Adam Lambert Mad World American Idol Performance April 7

Watch the Adam Lambert ‘Mad World’ video here. The Season 8 American Idol finalist delivered another standout performance.It was ‘American Idol’ Year They Were Born Wish List night on American Idol Top 8 night on April 7, 2009. Born in 1982, the 27-Year-old Adam Lambert from Hollywood, California picked a hit single from that Year, the Tears for Fears Mad World and, as with every song he covers, he made it his own.

The British rock band saw the single reach No. 3 on the UK singles chart and reach the Top 40 in several countries bringing the band international recognition and popularity. It appeared on the band’s debut album in 1983, The Hurting.

Tears for Fears Mad World lyrics and song were written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith. The song topped the charts in the UK when was covered in 2003 by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the soundtrack to the movie Donnie Darko.

Now with the Adam Lambert Tears for Fears performance, the song sees yet another resurgence of popularity. He performed the song in a stripped down and subtle piano-driven orchestral arrangement showcasing the sheer beauty of his voice and the emotional intensity he brought to the song. It led the audience to burst into sporadic screaming and cheering on and off throughout the song.

As he has done with all of his performance, notably the Adam Lambert Ring of Fire cover of the Johnny Cash classic, the Idol hopeful made Tears for Fears Mad World his own.


He was the last performer of the evening and with the program already running overtime, there was time for only one judge’s response. And that was Simon Cowell who said, ‘I think words are unnecessary but I want to give you a standing ovation.” This brought American Idol Season 8 Top 8 to a rousing conclusion.

Previously, the singer has delivered exceptional performances, including the aforementioned Adam Lambert Ring of Fire on Grand Ole Opry week, under the mentorship of country music star Randy Travis, with a sitar driven arrangement evoking a Led Zeppelin/Jeff Buckley Ring of Fire that seemed to fuse Ravi Shankar and The Doors.

He followed with the Adam Lambert Tracks Of My Tears under mentorship of the songwriter, Motown legend Smokey Robinson who said in the televised interview that he was ‘very proud of Adam’s interpretation of the song.’