomore album is in sight. Trespassing was originally due to come out March 20th however in mid February, RCA announced a delay to allow time for Lambert to record new material. The album is now scheduled for release May 15th in the U.S. and I couldn’t be more excited. Clearly, Adam’s people were nervous after lead single, “Better Than I Know Myself” flopped its way onto the Billboard Hot 100, fizzling out at an unfortunate #76. Not quite what everyone was hoping for.
The song, which I called a “drab” mid-tempo electro-pop ballad seemed to have all the makings of a hit, including a STRONG team of songwriters and producers (Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Ammo, Claude Kelly)…sooo what happened? Well if you look back at Lambert’s relatively short chart history, there haven’t been too many smashes. In fact, Adam Lambert has only one Billboard Hot 100 top 10 to his name and that was 2009’s “Whataya Want From Me,” which peaked at #10. The next highest charting single – “If I Had You” which peaked at #30.
Internationally, Lambert’s singles have fared better. Debut single “For Your Entertainment,” which here in the States peaked at a dismal #61, came in at an impressive #5 in Finland and #10 in New Zealand. While second single “Whataya Want From Me,” was a top 10 hit here in America, pretty much everywhere else in the world saw the single to the Top 5. “If I Had You” was a top 5 hit in Australia and a top 10 hit in Canada, Finland and New Zealand. “Better Than I Know Myself” is the only single of Lambert’s career that OVERALL was a universal flop. While the song went top 10 in Finland and was a top 40 hit in New Zealand, everywhere else it bombed in a big way. #56 in Canada, #83 in Australia, #88 in Germany – not a good showing at all. Now as far as the album goes, the numbers are generally more positive. For Your Entertainment went top 5 in the U.S. (#3), Australia (#5), Finland (#4) and New Zealand (#5), top 10 in Canada (#7) and Sweden (#8) and did modestly well in Germany (#16), Austria (#22), The Netherlands (#25) and in the UK (#36).
Photo Credit: Lee Cherry |
Now keep in mind that Adam Lambert‘s career is pretty young still. He’s only 30 and he’s just about to put out his second album. Lambert’s got plenty of time to build a successful career and I think he will do just fine in the end. With Trespassing, Lambert seeks to take fans on “an exciting journey through the past two years of my life.” The songs, according to Lambert, “honestly explore the ups and downs of my reality.” Sounds like a more mature Adam Lambert if you ask me.
Working with Lambert on Trespassing, RCA/19 Recordings really pulled out all the stops, wrangling in top producers and songwriters (in addition to co-writing many of the tracks himself) including Pharrell Williams, Dr. Luke, Bruno Mars, Claude Kelly, Benny Blanco, Bonnie McKee, Nile Rogers, Nikka Costa, Lester Mendez, BC Jean and Sam Sparro. While we’re waiting for the album and to find out what single #2 will be, why don’t you listen to snippets of four tracks from Trespassing above and watch a behind the scenes clip from the set of the “Better Than I Know Myself” video below. Watch out for remixes by Alex Ghenea, Dave Audé, Mike Rizzo and Robert Marvin & Shearer.
Download “Better Than I Know Myself” on U.S. iTunes HERE.
Trespassing Deluxe Edition Tracklist: (via Digital Spy)
1. Trespassing
2. Cuckoo
3. Shady
4. Never Close Our Eyes
5. Kickin In
6. Naked Love
7. Pop That Lock
8. Better Than I Know Myself
9. Broken English
10. Underneath
11. Chokehold
12. Outlaws of Love
13. Runnin
14. Take Back
15. Nirvana
Check out Adam Lambert on the web: