Adam Lambert, an American Idol alum and current Queen frontman, performed Cher’s iconic 1998 hit “Believe” at the 41st Annual Kennedy Center Honors in 2019, leaving the legendary pop diva in tears. The annual awards ceremony that took place on December 26, 2018, was broadcast from the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. USA. The ceremony honours individuals for their lifetime artistic achievement. Adam Lambert was performing at the ceremony in tribute to Cher, who was one of the honourees.
Lambert’s version of “Believe” was heartfelt and ballad-like, a stark contrast to the upbeat and electric original. The camera panned to a visibly moved Cher wiping away tears as Lambert sang. Three weeks later, Cher was still moved by the performance, writing on Twitter that it was “BEYOND COMPREHENSION.”
He’s incredible, and as others have said he plays his voice like an instrument. He can belt it out, bring it down, whisper softly, and then gradually increase it to a crescendo. It really is spellbinding. Let’s also give credit to the musicians playing the accompaniments, as they helped to build him up and bring back down and then carry him off on a wave. Magnificent.
Cher’s version is very theatrical with dancers and echo chambers and much more upbeat. Adams version is a ballad and done with only a orchestra and a voice from God. This cover will go down as one of the best of all time by any artist. This is perfection at its finest. I could listen to this a thousand times.
Believe earned a new life four years ago, when Adam Lambert radically remade it as a devastating ballad at the ceremony where Cher was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor. “That’s one of the greatest vocal performances of any song by anybody,” she said of Lambert’s take, which has earned over 32m YouTube views. “To recreate it so completely with such a beautiful voice, I just thought, ‘Dude, I’m glad you weren’t around when I was doing this!’”(Forbes)When I was deciding if I could leave my husband after 25 yrs, I jogged to this song and many others by Cher. It infused me with the strength that I was strong enough. I’ve been on my own now for 18 yrs and surviving! Thanks
I’m a straight guy. I love this guy. He has a lot of class. This is what a parent gets when they love their kid for who they are. I listen to this everyday since I broke up. Man, he really knocked it out of the park. Parents love your kids…something like this just may be your net result. I loved Cher’s version many years ago. I love this one just as much. I’m stressing that we love our kids. We need it.
To this day, it sometimes randomly pops up in my mind that “Adam Lambert should have won” and then I console myself with this performance and see Cher tear up and give him a standing ovation for singing her own song and then I think to myself, “It’s fine, Adam Lambert won at life”. happened upon this video by accident . My musical tastes vary widely, and they never included Adam. This beautiful man, and his beautiful voice , created something so special that night for those people. I’ve never looked at a performance this way. I’m a 60 year old happy father and husband . But I can’t stop looking at and listening to this man sing his heart out . This performance literally . Just heart-warming.
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