Music Review: Adam Lambert "If I Had You"

Adam Lambert

If I Had You

Album: For Your Entertainment

Year: 2010

             Adam Lambert’s new life in the entertainment industry is lacking without his crush in the charismatic “If I Had You.”

          Conspicuous synths open the single, making a pronounced statement. His assistant asks him he needs anything else. He puts his black eyeliner in the case and tells her “No, thank you.” He looks in the mirror and straightens the collar on his leather jacket. As he walks to the stage, he treats it like a runway. He thinks of his parents and siblings waiting in their box seats. However, his crush – a classmate of his, wasn’t able to attend it tonight.. (“So I got my boots on, got the right amount of leather/And I'm doing me up with a black color liner/And I'm working my strut but I know it don't matter/All we need in this world is some love.”)

   In the pre-chorus,  He’s met famous people since he started singing professionally. But it’s his parents and friends he had before that keeps him human   (“There's a thin line between the dark side and the light side baby tonight/It's a struggle got to rumble trying to find it.”)

       In the chorus, he has notoriety and can buy whatever he wants. Money isn’t a concern anymore. Being with his crush, though, would be trump all of it. It’s what really wants from his life. (“But if I had you, that would be the only thing I'd ever need/Yeah if I had you, then money, fame and fortune never could compete /If I had you, life would be a party it'd be ecstasy /If I had you you, you, you/If I had you.”)

                     Was it just yesterday he was in New York? He finds his hotel key and sneaks out. There are women sprawled over the floor in sequin dresses and stilettos. He steps over their limbs as well as the telephone (knocked out from the table), the food that has crusted on the carpet. A mattress blocks his way out of the room. Once outside, there is a row of Masaretis. It could double as sales lot. (“From New York to LA, getting high rock and rolling/Get a room trash it up till it's ten in the morning/Girls in stripper heels, boys rolling in Maseratis/What they need in this world is some love/

          In the pre-chorus, the excessive partying and materialism is all they have. They don’t have anyone in their lives looking out for them. Unfortunately, it’s going to end in an overdose one day. (“There's a thin line between a wild time and a flat line baby tonight/It's a struggle, gotta rumble trying to find it.”)

          The chorus is sung again.

          Having fans and performing is one of his passions. However, he thinks about his crush all the time. (“The flashing of the lights, it might feel so good/But I've got you stuck on my mind, yeah!/The fashion and the stage, it might get me high/But it don't mean a thing tonight/That would be the only thing I'd ever need, yeah.”)

              The chorus is sung again to end the single.

             Lambert’s bold vocals know he has what it takes to succeed. He lives a life many dream of having. However, his crush  is not there to share it with him. There are days when he feels like a human commodity, a piece of product that has be moved. He reads a text or email from his crush, telling him about a funny story at work and it makes him feel normal again.

                   The entertainment industry is treated just like another job in the song (as it should be). The parties and the travel are part of why he loves his job. However, it also isolates him from regular people, including his crush. Sometimes he wants to be Adam Lambert, everyday person calling his crush on the phone after a hard day of work.

            The  enjoyable “If I Had You” is able to acknowledge Lambert’s celebrity and still keep him relatable.