The hype surrounding this new Adam Lambert single is usually reserved for the arrival of a new Royal Baby - or, at the very least, a new side dish at Nando’s - but at long last the track has arrived.
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If you’ve been on Twitter at all in the past few weeks, it’s highly likely you’ll have seen a string of tweets and posts from music journalists raving about Adam’s new song, the first to be released from his impending third album - despite the fact it seemed like nobody had actually heard it yet.
Thankfully, on Monday, Adam debuted ‘Ghost Town’ - not to be confused with the similarly-titled Madonna single - on his official YouTube page, so we can all finally judge for ourselves.
The response from his ever-so-slightly biased fanbase, the Glamberts, has been overwhelmingly positive - but if you don’t follow the ‘American Idol’ runner-up’s every move, can you still enjoy it?
The cover art for 'Ghost Town'
Well, you can give the song a spin above and make your own mind up, but here are five things we love about ‘Ghost Town’...
1. The Dramatics
Listen, we’re all for people following their hearts and artistic integrity and all that, but when we heard that Adam’s new album was going to be less “theatrical” than his first two offerings, we were a little put out. This is a man who knows how to command a stage better than most, we didn’t want him to suddenly turn into James Morrison.
Given that the track opens with the line “died last night in my dreams”, though, it’s apparent that Adam’s dramatic side is still very much kicking around, which we’re really pleased about.
2. Max Martin’s Production
Choose any three iconic pop bangers of the past 15 years, and the chances are that Max Martin is behind at least one of them. The Swedish pop powerhouse is behind tracks as memorable as Britney’s ‘...Baby One More Time’, Backstreet Boys’ ‘I Want It That Way’, Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone’ and, more recently, Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’.
He’s worked his magic on Adam’s latest offering, making sure it’s an earworm that sounds instantly familiar, even on its first play.
3. When The Beat Really Kicks In
We were feeling a bit dubious mid-way through the song’s first verse when we heard the moody guitar strumming, and began worrying Adam was giving us a downbeat guitar-laden offering to launch his new album.
Frankly, we should have known better than to doubt him - when the Ibiza-inspired club beats kick in, it’s clear ‘Ghost Town’ is more about bopping than navel-gazing, and there are plenty of Arms In The Air moments that will hopefully make the track a dancefloor staple this summer.
Adam Lambert in concert
4. Hollywood References In The Lyrics
Oh, we do love a recurring theme, and throughout ‘Ghost Town’ Adam offers several throwbacks to old Hollywood, claiming he “tried to believe in God and James Dean”, but ultimately “tonight Elvis is dead.” Well, yeah… tonight and every night, sadly, Adam.
5. That Voice, Though
Towards the beginning of the track, Adam sounds surprisingly subdued and almost restrained, given the vocal gymnastics we know he’s capable of his from his previous musical outputs.
By the time he’s uttering his final “my heart is a ghost town”, though, he’s hit those high notes he’s become famous for, reminding everyone why he’s undeniably one of the most exciting male popstars in the world right now.
‘Ghost Town’ is available to download now, ahead of his new album ‘The Original High’, which is released on 12 June.