Adam Lambert Says Editing His Performance is Discrimination, Won’t Be Performing FYE on Letterman

west coast here, and only the blowjob simulation was edited out (really, i think anybody that did that would’ve suffered the same fate), but the kiss was intact.

also, while prince and bowie did indeed push the envelopes of sexuality, they never did it in a way that seemed overtly trashy. that’ll be my only comment on this whole thing.

I hate censorship, and think America is too puritanical and the networks are scared of their own shadows after the Janet Jackson incident. However, I think Mr. Lambert needs to stop whining. I’m not saying I disagree with him, but for his own good, this is launch time baby. He’s picking fights with networks, picking fights with the media, and stepping onto a soap box. I think the time could have been ripe for him to do this in the not-to-distant future. Just not tonight. I’m sure his big fans are very concerned that he not jeopardize his launch, no matter how much they support him. Not everyone can be a media darling and stay on message and know how to make his performance appropriate to the situation like, for example David Cook does (he’ll drop an F-bomb at a College Show, but go squeaky clean playing a county fair). It’s called being smart about it.

Worst of all, all that choreography and jumping around, on a debut night when most artists would be nervous to begin with, really compromised his normally stellar vocals. I know this is a common complaint from diehard and casual fans alike tonight. I really don’t think Adam is playing it smart, nor do I think his management & label are. JMO. And I like Adam. I think he’s extremely talented. He could have been outrageous without having to cross the line. None of the sexual stuff offended me. I was literally disappointed with his vocals, which are his main thing. YMMV.

oh my goodness… stop it lambert – just stop it. you’re a big boy, and wanted to run with the big dogs… you had your chance, and you blew it. own it. you, your record label, and the media took a huge gamble and it failed. that’s the chance you take, so throwing out the discrimination card now just reeks of utter desperation, and that doesn’t look ”fierce” – it looks pathetic and pathetic is not entertaining.

Oh, he’s funny! ‘Crotch? You’re talking about my crotch?’  What a hoot! He handled that interview like a champ. And look how she blushed! Poor girl practically had to fan herself. What fun! Oh – I’m SO looking forward to this mans career trajectory. He’s certainly gonna have us entertained!

I thought Adam didn’t want to be political or a role model. Now he’s calling out double standards and discrimination? What, he’ll only be “gay-gay” when he chooses, and the rest of the time we should do as he says and accept it? Hypocrite.

I’m betting the label puts the muzzle on tomorrow morning. I wonder how much he’ll dial it back in the next couple of days?

The only thing that was a disappointment to me was his vocals. The choreography was too much for an artist to carry off while singing such an up tempo song.

Amazingly on the ABC early morning show this morning, their only comment was how he pulled off the fall. I have to agree…he deserves some kind of award for that. I’ve watched it several times and the way he rolled right up to that girl and popped up singing was pretty amazing.

I’m glad to see he jumped up the iTunes album chart during the night too by more than 10 spots. I’m happy to say he’s “my cup of tea”…don’t change a thing Adam.

”I thought Adam didn’t want to be political or a role model. Now he’s calling out double standards and discrimination? What, he’ll only be ‘gay-gay’  when he chooses, and the rest of the time we should do as he says and accept it? Hypocrite.”

with a capital h.

there was nothing fun about this shock. according to his song, this is supposed to be for our entertainment, not his. glad he had fun and lost half of his fans. he may not care but the record label does. the mark of a good performance is not whether it loses fans who don’t “get it,” but whether it can win over even haters or skeptics.

Another observation: Adam picks Britney & Christina for comparisons? Really? (I love Madonna, so I won’t complain about that one lol). So this is who he now identifies with. Rolling Stone, PLEASE stop calling Adam a rocker. He’s a flashy pop singer. If you threw a stone at Adam’s butt, you’d give Rolling Stone a concussion.

I love me some Adam…oh yeah! Go, baby, GO!!!

Keep ‘em talking Adam!

While I do agree that people are overreacting over that kiss (as Adam said, Britney, Madonna and Xtina did it, and it was apparently fine to people), I do think his performance was a bit trying-too-hard. It’s one thing to gyrate through your entire performance, but to gyrate, make crotch-grabs, devour someone’s face with your mouth, and shove one dancer’s face on your crotch – I mean, I think we get the drift the first time around. I’m a pretty liberal person, but I didn’t get this performance at all. Not only were the vocals surprisingly sub-par for Adam, but the visuals seemed contrived. The first half was cool – the dragging of the chick and then the whipping of the guys/whatever. But then as the performance progressed, it just gave off an amateurish vibe – like a kid playing dress-up and wanting to impress the grown-ups.

And I don’t know why Adam should change his performance on Letterman. If he doesn’t think he did anything ludicrous at the show, why change the song? The song isn’t the problem, it was the singing and the overall performance. He could still sing FYE. After all, it IS his single.

Just my two cents.

Does it appear that a large number of Adams fans have died of “SHOCK”,
or have they just run away to join the Circus!!!!!
Adam, as usual, looked gorgeous, while he was watching the show unfold
in his well fitting Retro Suit, skinny Tie and his Pompadour!
His performance……another story!
I expected shocking….., but the degree of shocking zapped me!!!

I found the choreography too lewd and too graphic. JMO. From the many news sites comments, my take is very mild. I have no intention of abandoning Adam, but I do have a opinion! Indeed, I squirmed and felt
very uncomfortable….OY!
The choreography could have been done in a much classier way by alluding
to….,rather than simulating certain sexual acts!! The boy on boy kiss was just cool enough, and as risky as it should have gotten. JMO. Groping and
simulating oral sex….well…Just bad taste!!! So many ways to convey these acts with an aura of danger, shadow dancers Looks of surprise or
passion or lust on passing dancers, Fierce movements and moments of almost lust.YGMI.
OK, That said….. I give him big kudos for his incredible smooth recovery from his, up the stair, trip. That was so good….Move of a Pro!!!!
For a live performance, it can be forgiven that he had flat and pitchy moments, and that, was less shocking to me than to some others.
His expression at the end…..almost incomprehensible!! Maybe, a mixture of
defiance, embarrassment and, or exhaustion???
Yes, I was disapointed, but, I was not leveled and Adam should not be either!!
This is just one of the bumps in the road and it can be a experience to learn from. Hopefully he will stay away from overcompensation by whinging or
blaming anyone in particular, including himself. Just be the classy guy and wonderful singer you are. SING YOUR FACE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you threw a stone at Adam’s butt, you’d give Rolling Stone a concussion.

LOL! Very true, sad but true.

Well, I’m not a fan of Adam’s choices last night.

That being said, his performance will be the ONLY thing from the show anyone is talking about.

i dont care about the simulating oral sex. I still love Adam n will buy his CD when it comes to my country… Go Adam!!!

Yes, I really don’t understand why Adam wants sex to be the centerpiece of his career. He has an amazing voice – why not concentrate on that? If I remember correctly, when he was on Idol the best performances he had that were applauded by people were the ones where he didn’t have to go overboard visually – Tracks of My Tears and Mad World were two performances of his that I loved and he didn’t have to grab his crotch or make out with anyone to get a point across that he is a fabulous performer. I think that RCA maybe put all their money on the AMA performance in terms of promotion and they probably encouraged Adam to be bold and flashy and whatnot so there would be attention right before the album release, but not quite sure that was the best strategy.

What, he’ll only be ‘gay-gay’  when he chooses, and the rest of the time we should do as he says and accept it?

His comment on discrimination wasn’t specifically related to gay – it was that male performers are seemingly held to a different standard when displaying sexuality than women are. Is ok for Madonna to kiss another girl and girls to hump each other and anything in sight as they dance (cause hey a little girl on girl is everyone’s fantasy right – well maybe not) but a guy kisses a guy or engages in a bit of dance romp and everyone starts screaming lewd and shouldn’t be allowed… not defending the perspective, just clarifying.

Oh and I don’t for one minute think he wants sex as the centerpiece of his career – it was all related to the lyric and tone of this particular song. Next song – different tone. Suggest everyone who hated tonight will be all a gush after the Letterman performance. And that is fine. Horses for courses.

I’m so aggravated; fell asleep just before the Adam performance.

A more casual fan than most here, I think Adam would have done well to keep that in-your-face (homo)sexuality out of his performance. There is a backlash to too many fanned by he-who-seems-to-think-his- sexuality-is-our-entertainment; it just ain’t that thrilling or entertaining. I don’t give a rat’s ass about his gender preference, but those of us who are fighting politically for the civil rights of gays/Lesbians can see opponents looking at Lambert and saying, “Hey? That’s what it’s about” and like it or not, a lot of people can’t handle that. He is fueling the opposition and the opposition is plenty fueled already. Picture a father watching that performance with his teen daughter; you think he’s gonna buy that CD or let his daughter buy it?

Adam, get a clue, there isdiscrimination and you have to be smart about how you fight it. Women are still fighting it and we’ve been fighting for a century. This isn’t all about you, so grow up. Blow jobs are not the way to gain acceptance, good music is. And good music is all we expect from you.

I did not think the vocals were bad, except in one place, but if Adam continues to go off the deep end, he will end up boycotted as too unpredictable and drown.

I’m surprised that people think homophobia is the reason people are turned off by Adam’s performance. I’m not homophobic, but I felt his performance was ridiculous because of all the sexed-up stuff. I felt the same way about Shakira’s performance, where there was simulated sex dancing as well. I just feel like music should be about singing, and if you’re pretty much just jumping around onstage striking poses that are supposed to be controversial, then don’t sing.

I dunno, I just felt like all of the performances at the AMAs were stupid, save maybe for Kelly Clarkson’s and Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ performance. Oh, and Gaga’s was awesome. Apart from that, everyone else was pretty lame.

Just got up, after staying up until 5 am for Adam.

I am not shocked with his performance. I think it was to be expected. The only thing that worried me was his fall, but he recovered and continue to sing. The sound in the stream was not good, but comments from the people in the audience did not complain about his vocals at all.

He has not lost me as a fan, on the contrary, I love the different sides of Adam, and I don ´t think he has lost too many fans since the album went up in the ratings as soon as it was available. It is number 5 in music and pop, and number 1 in rock at Amazon.US. Haven ´t checked iTunes. He was also trending number 1 for a long time, and most of the comments in Twitter were positive and encouraging.

Saying that something is discriminatory is nothing political. As citizens we have rights and one of them is freedom of speech. He is airing his opinion.

The problem? Somebody mentioned it above ” America is too puritanical”, and I would say, the USA is too puritanical, not America, because America is a whole continent.

Love you, Adam!!!!!

Watched all the performances and went to sleep. Woke up tonight and i only remember what Lady GaGa and Adam did on stage so they must be doing something right lol

From what I am reading around the web, this was a DISASTER for Adam:

1. The vocals sucked (seriously, how does THAT happen?).
2. The porn was trashy and unnecessary.
3. The kiss was ewww.

Pretty universally hated, even by Adam fans, me included.

WHAT DO I BLAME?
I blame Adam’s theatre background. Just because the song talks about “shocking us” that doesn’t mean he has to shock us as he sings that. Subtlety Adam, look it up.

Colossal FU tonight.

I think the biggest issue with Adam’s performance is not that it was gay, but that it was trashy.

the most important thing is ADAM looked super HOT!!

In this instance, I’m okay with them editing the blow job out. I wouldn’t been okay with the kiss being edited out because I found no problem with that.

And I’m sorry I’ve never quite seen Christina or Britney go as far as simulating sex on stage, I’ve always thought they were just overly sexual.

There is a TIME and a PLACE and maybe that time and place would be after you even remotely move as many albums as both of those ladies did.

Time for bed on the other side of the world. Have fun with the continued deconstruction of Adam…

Here is my last thought on all this hullabaloo (really hoping tomorrow we can talk about something else like Letterman)

All Adam seems to want is for people to come along for the ride and not take it all too seriously. There’s going to be some hellish high peaks and at times will feel a bit like our faces might peel off with the g-forces, but in other spots will be calm and beautiful – like floating. It’s the new Lambert-coaster ride at your local entertainment park.

Got my hands clamped around the “oh shit” bars and am enjoying the view…

Night.

St.Lucia
11/23/2009 at 6:15 am

In this instance, I’m okay with them editing the blow job out. I wouldn’t been okay with the kiss being edited out because I found no problem with that.

And I’m sorry I’ve never quite seen Christina or Britney go as far as simulating sex on stage, I’ve always thought they were just overly sexual.

Well, I remember a Britney performance where she had a snake with her or something. I think it was a “Slave 4 U” performance at the VMAs. The thing about that is that it’s suggestive. It’s sexy, but without being overtly screaming sex.

My problem isn’t just with Adam’s performance. Every performance was sexed up. Janet Jackson did a crotch grab, Shakira was simulating sex with her dancing, Rihanna had that video of her pretty much naked, Carrie Underwood was gyrating with her microphone, Fergie was twirling around in stripper leggings…I mean, really? Do ya hafta be half-naked all the time in order to get attention as a female artist? Whatever happened to actually singing songs?

I believe ABC needs to be taken to task as well. They pimped Adam to the max all night to boost their ratings. I’m sorry, but Adam got his break on American Idol, and perhaps he has forgotten how many of his fans might be children. I am liberal and my 10-yr-old daughter and I were so sad when we saw signs of hatred directed at Adam this summer at the concert in Kansas City. I have been perfectly open with her and supportive of his preferences. I knew the performance would be edgy, but perhaps the network should have warned me that it would not be suitable for children. I don’t have much of a problem with the kiss, but I don’t think a simulated BJ and grabbing a woman below is a good idea for a tv show that featured Demi Lavato and Taylor Swift. Who is your audience here? My daughter was visibly upset and I felt sick that I let her see that. Am I wrong on thinking that’s not ok for kids? O want her to love music as much as I do. Adam, we love you for all you are, but you are talented and sexy enough that you don’t need to disrespect people who helpedyou get where you are.

Well, I remember a Britney performance where she had a snake with her or something. I think it was a ‘Slave 4 U’  performance at the VMAs. The thing about that is that it’s suggestive. It’s sexy, but without being overtly screaming sex.

Exactly. And again, that was the VMA’s. I’ve always held the VMAs at a lower regard then athe AMA because it’s MTV.

The most Britney did was kiss Madonna,(whoopie) and the most issue I ever see with the female stars now is much like you said, half nakedness. They push the envelope in the lack of clothing and being sexual NOT in simulating sex on stage.

There’s a big difference in that.

And why just sing a song, that’s not entertaining! You can bring a snake out!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sex…. runaway screaming!!!!!!!!! Whatever.. You go Adam..

Hmmm, this is all very interesting.
I wish I could just talk to him in private and say a few things.
Because I love that guy’s talent, and I love his guts.
But I think he’s wrong on some points: I think there is a bit of a difference in the way we perceive a woman’s sexuality, and the way we perceive a man’s sexuality-
When women are showing sexuality in an agressive way, it may be considered vulgar to some, sexy to others, but I don’t think it’s actually threatening.
On the other hand, when a man is sexual in an agressive way, then he comes off like a rapist. It comes off as violent and threatening, because, yes, men are bigger and stronger, and are capable of rape, while women… well, I’ve heard of rare cases of sexual abuse by women, but that’s such a small percentage that most of us aren’t even aware of such a possibility.
So Adam should realize that that really does offend some people (and they might actually be very nice and cool people who like feirce Adam, only not that kind of fierce, lol)
Anyway- I still think the main problem here was the vocals (whether because of sound problems, over-ambitious choreography or whatever)- and since I’ve seen enough footage of Adam being brilliant till now, I think the rest of his promo tour will go down well!
So- yeah- Go Adam!

I remember Lady Gaga telling Adam they can’t scare you if you scare them first………… Woooooohooooooo ROTFL.. Adams not scared..

spinastory
11/23/2009 at 6:27 am

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sex’ ¦. runaway screaming!!!!!!!!! Whatever.. You go Adam..

If you’re trying to paint us as prudes, then that’s rather small-minded of you. Just because we don’t agree with Adam’s performance does not mean we have a phobia of all things sex-related. It’s like asking someone who is sexy, Angelina Jolie (who has bared all) or Jessica Alba (who has shown some skin, but never bared all), and expecting people to agree that AJ is sexier than Alba.

There’s a difference between being sexy on stage and simulating sex on stage.

We all know Adam is capable of much more. He is very strong vocally, and yet this song does not allow him to showcase that. The glory notes towards the end of his performance could not save the train wreck that came before. The problem though is that Adam does not really have good taste, and so you can’t really expect him NOT to be tacky. If you look at his choice of album covers, you’ll know what I’m talking about when it comes to taste level. There is a way to make an album cover look campy without making it look tasteless. There is also a way to be sexy without having to simulate a blowjob on stage.

Nope just giving my point of view

He hasn’t lost this fan either. I was a bit disappointed with the vocals last night and his performance did shock me- I felt the same with the Britney/Madonna kiss, but expected it from them because quite frankly neither of them can sing.
‘
Having said that, he was probably second only to Lady Gaga last night. Adam on a bad day is still better than most.

the most important thing is ADAM looked super HOT!!

Yes Yes he did.

I find this all entertaining.. I appoligize if that offends people. I don’t tend to take this seriously. Oh well..

Bye MJ thanks for all the information and coverage this season but I won’t stick around for the decapatation!!!!

What’s appropriate on a cable TV station (VMAs are not on a regular chennel) is not necessarily appropriate on a station like ABC. I don’t think American society is puritanical in any way – I found some of the other performances just as off-putting as Adam’s. And I thought he always said he was in it for the music – this performance certainly didn’t make things seem like that, especially when contrasted with a performance like Kelly Clarkson’s.

would be discrimination.

‘If it’s gonna be edited, then in a way that’s discrimination. I don’t mean to get political, but Madonna, Britney and Christina weren’t edited,’  Adam said. ‘It’s a shame. Female entertainers have been risqu for years. Honestly, there’s a huge double standard.’ ”

Well, I love your music, Adam. But in this quote right here …. Well, gosh, you kind of sound like that horrible guy, Aaron Hicklin, that you were saying was dead wrong about censorship — that it was okay for you and RCA to choose to censor things, don’t you?

So … How come it was wrong wrong wrong of Hicklin to complain about censorship on political grounds? But right right right to complain about it because you apparently want to simulate a blow job on network television? How come it was okay for RCA to ask that your “gay gayness” be censored in a magazine, because putting you in a political context might harm record sales a bit, but wrong for the Letterman show to ask that simulated sex acts, etc., be censored out of a network television, because they figure that maybe that’s not the right venue for that kind of entertainment?

Politics? Gay rights struggle? Apparently not as important as cd sales. But simulating sex on network television? Apparently much more important than notions of appropriateness.

I do agree with him that the double standard for men and women in portraying sexuality is there and is not entirely fair, and I think at least a significant portion of that is driven by what we’re used to. But the fact is that if you go on network tv, certain questions of appropriateness *will* arise, and, to me *that* is a place where it’s okay to just push the envelope *gently* instead of ripping it open all it once.

I’m surprised that Adam was so quick to reject the argument that the political struggle has to be all-out or nothing when now he’s turning around a few days later and saying that the right to be all-out or nothing when it comes to being super-sexual as a pop performer on network tv is all important. That seems like it might be a contradiction, to me, and maybe a case of somewhat misplaced priorities. I think he needs to slow down and think this through a bit.

I wonder what he’ll think when he listens back to his performance as it sounded on television and finds out that his vocals were kind of off.

Oh, well, this isn’t the last of his chances. I chalk the less-than=stellar performance last night up to the fact that he’s been dreaming of and practicing for this dream career moment since he was 10 and mainly as a result of that he just way overdid it, felt he had to do *everything* and prove *everything* right out of the gate. That’s a great way to sabotage yourself.

His comment on discrimination wasn’t specifically related to gay ‘“ it was that male performers are seemingly held to a different standard when displaying sexuality than women are. Is ok for Madonna to kiss another girl and girls to hump each other and anything in sight as they dance (cause hey a little girl on girl is everyone’s fantasy right ‘“ well maybe not) but a guy kisses a guy or engages in a bit of dance romp and everyone starts screaming lewd and shouldn’t be allowed’ ¦ not defending the perspective, just clarifying.

So, he’s claiming to be a male’s rights advocate?

IDK. I think it’s a bit quick to be complaining about discrimination to at least two different news outlets (LA Times and RollingStone) before any censoring ever happened. Especially when ABC did not cut out the kiss that was specifically mentioned in the RollingStone article. If he can find an example where Brit, Madonna or Christina shoved a dancer of either sex into their crotch and simulated oral sex on national TV, he might have a case. Heck, Brittany had to change the lyrics to one of her songs before it could be a hit on the radio, so don’t be claiming that women have all the rights.

Adam has an amazing voice. People like Paris and Brittany have to use controversy to sell albums because they do not. He can try to spin it all he likes that people are upset about him kissing a male (he’s far from the first to do it on TV) when that isn’t what people are complaining about. “Pay not attention to the simulated oral sex, tripping/falling and singing off-key”. And don’t try claim it’s more male discrimination because JLo was called out for falling and several artists were called out for singing badly as well.

the media response this morning is not that bad…in fact, most articles I see just say that Adam had the “watercooler” moment…none say it was wrong or bad or too shocking for network television…..I do agree with EW that vocally it just wasn’t that good — the sound mix was horrible, adam was visibly nervous (probably the 3 hour wait with this performance being hyped every 2o minutes didn’t help), and the choreography made it hard to sing (there is a reason why artists lip synch)…anyway, at least he sang live, which is more than I can say for most of the pop princesses who appeared on the AMAs last night, and his performance was far less bleeped out than Eminem’s….Rihanna was naked on some sort of machine, the camera had to try desperately to avoid looking up shakira’s crotch etc. etc….

I really cant wait for the music video now lol I think it might anger even more people.

Sorry but after Adam’s performance, I was laughing. I couldn’t help it. He always makes me go “did he just do THAT? On national TV?” He’s so much fun to follow and be a fan of. He has balls that’s for sure!

The song is about sex people. Did you really think he was going to sit on a stool singing about S&M? Seriously?

Can’t wait to see him on Lettermen! That’ll be a hoot!

the media response this morning is not that bad’ ¦in fact, most articles I see just say that Adam had the ‘watercooler’  moment’ ¦none say it was wrong or bad or too shocking for network television’ ¦..I do agree with EW that vocally it just wasn’t that good

Nobody is probably saying much in one way or another beceause no one really knows anything about Adam Lambert, if this was Britney or Gaga or someone else they’d be all up in arms, but since Adam was a relatively unheard of I think it is going to kinda be pushed under the rug.

I dont think it has nothing to do with discrimination, is just that the program is family oriented, and lets faced that performance wasnt family like…

ABC has a lot of programs with gay people, and gay kissing, so the network isnt attacking Adam and his serxuality…

And please to his fans dont attack me but I can’t help to think that is just for publicity and that is the trully sad part… Adam can sing and I’m sure he can do great thinks as artist… so is sad he has to do this kind of things to sell…

Seriously, I thought Kelly Clarkson’s Susan Boyle get up was more shocking.

interesting that the non-idol press is mostly positive this morning calling Adam and Gaga the highlights of the show. also twitter amazingly supportive. add that to the 10 point jump in album and single rankings and I have to say this is not what I was expecting to wake up to.

also, like the above poster, now saying goodbye to MJs. It was a wonderful summer following Adam here, but I am not an Idol fan (didn’t even see Season and I find the discussion here increasingly bitter and unpleasant. Can’t say it hasn’t been entertaining though!
peace and best wishes to all!

Seriously, I thought Kelly Clarkson’s Susan Boyle get up was more shocking.

lol this… I thought she looked like Kelly Osborne…

Seriously, I thought Kelly Clarkson’s Susan Boyle get up was more shocking.

Kelly sang her face-off and got a standing O. She can wear a potato sack for all I care. When you’ve got the goods, you don’t need the gimmicks.

And please to his fans dont attack me but I can’t help to think that is just for publicity and that is the trully sad part’ ¦ Adam can sing and I’m sure he can do great thinks as artist’ ¦ so is sad he has to do this kind of things to sell’ ¦

Well, I’m an Adam fan, so of course I’m biased … but I don’t think it’s really that much about this (although of course they *all* want to sell — because that’s the only way you get to keep doing what you do.) …. Really — being a visual, sexual performer with lots of choreography and dancing and stuff all around his sometimes wild vocal performances … that’s just Adam. That’s the style of art and performance that he loves best. ….

And he’s been hoping he can be a pop performer for maybe 17 years, hoping for it, practicing for it, thinking about, planning for it …. And when you do that and you get your chance, I think it’s a pretty easy mistake to make to put just a little *too* much into that big moment. You’ve produced a gazillion eggs over the years and now you’ve got a big basket at last, and you just put all those eggs in it — which is risky.

For me, the only problem with the performance last night is that it just didn’t quite come off. When you try to cram so many moving pieces into a stage performance, it has to go absolutely like clockwork to completely work and clockwork eluded him.

I think it’s a bit quick to be complaining about discrimination to at least two different news outlets (LA Times and RollingStone) before any censoring ever happened.

Reporters were asking him about him getting edited for West Coast. It is his response to questions about being edited when he talked discrimination. He has a right to answer the question.

Just want to say Lucy that I agree with your entire post.

Seriously, I thought Kelly Clarkson’s Susan Boyle get up was more shocking.

Well, I like visuals, too. But I really miss having singing and music be about your ears. And Kelly very very seldom disappoints my ears — she certainly didn’t yesterday; she made my ears very happy. So, for me, she can wear anything she wants!

For her sake, I guess I wish she had a stylist who could do a better job of showing her how to be Kelly and comfortable while still looking really cool. I do think that could be done. But, honestly, the only reason I wish that is so that her look wouldn’t distract some folks from her wonderful singing and performing.

I guess Adam failed to realize all those previous provocative performances by female artists are the reason the FCC has clamped down on the networks, particularly their live programming. Adam and 19/Jive just used Dick Clark Productions and ABC to get buzz, no matter what the ramifications were to others. If the FCC fines ABC, I hope they pass the bill along to Adam and 19/RCA.

Kirsten
11/23/2009 at 7:10 am

Seriously, I thought Kelly Clarkson’s Susan Boyle get up was more shocking.

Kelly sang her face-off and got a standing O. She can wear a potato sack for all I care. When you’ve got the goods, you don’t need the gimmicks.

EXACTLY. It’s funny that people seem to put more credence nowadays on being able to give a visually entertaining performance. Perhaps it’s a sign of the rapidly deteriorating attention span of the TV-viewing public. Whatever happened to simply being able to sing your socks off?

Adam is a nut, oh my goodness he’s a nut – but damn I love him. Itunes is doing ok with his album too.

#14 ad #16 overall and and #6 and #7 on the pop and # 5 on Amazon.

Reporters were asking him about him getting edited for West Coast. It is his response to questions about being edited when he talked discrimination. He has a right to answer the question.

Sure you have the right to answer the question, but it’s all how you spin it. You can say, “ABC has been behind me all the way and I have confidence that they will do the right thing” or you can say “They better not censor me or it’s discrimination”. One gives ABC the same courtesy that they gave you for the past several weeks (trust) while one makes you look like a whiner. I can’t believe his PR team didn’t prep him for that question. Or maybe it did. Maybe they are planning on using controversy to sell the album because they don’t trust it.

And what do you know, ABC didn’t cut his kiss so he has nothing to complain about. ABC doesn’t discriminate. ABC has been stand-up all the way to Adam.

Talking about political issues to Out is a no,no. But doing a pretend blow job on AMA turns you into Martin Luther King, Jr. Does this get any sillier.

I guess Adam failed to realize all those previous provocative performances by female artists are the reason the FCC has clamped down on the networks, particularly their live programming.

Exactly. Female artists have been doing this for years.

Adam you are not the 1st. So don’t act like you are the 1st…you are just like every other POP female performer out there.

You are just repeating the same ‘TRASHY’ shtick that many people, I wouldn’t even call them artists, have done before. Like Britney Spears.

There are kids who watched AI that wanted to stay up to watch him perform. Now imagine what they saw.

I thought Adam didn’t want to be political or a role model. Now he’s calling out double standards and discrimination? What, he’ll only be ‘gay-gay’  when he chooses, and the rest of the time we should do as he says and accept it? Hypocrite.

ITA. What a load of crap. He’s pulling out that card now when it suits him? Jerk.

Seriously, I thought Kelly Clarkson’s Susan Boyle get up was more shocking.

Kelly sang her face-off and got a standing O. She can wear a potato sack for all I care. When you’ve got the goods, you don’t need the gimmicks.

kirsten is my hero… ita 100 percent. kelly, and i gotta give my fave some props here, david a, are two singers who prove this time and time again… and it is exactly that bedrock that their fans love, and their peers and the industry respects about them… they may be picked at and poked at for other shallow and superficial reasons, but kelly never fails to bring it, and neither does david… kudos to kelly clarkson for being a class act, and showing us all again what it’s all about. my kelly appreciation has gone up tremendously after last night’s performance.

I like the performance more and more after rewinding it and repeat viewings…but no, I wouldn’t have liked to have my kids watching. Adam even said in the access hollywood interview that “maybe I’m just not for you”. I think he is realistic about not pleasing everyone and about even turning some off. I hope he continues to live out his vision and is very successful with it. He is doing a more “sensitive” song on Letterman, just how he went outrageous and then pulled it back on Idol. He’s definitely got people talking!!

1st he said he is not a role model for Gays rights. In fact just a few days ago he said he did not want to do that…and NOW he is saying he did his ‘shtick’ for political/artist statement.

What a bunch of hogwash!

I call B.S. on that.

Kelly sang her face-off and got a standing O. She can wear a potato sack for all I care. When you’ve got the goods, you don’t need the gimmicks.

Sorry, don’t agree that that song was “the goods”. Nice voice, though, but totally forgettable. Same with Daughtry and Carrie.

Do this get any sillier.

Well, Adam is a silly person.

I really don’t care if performers do a very sexual show, or hanging in trampolines or whatever as long as they can pull the music off, as long as the singing and the music is the best it can be.

Sorry to say but I have never seen Adam sing as bad as he did yday. He was clearly extremely nervous and he felt very very tensed. He can perform naked for all I care, I just love his vocals when he is relaxed.

Notice that Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson didn’t have to do “gimmicks” to perform. Even Carrie’s was tame and cool in comparison.

Whether the performance came off exactly as planned by all involved, it was shocking. If that was the intention, it worked. But aside from the shock factor, I was disappointed in the overall quality. It simply wasn’t up to Adam’s usual standards, IMHO. We’ll see what the outcome is. I really don’t think Adam has screwed the pooch, but I’m afraid he could have lost some valuable support at an extremely critical time. There’s no doubt it probably didn’t win him any new fans.

, ABC didn’t cut his kiss so he has nothing to complain about. ABC doesn’t discriminate. ABC has been stand-up all the way to Adam.

Yes they did keep the kiss in but he didn’t know it would be kept in when he’s asked the questions. Sorry but no matter how it is spun, if they had edited the kiss out it would have been discrimination. Adam was right on the money with that one. I really think this will blow over. I don’t think it is as big of a deal in the long run as people on here make it.

Sorry, don’t agree that that song was ‘the goods’ . Nice voice, though, but totally forgettable. Same with Daughtry and Carrie.

Maybe to those who would rather see a FREAK SHOW than listen to good music.

That is why there is crappy music out there like Britney.

The best part of the show was Daughtry, Kelly and Carrie.

Whether the performance came off exactly as planned by all involved, it was shocking. If that was the intention, it worked. But aside from the shock factor, I was disappointed in the overall quality. It simply wasn’t up to Adam’s usual standards, IMHO. We’ll see what the outcome is. I really don’t think Adam has screwed the pooch, but I’m afraid he could have lost some valuable support at an extremely critical time.

Yeah, I am not happy with the quality either, but I don’t really think it matters. We’ll see.

The best part of the show was Daughtry, Kelly and Carrie.

I disagree, I thought Lady G stole the show. The stuff with the piano? That was brilliant!

thought Adam didn’t want to be political or a role model. Now he’s calling out double standards and discrimination? What, he’ll only be ‘gay-gay’  when he chooses, and the rest of the time we should do as he says and accept it? Hypocrite.

ITA. What a load of crap. He’s pulling out that card now when it suits him? Jerk.

Lol- Now his performance was a political statement? Hardly. He likes boys. Kissing a boy is natural for him. He has done this shit on stage before ( “Crazy” performance anyone?). THIS IS NOT NEW. Nor is it his political statement. ABC made it one by sensoring something that comes natural TO HIM and millions of other gay people across the country.

And if you don’t think madonna or Britney ever did the ole crotch in the face routine, think again.

saga- I agree Lady Gaga was the best of the night.

http://www.accesshollywood.com/american-music-awards-2009-adam-lambert-shock-is-fun_video_1178554

Backstage interview after the AMA performance……

For someone who wants to be about the music, Adam sure does a lot of things to distract people from thinking about him as a musician. If Adam looks back in history, Madonna did not start off extremely controversial. She became popular because of her music, style and dance and she gradually became controversial over the years. However, even her most risky videos were generally works of art, which is what saved them from just being dismissed as trash. I think the same happened for Christina and Britney to a lesser extent (they had quite a few pop hits before they started becoming very controversial). The closest male counterpart I can think of is Prince, who was such a brilliant artist that he easily got away with pushing boundaries. THAT is how you bring about change and acceptance in the music industry. If you put on a craptastic show that’s only memorable because you shoved your crotch in someone’s face, then expect people not to be impressed. Adam picked up most of his fans on idol by sitting still on a chair with a blue light shining on him. He might want to try that technique first before he starts swimming with the sharks.

I wouldn’t say Kelly was forgotten. Already Gone seems nicely placed at 17 on iTunes. That FYE performance they pimped all night long hasn’t done much for the song’s sales. It’s still in the 60s on iTunes.

Sorry, don’t agree that that song was ‘the goods’ . Nice voice, though, but totally forgettable. Same with Daughtry and Carrie.

the record buying public hasn’t found them to be ”forgettable” – not in the least. they have put up, and effectively have shut up any arguments pertaining to that… they deserved their places on the big stage last night, and have earned the respect of the music buying public and industry through their ”goods”… talk is cheap, but their performances were not… can’t say that about a few others.

I don’t think anyone is going to “get” his artistic message if they cut out the BJ!

This thing is started to feel really staged. I bet he never intended to perform this song more than once. I just hope he pulls his vocals together for the next performance.

@Studio57: Of course you would think Kelly Clarkson’s performance was forgettable, seeing as she didn’t do a crotch grab or break bottles on a flaming piano. Just because she didn’t have pyrotechnics doesn’t mean she didn’t sing that song well. Her performance was controlled, restrained and IMO more intimate than all the bombast that was going on onstage with Shakira’s dancers all over the place and whatnot.

I disagree, I thought Lady G stole the show. The stuff with the piano? That was brilliant!

One thing about Gaga…she can play the piano and is a musician.

I guess people didn’t think Kelly Clarkson was “forgettable” she has zoomed up of the ALL the idols who sang last night.

Actually this whole thing is starting to feel like Blake Lewis redux except on steroids.

Lousy album cover, check. Buying into your own bs, check. Doing gross stuff to turn off the fans, check. Underwhelming first performance, check.

So far so good.

Can I just say that it was awkward when Ryan came up to the mic and was like, “Adam Lambert everyone!” (insert nervous laughter here) “I’m sure he designed all those costumes!” WTF Ryan?

…also why didn’t they have Kris Allen sing? He was great live on Conan show when he sang his song. He could have sang the song with Daughtry. The one they did together.

Adam and 19/Jive just used Dick Clark Productions and ABC to get buzz, no matter what the ramifications were to others.

Oh, please. Why in the world do you think DCP and ABC put Adam last? They were using him to get buzz…works both ways

what I actually don’t understand is what the heck the strategy was/is wrt FYE the single….he is apparently not going to be singing it on his album promo appearances, radio and his management already seem to have moved on to WWFM, it is a hard song to sing live, it is far from the strongest track on the album….was it just for the AMAs? Did they just throw it out there so it wouldn’t be completely new before the AMAS…..there are plenty of other uptempo songs on the album that Adam could have done a better job on vocally that still could have had a big production number (strut, music again, sfw, fever) i just don’t get it

Can I just say that it was awkward when Ryan came up to the mic and was like, ‘Adam Lambert everyone!’  (insert nervous laughter here) ‘I’m sure he designed all those costumes!’  WTF Ryan?

There was kinda of like a muted clapping from the audience…like WTF???

Awe … Cute interview!

Carrie’s performance was a dance number, but her singing was excellent and it was not trashy.

It just seems kind of weird…that WWFM is now going to be the single, I guess, and coincidentally the FYE performance last night was so bad he isn’t going to be performing the song on Letterman? Part of me is hoping Adam just botched the performance on purpose so he could push for WWFM instead as a single. Conspiracies, conspiracies.

guess, and coincidentally the FYE performance last night was so bad he isn’t going to be performing the song on Letterman?

I don’ t think he ever planned on singing FYE on letterman or any of the morning TV shows

Okay, I just have to weigh in on Adam’s performance. First, I am a HUGE fan….I truly think his talent is incredible. After listening to this interview I understand better why he did this performance. Was I uncomfortable????…yeah I was…………Adam said that if you were uncomfortable watching then maybe he is not for you……well, no….he is for me and I will continue to support him.
IMHO, for the first time out of the gate after Idol I just think the *antics* in this took away from his talent. There was too much going on……I was on overload……….when it was over, I just sat there speechless! (and I had gotten my hubby to watch with me…he still has not forgiven him for ROF….so……….he is still not on board! eh!).

For many there last night this was their first time seeing him and I don’t want him defined by this. (unless this is what he wants). The hype was insane……so much pressure for him……and really not fair to anyone. I just hope we get to hear that incredible voice and interpretation that many fell in love with…..I want the shock to be in listening to his amazing voice!

BTW, in the past not a fan of Kelly but last night….just WOW! Thought she looked wonderfully beautiful and sang to match!

This is very amusing- are some of you people seriously saying that Adam doesn’t have “the goods”? Because that’s getting a little carried away, don’t you think? We all know he has them- I won’t even start the millionth description of his vocal expertise, because it’s been beaten to death.
And even a musical genius (which I’m not saying he is, but for the example) can be off pitch when he/she can’t hear him/herself. I’ve seen it happen to the best…
I would understand if you said he was tasteless, but it definitely wasn’t supposed to be something to distract away from his vocals- I’m sure that wasn’t something he was planning on- and will feel bad about once he sees the actual performance…
And i also don’t understand the indignation in the lines of “so now he’s suddenly political- only when it suits him”, and even to go as far as “jerk”…
I am a woman. I don’t feel that that obligates me to actively fight descrimination against women all the time. Yet, when I find myself being discriminated against- I call on it.
I’m not saying he IS being descriminated against, only that he obviously feels that way, and calling it out doesn’t make him a jerk…

mmb
11/23/2009 at 7:44 am

guess, and coincidentally the FYE performance last night was so bad he isn’t going to be performing the song on Letterman?

I don’ t think he ever planned on singing FYE on letterman or any of the morning TV shows

Wait, really? How do you know this? If it’s true, though, that is SO weird. This is just the most bizarro roll-out year ever.

mr
11/23/2009 at 7:44 am

This is very amusing- are some of you people seriously saying that Adam doesn’t have ‘the goods’ ? Because that’s getting a little carried away, don’t you think? We all know he has them- I won’t even start the millionth description of his vocal expertise, because it’s been beaten to death.
And even a musical genius (which I’m not saying he is, but for the example) can be off pitch when he/she can’t hear him/herself. I’ve seen it happen to the best’ ¦
I would understand if you said he was tasteless, but it definitely wasn’t supposed to be something to distract away from his vocals- I’m sure that wasn’t something he was planning on- and will feel bad about once he sees the actual performance’ ¦
And i also don’t understand the indignation in the lines of ‘so now he’s suddenly political- only when it suits him’ , and even to go as far as ‘jerk’ ’ ¦
I am a woman. I don’t feel that that obligates me to actively fight descrimination against women all the time. Yet, when I find myself being discriminated against- I call on it.
I’m not saying he IS being descriminated against, only that he obviously feels that way, and calling it out doesn’t make him a jerk’ ¦

No one is denying Adam can sing. That’s pretty much a given. He has the goods. The problem most people had with the performance was that it seemed to emphasize visuals over vocals, therefore “the goods” were taking a back seat. You can’t really say with all honesty that Adam gave a “master vocal” (to quote Simon). Not only is FYE a song that does not showcase Adam’s great vocals, but he didn’t exactly showcase it himself, given all the choreography and whatever he was doing on stage. Adam has said repeatedly he wants people to focus on his music. How can they do that when he is distracting them with all this, especially people who are not in the AI bubble and do not know him? Doesn’t he think he should win them over with his awesome singing first?

I think the conspiracy is on the other thread. It appears that SUDDENLY OUT OF THE BLUE, after Adam’s disastrous performance last night, Amazon.com is now selling his downloadable cd at $3.99

YES…$3.99.

That popped up a couple of hours after Adam’s performance train wreck.

I guess 19E/Record company want to make sure Adam’s 1st week cd sales are OTT.

One thing about Gaga’ ¦she can play the piano and is a musician.

She can really sing, too. Take away all the kitsch and there’s true talent. I only wish Adam had clearly shown that last night.

This is very amusing- are some of you people seriously saying that Adam doesn’t have ‘the goods’ ? Because that’s getting a little carried away, don’t you think? We all know he has them- I won’t even start the millionth description of his vocal expertise, because it’s been beaten to death.

ITA — we all know he could have just stood there with an orchestra and sung soaked and it would have been gorgeous, or sat of a stool and sung loaded smile or broken open and it would have been beautiful….thereis not question Adam has “the goods” He was going for something different last night –shokcing performance art….the sound mix was horrible and he couldn’t hear himself….it was the worst vocal performance I have ever heard from him…but to imply that he could not have just SANG, that he doesn’t have the goods, is ridiculous….his plan may have backfired last night (or maybe not, we will see), but it wasn’t because he lacks the ability to hit it out of the park

Yeah, how come Adam is now going to do WWFM and not FYE?

I thought FYE was his 1st single?

lol

So are they admitting that FYE was not working?

larc
11/23/2009 at 7:48 am

One thing about Gaga’ ¦she can play the piano and is a musician.

She can really sing, too. Take away all the kitsch and there’s true talent. I only wish Adam had clearly shown that last night.

I’ve seen Gaga do unplugged stuff, and she kills it vocally. I think that’s what’s so great about her. She can deliver a good vocal, and then she can amp it up with awesome music videos and mesmerizing stage performances.

The only shocking thing was how bad the performance was. The vocals, the staging, the antics. It was amateur and desperate.

Lady Gage was the top of the night, Kelly sang her face off, even the much diminished Whitney Houston was entertaining.

Nothing was edited in Mountain. The sound was blanked during the blow job but all the visual was there as was the kiss. Unfortunetly from my viewpoint. I never watch these things but I did for Adam, won’t again.

BTW MJ, the headline on this thread is very misleading. Adam’s statement was before any “editing” could occur so it should say “IF” and it also makes it sound like the performance cancelled FYE on Letterman but it didn’t, he planned on using the other single.

If Adam looks back in history, Madonna did not start off extremely controversial. She became popular because of her music, style and dance and she gradually became controversial over the years. However, even her most risky videos were generally works of art, which is what saved them from just being dismissed as trash.

I think this is a major rewrite of history. Madonna was very much considered trash by a lot of people. There was a lot of comment that she was just using shockvalue to draw attention to herself. A lot of people laughed at what was considered by her as “art” and just thought it was cheap.

By the time she released her book “Sex” people were quite fed up with her and her use of sexuality. She somehow managed to get past that and is now considered an icon.

Wonder what they’re going to do with the video now.

I’m not buying that they weren’t going to perform FYE on Letterman. It’s late night for pete’s sake. I’m thinking it got pulled and if anyone believes he’ll be singing it on GMA, I’ve got an igloo in Hawaii to sell you.

I would have liked to have seen Cook too.

Tonight David Cook tweeted to Kris Allen before the AMAS something like “Knock’em dead”. I thought Allen was going to sing, BUT Cook didn’t tweet Adam?

I’m a big Adam fan, and I have seen a lot of AMA’s in my lifetime. His performance SUCKED. He is trying to hard to shock people when it should be about the music. Plus, the song he sang is just another lame club song. It’s a fun song to go out and dance to but it doesn’t show off his amazing talent. With all the music legends there that night he really should have reigned it in and given a REAL performance. I don’t know, I am feeling like a lot of fans who are wondering wtf happened.

Kelly was the best last nigh hands down. Best performance of this song. And she’s doing better on itunes that the rest of the idols.

even the much diminished Whitney Houston was entertaining.

I don’t know that I’d go quite that far.

Kelly was the best last nigh hands down. Best performance of this song. And she’s doing better on itunes that the rest of the idols.

She deserves it. The way Kelly just stood there and sang her face off. No gimmicks, no whips, no vulgarity, no TRYING to be “edgy”…she just sang.

I loved her and Daughtry. Carrie was great also. They did AI proud last night.

I have to laugh….hard. Adam Lambert is the quintessential showman. He lays it all out there, he pushes the envelope not just to the end of the table, he pushes it until it falls OFF the table in flames. He is shocking, he thrives on making people gasp out loud and if people are all a buzz today about his performance last night, if people are “oh my godding” this morning over his over the top acting last night? Well then he has done exactly what he set out to do. This should surprise absolutely no one least of all the network execs who promoted him heavily all night. Oh, they may pretend they are stunned, nay, SHOCKED I tell you about his performance but they kept people sitting on the couch all night long waiting in anticipation for Lambert.

You may not like my boy, you may find him repulsive and crude but he has them talking and he wont soon be forgotten. He wont allow it to happen. The more he speaks, the more he is seen the more hype he will obtain and thats all good. He is having the time of his life and so am I.

For the record, I was disappointed in his vocals last night but heh, he looked fabulous and I know what he is capable of. All in all for me, it was the best Music Award Show I have seen in years.

Jay-Z and Alicia KILLED.

1. I don’t think Adam is talking about discrimination because he’s gay, he was talking discrimination because he’s MALE. And the discrimination he’s talking about is artistic, not political. Women get to be overtly sexy, men don’t. Did anyone notice Shakira and her dancers bumping and grinding earlier in the evening? So I don’t see the “hypocrisy.” Whether you liked what Adam was doing, of course, is a matter of taste, and I can understand if you didn’t. He’s apparently not trying to be all things to all people, which is okay with me.

2. I was glad to see him be in your face Adam in the interview. I was afraid he’d be in his dressing room banging his head against the wall. The “antics” were not more (well, not much more) than I expected in light of the lyrics and hype.

3. Sadly, the vocals were less than I expected. I think Adam was going for a performance that looked like a live video, and I think it was just too much to do and be his usual vocally flawless self. I know it’s called “For Your Entertainment” but he didn’t need three circus rings going on.

4. So what if Kelly Clarkson isn’t a wraith? She can sang, folks. Her performance was beautiful.

5. Shakira, Rihanna, Eminem & 50 Cent, J-Lo — I can’t remember their performances except that I didn’t like them.

6. Carrie was very good (can I have her legs, please) but even she was a little off vocally. (Not much, just a note or two.) I love that song, and it was still a great performance. And so refreshing that it was done LIVE.

7. Lady Gaga was fabulous. I can’t believe it, but I love her.

8. Watching Whitney was sad. It was like she’d died, they’d embalmed her, and brought her mummy out to sing. Maybe as she continues to recover her voice will recover too. I hope so.

tinydance
11/23/2009 at 7:57 am

I would have liked to have seen Cook too.

Tonight David Cook tweeted to Kris Allen before the AMAS something like ‘Knock’em dead’ . I thought Allen was going to sing, BUT Cook didn’t tweet Adam?

I saw that, I think he said “give ‘em hell” and I think David Cook didn’t know that Kris was just presenting. Also, David and Kris are Twitter buddies LOL they always tweet each other, so I think it was kind of a given that David would tweet Kris.

Did anyone see Jason Castro’s tweets about his reaction to Adam’s performance? The poor guy got bombarded by Adam fans on Twitter after he expressed his opinion. Yikes.

Oh, and I think I might be in the minority. Carrie Underwood’s performance peeved me. She looked really smug for some reason. I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.

I think there are a lot of people “using” Adam right now. ABC certainly wanted the shock and ratings as they pimped his performance all night as “what everyone will be talking about” and “jaw-dropping.” They got what they wanted out of it, Adam and team not so much. Out maxed-out their exposure with all that hoopla. Adam’s team needs to reign this stuff in.

And, way to screw over the whole single release situation to suite a one-time AMA spot. I don’t think the AMAs had any intention of signing Adam on to sing WWFM (although he could have done it beautifully). They wanted the shock and spectacle (and, sure, the voice, too), and I bet they had a lot of input in terms of what Adam would be singing on their show. Now, Adam gets to spend the next week yet introducing another song to the public—although in this case, I’m glad he is ready with one.

I have to laugh’ ¦.hard. Adam Lambert is the quintessential showman. He lays it all out there, he pushes the envelope not just to the end of the table, he pushes it until it falls OFF the table in flames. He is shocking, he thrives on making people gasp out loud

…and it has done many, many times before…AND BETTER.

Adam was not the 1st…but he certainly was the most DISASTROUS.

Good for Jason for speaking his mind. He has every right to.

Did anyone see Jason Castro’s tweets about his reaction to Adam’s performance? The poor guy got bombarded by Adam fans on Twitter after he expressed his opinion. Yikes.

Sometimes some Glamberts are BIGGEST IDIOTS. No one can have an opinion about their phony poser “Rawk God” without them getting alllllllllll butt hurt over it.

Poor guy.

Chicagolaw
11/23/2009 at 8:03 am

I think there are a lot of people ‘using’  Adam right now. ABC certainly wanted the shock and ratings as they pimped his performance all night as ‘what everyone will be talking about’  and ‘jaw-dropping.’  They got what they wanted out of it, Adam and team not so much. Out maxed-out their exposure with all that hoopla. Adam’s team needs to reign this stuff in.

And, way to screw over the whole single release situation to suite a one-time AMA spot. I don’t think the AMAs had any intention of signing Adam on to sing WWFM (although he could have done it beautifully). They wanted the shock and spectacle (and, sure, the voice, too), and I bet they had a lot of input in terms of what Adam would be singing on their show. Now, Adam gets to spend the next week yet introducing another song to the public’”although in this case, I’m glad he is ready with one.

Really? I didn’t know awards shows had a say in what a performer was going to sing on the show…?

You know, in terms of Castro, I don’t have much sympathy there. He didn’t waste any time jumping.

I still believe in Adam and I’ll still be a fan. I just noticed that his AMA performance has suddenly energized a bunch of peeps from both sides of the equation.

So if Cook twitters Allen, and Jason, Carrie, Archie and Daughtry have come out and said they like Allen better…uh that about tells you something right there since they all have met both Allen and Lambert.

Oh well I heard Blake Lewis really ‘digs’ Adam…lol

I think this is a major rewrite of history. Madonna was very much considered trash by a lot of people. There was a lot of comment that she was just using shockvalue to draw attention to herself. A lot of people laughed at what was considered by her as ‘art’  and just thought it was cheap.

Yup — child of the 80s here and Madonna was considered “shocking” from the very beginnig…she wore ripped tights and writhed around and wore “boy toy” belt buckles…she was very sexualized…and then she did the like a virgin performance rolling around on the floor and that was considered very risque and shocking at the time…people thought she was a no talent one trick pony, who was only after shock value, but she proved all the naysayers wrong

I

think this is a major rewrite of history. Madonna was very much considered trash by a lot of people. There was a lot of comment that she was just using shockvalue to draw attention to herself. A lot of people laughed at what was considered by her as ‘art’  and just thought it was cheap.

Madonna started off with a lot of catchy songs that appealed to people of all ages and most of her more shocking stuff came out with her Immaculate Collection album. Her first very popular videos were Lucky Star, Borderline and Material Girl. Other than questionable fashion sense…how were those videos controversial? I was just a kid when those videos came out and my parents certainly weren’t stopping me from watching them.

T

his is very amusing- are some of you people seriously saying that Adam doesn’t have ‘the goods’ ? Because that’s getting a little carried away, don’t you think?

Oh I never thought Adam had the goods. Still don’t. Last night’s performance was exactly what I expected would happen when his schtick hit the real world. Actually, strike that – I didn’t guess it would be that bad, but I did think the hype would come crashing down around him.

Adam isn’t a musician. He doesn’t even really seem to care about music all that much and he has no sense of where the line is between risque and just plain silly. He never had it on Idol either.

He has an amazing vocal range. I always thought he’d be well-suited to theater, where over-the-top gestures and facial expressions are required in order to reach the whole audience. But I don’t think he has what it takes to be up on that stage last night with all those talented artists.

You know, in terms of Castro, I don’t have much sympathy there. He didn’t waste any time jumping.

Oh really? what did he say?

I think I heard he said something like he didn’t like to see “groping” on tv.

So how “terrible” is that?

Oh and another BTW…….Danny may not like Adam’s performance last night but he needs to take one page out of Adam’s book and not criticize and judge. Adam has always been supportive of his fellow Idols…even if their style is not his cup of tea. Danny just is so rough around the edges that he insults me every time he speaks. ( I am referring to his comment that his (danny’s) performances are about music and not antics)….he always manages to get a dig in about himself and judges others….always! hate. it.

My best friend, who didnt really like Adam before, watched his performance and suddenly fell in love with him LOL Now shes planning to buy his CD.

What did Danny say?

Starr, the AMAs are putting on a TV show. I am sure they have a plan and a role that want each performer to fill. I am not saying they dictated the song, but they would certainly be vocal with Adam’s team in terms of what they wanted. I think Adam’s team/RCA needs to get a handle on things.

tinydance
11/23/2009 at 7:47 am
I think the conspiracy is on the other thread. It appears that SUDDENLY OUT OF THE BLUE, after Adam’s disastrous performance last night, Amazon.com is now selling his downloadable cd at $3.99

YES’ ¦$3.99.

That popped up a couple of hours after Adam’s performance train wreck.

I guess 19E/Record company want to make sure Adam’s 1st week cd sales are OTT.

WOW – that’s unbelievable. BTW – go tinydance. ITA with everything you’ve said.

Detroit News’s take on the AMAs:

http://detnews.com/article/20091123/ENT/911240301/Idol-s-Lambert-shocks-as-Swift-rocks-the-AMA

@Chicagolaw: At first, I was perturbed when Castro said “that was disgusting” re: Adam’s performance (the dude could have phrased it better LOL), but after he explained it (he had to, I guess, after being besieged LOL) I could kinda see where he was coming from. And it’s not like if you hate someone’s performance that you’re insulting their character. I’m sure a lot of Adam fans didn’t like his performance but still like Adam. *shrug*

tinydance
11/23/2009 at 8:09 am

So if Cook twitters Allen, and Jason, Carrie, Archie and Daughtry have come out and said they like Allen better’ ¦uh that about tells you something right there since they all have met both Allen and Lambert.

Oh well I heard Blake Lewis really ‘digs’ Adam’ ¦lol

Uh, let’s not generalize. Not everything is as cut-and-dry like that.

I wasn’t offended by it although a little shocked but must admit I also missed some of his antics because the vocals weren’t good enough to keep my attention. What I don’t understand is why he thought that was a smart thing to do. It’s the first time a lot of people outside AI fans who are seeing him. Why be so in your face?

I couldn’t believe is that they had him finish the show. I’d have rather seen him and Green Day flipped or almost anyone else.

My best friend, who didnt really like Adam before, watched his performance and suddenly fell in love with him LOL Now shes planning to buy his CD.

Well she can get it DIRT CHEAP on amazon.com…it’s only $3.99…maybe if she waits it will be 99 cents by the end of the week.

Well she can get it DIRT CHEAP on amazon.com’ ¦it’s only $3.99′ ¦maybe if she waits it will be 99 cents by the end of the week.

It’s part of amazon’s “Black Friday Deals Week” and other popular albums are being sold at these prices, including Rihanna. No need for the drama.

Hey, I’m fine with Castro. I just think there are probably a lot of people (and former Idols) who have some kind of opinion on Adam’s performance, and yet they are remaining quiet. Maybe they feel a little compassion for a guy who, like them, is trying to navigate the post-Idol world and is stumbling a bit.

think the conspiracy is on the other thread. It appears that SUDDENLY OUT OF THE BLUE, after Adam’s disastrous performance last night, Amazon.com is now selling his downloadable cd at $3.99

YES’ ¦$3.99.

That popped up a couple of hours after Adam’s performance train wreck.

I just checked and it is still listed at $9.99. It says you save $3.99 just like it did b/f the show. Stop the drama.

Ok. I can’t really watch the full performance because, man, was Adam pitchy last night. Don’t care if he sings nude, I just want him to deliver musically. I feel for him because he seemed very, very nervous and it’s his first big gig. So kudos for going for the big bang, Adam, but when you do something the first time, keep it simple (naked would have been fine)!

I think he’ll be ousted from the idol stable after this though…

Do I think this will harm him? Not really as long as he does some safe ass-kicking performances in the days to come. Madonna comes to mind when I think of his performance last night. Might have been to quick out of the gate but also it’s a good strategy to get away from the idol/newbie stamp. Maybe he will get a freak stamp instead?

tinydance
11/23/2009 at 7:47 am
I think the conspiracy is on the other thread. It appears that SUDDENLY OUT OF THE BLUE, after Adam’s disastrous performance last night, Amazon.com is now selling his downloadable cd at $3.99

YES’ ¦$3.99.

That popped up a couple of hours after Adam’s performance train wreck.

Sorry. Wrong. And a little hasty and ill-informed. Take a look at this-

http://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b/ref=topnav_storetab_dmusic?ie=UTF8&node=163856011

For those of you curious about the price drop’ ¦ it’s part of the marketing strategy for the most popular MP3 downloadable albums, including Rihanna’s and Lady Gaga’s…. for Amazon’s ‘Black Friday Deals Week.’ 

So basically, it means Adam is in pretty good company and it’s actually all good.
Has nothing to do with the AMA and everything to do with smart marketing.

By the way, FYE Deluxeisnow at #11 on the top albums chart in iTunes.
The regular FYE has jumped to #14– a significant increase!!

Aloha!

Rihanna is trying to revive her music career AFTER the Chris Brown incident…now what is Adam’s excuse?

Adam’s albums are now #10 ( THE $16.99 DELUXE ADDITION) and #12 (regular addition) on ITunes.

Go Adam!!!! Says alot about him when people are willing to pay that much when they can get it for so cheap on Amazon

I just checked and it is still listed at $9.99.

That is for a hard copy…the downloadable version is NOW $3.99

Chicagolaw
11/23/2009 at 8:23 am

Hey, I’m fine with Castro. I just think there are probably a lot of people (and former Idols) who have some kind of opinion on Adam’s performance, and yet they are remaining quiet. Maybe they feel a little compassion for a guy who, like them, is trying to navigate the post-Idol world and is stumbling a bit.

Good point!

@tinydance: Yeah, cool it, man. I know you don’t like Adam, but I don’t think people should celebrate him not doing well last night. I mean, I wish all the Idols to do well, even those I’m not fans of.

I was just thinking what an opportunity was missed here. Adam was closing the show, and he could have definitely pulled a showstopper (in a good way). Man, I blame whoever choreographed this. They could’ve come up with better ideas.

<>

A matter of opinion. Either way, he has people talking and talking a LOT. At this stage of his career its important to stay in the headlines and thats what he is doing.

LA Times gave Adam’s performance a “D” – enuff said.

LA Times gave Adam’s performance a “D” – enuff said.

Well I see you ya’ll laterz.

>>LA Times gave Adam’s performance a ‘D’  ‘“ enuff said.>>

Why? If The Beatles had listened to the critics at the time of their Ed Sullivan appearance, they would have packed up their guitars and gotten on the first plane back to Liverpool.

I think it’s all very simple: they let him go last because they’d never seen him tank before. I sure as hell have never seen him tank before- and I’ve seen a lot of the tour videos and all of the AI live performances, plus all the youtube videos… the guy had an amazing track record.
But I guess that he never got to do anything as ambitious as this before, and mix all the elements of dancing, climbing up and down stairs, polesetc., bad sound mix and little time to rehearse… yeah, shit happens.
I’m a fan and I admit this was the worst performance of him that I’ve ever seen- but that doesn’t mean you can just erase all the wonderful performances he has given in the past and most likely will give in the future. And I believe he’ll learn how to make it work better.
Oh- and he never said it was only about “music”- but about the “art”, the “performance” as a whole, and for him that includes, yes, the visuals, the dancing, whatever.
Again- you could say that you don’t find this sort of art appealing- some will say it isn’t art at all- whatever- everyone’s entitled to their opinion- but don’t twist his words- he always said he was into all aspects of entertainment- not only the “music”.

Yep- and I am definitely ready to move on now.

His album rocks, and he’s here to stay.

Simon Cowell and the gangs must be proud. They are campaigning for that. Didn’t like him in the show and the performance was worst.

Good morning, I’ve been a huge fan of Adam since the beginning (and I don’t endorse homosexuality) I love the man and the voice. If one good thing came out of his performance yesterday is that he will have people talking alot for a long time. I wasn’t crazy about last nights performance but after so many perfect performances from Adam I hope he doesn’t get discouraged and perhaps tone it down a bit. This doesn’t change anything for me. Adam will be fine…Can’t wait for letterman!!

Okay in that interview he said the song he is singing on Letterman is about SEARCHING FOR LOVE.

Oh, wow if he sings Soaked I will die, but it’s probably WWFM.

BTW- did everyone watch that video? Because he really puts things into perspective about his performance.

Just want to weigh in on what I heard about the AMAs on the morning show of my local radio Top40 station in Tampa.

They only talked about it for a few minutes. They mainly discussed Jlo’s fall and then one of the sidekick guys said ‘Oh and Adam Lambert put a guys face in his crotch and french kissed a girl. The main dj (who hadn’t see the performance) made him play a bit and said “Whoa, he did that?” and thought the kiss was also a girl and said “he must be going for a bi performance.” and the sidekick dude said ‘I love this guy even more now.” And they moved back to talking about Jlo. Nothing else was mentioned about the AMAs except Taylor’s win over Michael Jackson.

It will be interesting to see how this spins for the next couple of days. Adam doesn’t have any television appearances until Wednesday (GMA and the Letterman Show he tapes today). He’s on radio, tomorrow, though and perhaps some of the entertainment shows will feature him.

I’m kind of relieved that the television appearances that Cook and Kris have today are already in the can so they don’t get asked about this controversy.

thedingoateyobaby
11/23/2009 at 8:33 am

Just wanted to say I love the Buffy reference

Kirsten
11/23/2009 at 8:41 am

I’m kind of relieved that the television appearances that Cook and Kris have today are already in the can so they don’t get asked about this controversy.

LOL me too!

I am sorry but I don’t need Adam to explain to me why I should like his performance or to tell me I don’t get it. I don’t like it, it sucked eggs. That is all there is to it. His vocals were off, he can not dance at all. It was a mess.

I’m kind of relieved that the television appearances that Cook and Kris have today are already in the can so they don’t get asked about this controversy.

I’m with you on that. This will be talked about and I’m sure Adam will be asked about it on Letterman and GMA and all upcoming radio appearances.

I guess now they will have to shoot a video for a new single. What will happen to the FYE video? Will it just never see the light of day? What a waste of money all around.

Didn’t see the performance or the incident, and don’t really have an opinion about it specifically. But, and this will surprise those who are familiar with me as a frequent Lambert critic, I did stream most of his album, and, while it was a little uneven and weird at some points, it is artistically and musically superior to most Idol records.

That being said, he’s in serious danger of getting trapped in the hype-over-substance zone, as far as his results. His single sales were abyssmal, which suggests his fanbase may be as loud as the Claymates, but nowhere near their size. And now the label has apparently jettisoned the first single already.

When I heard the record, my thought was that if FYE hit, then the record would too. His second single is in my opinion the best song on the album; the problem, however, is that everything about it screams quintessential SECOND single (think Pink’s “Sober” as a followup to “So What”).

Now as far as what happened last night, the incident screams “sales stunt”. The problem is that it may alienate as many people as it attracts. It’s all good and well to have everybody talking about you, but if they’re just talking about the outrage and not the music, that the buzz is going to show up in the numbers, which are what will really tell the tale.

Lady Gaga is shocking, but she has actual hits. If Adam’s opening is disappointing, this episode in retrospect will come off looking like a desperate ploy by an artist posed to have one of the highest-profile flops in recent memory. As said, the numbers will tell the tale.

from http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-ama-best-worst-2009-p1123,0,4554295.photogallery

Adam Lambert shocks ‘em
By Emily Christianson and Patrick Kevin Day

“American Idol” sometimes get criticized for cranking out safe, digestible, inoffensive pop stars. But this year’s runner-up, Adam Lambert, did his best to break out of that rap with his ultra-lewd closing performance of “For Your Entertainment.” ABC censors had to quick-cut to an odd aerial shot of the audience when Lambert had a male backup dancer simulate oral sex on him midsong. Parents may be outraged, but thank God for that. We were thinking music was getting a little too stale.

I think Adam needs use more than the Britney/Christina/Madonna kiss as an example. I remember either earlier this year or last year Fergie came out and said she was going to be less sexual in her performances, because she was getting a lot of flack for all the gyrating she was doing on stage.

One thing about Gaga’ ¦she can play the piano and is a musician.

True! I think GaGa’s performance was the best of the night, particularly when she was playing the piano.

As for the idols, I really love Adam; vocally, he wasn’t perfect last night, but I will be surprised, unless he is experiencing some vocal strain, if he isn’t awesome on Letterman and on GMA because he almost always is. As for the controversial aspects of his performance, everyone will have their feelings about that, and about whether it was a misjudgement on his part or not, and debate here is not likely to change anyone’s gut reaction, good or bad. Bottom line for me is that I love Adam’s CD, and I love his music, and one less than stellar night is just that. I do have to give him props for the gutsy way that he handled that fall.

The best of the night was-IMO-MS. MARY J. BLIGE ahnds down and also KELLY CLARKSON.I think that is what music/performing should be about—-about passion, fantastic vocals and great music….sadly a lot of the performances were about GIMMICKRY….Adam was no exception.

I don’t think that bondage,S&M visuals,simulated fellatio,torrid kissing have no place in live primetime public TV—-I think that pop artists have some sort of responsibility…..I know these things exist….but do you have to shove it down our throats(no pun intended) plus there may be minors who are impressionable and may get “confused” because they’re not aware of such “things” esp. since Adam comes from a supposedly “family-friendly” TV show and has lots and lots of fans who may be children.tweens and early adolescents.

And I don’t care if he’s trying to become Madonna…when she started going the “deep end” with her controversial documentaries and use of Catholic symbols….she had already had a few hits to her name……and never did like her….too much gimmickry…..and for me….I wouldn’t really classify Madonna as an artist along the lines of the Beatles, MJ,Elvis…..for me…..she’s a POP STAR who’s very,very popular…..a pop cultural icon……not an artist…..she’s the same as Britney….

And I don’t know the whole history of risque performances by the artists mentioned by Adam(Prince,David Bowie and the newer female stars)….did they ever do anything the level which Adam did—-the dirty finger,the simulated fellatio on primetime TV?Idk…but if they did….shame on them too…..

I don’t buy this thing about double standards if they edit his performance…..because if they don’t…this will just give way to even more controversial performances…..you know they have to outdo the last performance….so what’s next?simulated or heck maybe even a live sex show…..hey we all need to express ourselves, right….bullcrap!

For the record,I have always hated performers who resort to GIMMICKRY to advance their careers….Adam said he doesn’t want to be defined by his sexuality/sexual orientation but by his music…..then what the hell was that?!Nothing’s wrong with being gay….but THAT was literally shoving your sexuality down our throats…..

And that was just the performance part…the vocals were just as meh….and that is sad because Adam became known primarily for his VOICE….not his sexuality….he did not come out officially until after AI didn’t he?So it was disappointing that he did focus more on his vocals (despite the song itself being ==for me–bad) but more on putting shock value to his performance…..

Editing out the kiss is discrimination. Editing out the simulated bj, not so much, lol.

Adam once again delivers a brazilliant performance. The only part I had issue with was the ending run which was too much. I think his nerves got the best of him towards the end of the routine. Listening to just the audio of the performance, he really sounded very good until his trip, drop & roll, it got a little messy after that.

Love the CNN and AH interview vids from after the show. So articulate and charming.

I can’t see the flipping the bird part, guess I must watch the vid again!

Also, anyone who allows their children to stay up and watch tv past 10:00 on a school night deserves whatever they get. 10:00 and later is not Family TV time.

For those of you curious about the price drop’ ¦ it’s part of the marketing strategy for the most popular MP3 downloadable albums, including Rihanna’s and Lady Gaga’s’ ¦. for Amazon’s ‘Black Friday Deals Week.’ 

I am not a business person or an economics major, but it seems to me that slashing 60% of my most popular items does not make a lot of sense.

I love Adam, and I have NO problem with the LA Times giving that performance a D, LOL. Adam and his team need to look hard at that grade and make adjustments. It could be a blessing in disguise.

I still feel sad that the vocals were off–he is a tremendous singer. And the fall had to be a nightmare. I actually turned the TV off at that point, it was too painful to watch.

edit: actually, it’s not. Stick to discussing the topic, not your fellow posters

How could he fuck it up so perfectly? He did do that. We’ve heard for weeks that he couldn’t do press because he was practicing for the AMA’s. Seriously, that was horrendous. Horrendous from the singing to the spectacle. I really hate the disservice he did to gay people everywhere. I’ve always supported his right to be who he is, but if this is what he portrays as being gay, well he’s so fucked up.

Yes, I understand that he has no desire to be a poster child, but by being the first openly gay contestant from American Idol, he has to understand that he’s absolutely a poster child (and I do believe he’s played into that when it suited him). I found it distasteful for anybody who wants to have a family but can’t because he/she is gay. Gay isn’t about wild sex. Gay actually isn’t about sex at all. Gay is about the opportunity to love who you want to love without repercussions. That is ultimately all it is.Nobody wants to see your view of it unfolding on a stage…nope, it has nothing to do with being homosexual or heterosexual. It had everything to do with bad taste. I have always secretly thought Adam Lambert had no taste. This performance has convinced me.

Please don’t even tell me that it’s not his fault. He’s so complicit in this that it’s not even funny. I’ve no doubt at all that this is exactly what he wanted to do…I only think he didn’t know how horribly it would fail. He’s not young and should have known. So in the end I find him only a poster child for stupidity.

Ultimately I found it pitchy and umm distasteful.

lol, something tells me Adam planned for all this craziness today. Everybody is talking about him. Bravo Adam!!

I’m kind of relieved that the television appearances that Cook and Kris have today are already in the can so they don’t get asked about this controversy.

LOL me too. I get soooo tired of everyone else being asked about Adam.

Anyway, I just stopped in to say goodbye until the drama dies down. My opinion remains mostly what is was last night:
1) I wish the vocals/sound had been better
2) LOVED that he kissed Tommy (that was hot)
3) The choreography where he had to cross the stage to the chair was a bit awkward

But Adam has exhausted me. I’m tired of arguing over him and the things he’s done. So, I’ll leave those of you with the energy to do so to proceed. I’m going to go hang somewhere among more like minded folk for bit. Be well, all. And may all your idols’s dreams come true.

First he doesn’t want his sexuality to define him.
Then he doesn’t want to be a posterchild for the gay.

Sorry Adam you cant have it both ways.

Then he wants it to be about the music.

Last night was anything but about the music.

Shall we all say SALES STUNT together.

If you guys think this is the way to launch a sustaining career, you’re in dreamland. I wanted better for Adam. This was cheap. At least he built his brand in 4 minutes flat: trashy. I’m not offended. I’m not a prude. I kind of found the number entertaining. I’m stepping outside my taste, outside my more liberal outlook, and outside the Idol/Adam-can-do-no-wrong fandome: this was a major stumble. He even admitted to some “spur of the moment” additions to the erotic part of the performance – don’t go blaming ABC. They had to BLEEP him and censor the BJ video for the west coast. This was NOT done during dress rehearsals, and the network would never have signed off on something they would have to edit out. They are way more scared of the FCC (these days) than they are willing to “push” for outrageousness for Adam. The network doesn’t have much investment in the man. I blame Adam’s management and if he really thinks this was the right way to go, he’s in for a rude awakening. This situation isn’t the way I or many others WANT it, it is reality. I guess I’m still a sucker for class. Oh, and I’m a Madonna-loving, Lady Gaga-loving gay man. There will be a time after some establishment for Adam to cross this line… I really don’t think that time was last night. I just don’t see this serving him well in the long run. Mostly because the vocals just weren’t there. If he at least had hit it out of the park vocally, this discussion would be a little different.

Leaving Adam’s performance out of it, I did not enjoy FYI at all. It’s not anything I would seek out on radio.

Having said that, I do love some of Adam’s other songs and can’t wait to see what his next single will be.

Also, anyone who allows their children to stay up and watch tv past 10:00 on a school night deserves whatever they get. 10:00 and later is not Family TV time.

The AMA’s were broadcast from 7-10PM CST.

HUGE Adam fan here…

A few days ago, I said that Adam is going to be iconic. And I stand by that.

Last night, however, was a false start of note. I have no problem with the kiss, blow job, or any of the other sexual stuff. I do have a problem if it’s done at the expense of the vocals. Unfortunately, that was the case.

edit: No

It was the only bad performance I’ve ever seen Adam give. And I know he will learn and recover from this. The controversy itself isn’t a bad thing at all. But for Americans who don’t know him, it wasn’t a good first introduction.

That said, I remain a big fan. Adam’s vocal ability is outstanding and I have no doubt that he will be very successful.

IMO, Gaga stole the show. Man, that girl is talented.

I like that Adam goes for shock (For the record, it didn’t really shock me either), but not when it ruins his performance. I can’t say for sure that it did, but I think it played some part in it. The choreography looked too stiff, Adam’s vocal wasn’t all that, and I think it was mostly because there was too much going on. Didn’t help that the sound mix was also bad, making his vocals worse than they already were. Even he didn’t look comfortable, and the sexual stuff seemed really forced and “shoved down your throat” rather than a natural, in your face sex bomb.

I find myself somewhat agreeing with Adam here, it does seem like a double standard. I don’t have much issue with him complaining. Although I may be contradicting myself when I say that I would prefer if he would just sing instead of being so sexual.

I’m not a fan of his music at all, but he’s an amazing guy. I certainly wouldn’t mind meeting him.

What worries me is the overly conservative religious people. Even though I’m a pretty religious person, those people offend me to no end, and they could be coming out against Adam with their stupid anti-gay stuff.

I like that he stirred up controversy (Although, TBH, it probably shouldn’t be as controversial as it is in an ideal world, at most how controversial it is when female performers do the same stuff >_>), but that only really works if the performance was amazing. It really wasn’t, but it could’ve been.

EXACTLY. It’s funny that people seem to put more credence nowadays on being able to give a visually entertaining performance. Perhaps it’s a sign of the rapidly deteriorating attention span of the TV-viewing public. Whatever happened to simply being able to sing your socks off?

Well, we’re turning into a visual culture, big time…. And it’s not about subtle visuals either! Visual *splash.* …. It’s happening everywhere — it relates not only to the dearth of actual *singers* and musicians at the top of the music charts but also to the demise of newspapers and magazines, I think….. The visual is a big part of life and adds a lot to it, but if you focus on it too much while neglecting the aural, the literary, you’re going to lose a lot of the more subtle and important stuff in both art and life, if you ask me. I hate having this to cluck over. But I wonder whether we’ll ever go back in the direction where music and lyrics are important in the music world, for example. I’m sure we’ll never go back to where reading is important. I think an all-visual world opens the door for a lot more primitive behavior, but I suppose that’s just the old nerdy lady in me.

Oh my dearest Adam.

Adam says he doesn’t know what makes him sexy, yet he is the one that originally put it in to words in Slezak’s interview following AI. ‘Edgy. . .with a smile’ . Multiple complicated layers all in play at once makes Adam fascinating. Last night had only one layer and it was not sexy ‘“ it was just edgy. Anyone can do that.

Oh, and Adam just threw his ‘It’s not that deep’  mantra out the window because he looked like he took himself waaaaay too seriously last night. Granted, I haven’t listened to or read any of his post performance interviews, but that is the way he came across to me.

Finally, why you would choose to stylize a song when only a few people are even familiar with the original version is beyond me. Isn’t the whole point to promote the song? Apparently, the point was just to shock. Well ‘“ consider me shocked that my favorite artist in a long time disappointed me with a one dimensional, vocally disappointing performance. The vocal acrobatics were a poor choice and his quality was the worst I’ve ever heard.

It’s Monday morning and I feel like I do when my football team chokes a big game away for no good reason.

So if Cook twitters Allen, and Jason, Carrie, Archie and Daughtry have come out and said they like Allen better’ ¦uh that about tells you something right there since they all have met both Allen and Lambert.

David has been very supportive of both Adam and Kris in the press and in concert and even during Idol never took sides, but considering the last 3 weeks he pimped Kris’ single & album on Twitter urging people to buy them, and tweeting Kris last night..well I think it speaks volumes. And I think he did know Kris was only presenting. Kris mentioned presenting in his tweet but didnt mention performing.

Re: Jason. lol I guess he’s not entitled to an opinion?

lol, something tells me Adam planned for all this craziness today. Everybody is talking about him. Bravo Adam!!

That’s cool. It would have been better for him if he didn’t sound like crap though.

“Also, anyone who allows their children to stay up and watch tv past 10:00 on a school night deserves whatever they get. 10:00 and later is not Family TV time.”

Some people’s children DVRed it to watch later. Kinda hard to edit out simulated BJs and panty grabs out of your DVR unless you erase the whole thing. Erasing the whole thing means missing the performances of the performers who have the class to just make it about the music and not about kissing and telling.

I don’t hate Adam…I hate this particular performance.…for me….so irresponsible…it’s like selling your soul for the sake of sales….nothing artistic about giving the dirty finger,smothering the guy’s face on his crotch,pulling some dancer on the floor like some animal….nothing….

My opinion: the foundation of any artist is that talent has to show in every performance. You have to bring it. “Talent” was lacking here: dancing was all over the place, he stumbled, and the vocals were off.
Regarding the kiss, I couldn’t care less if he kisses a horse, but it seemed out of place with the rest of the number, like if he was just walking by the keyboard and decided “I’ll just kiss this guy.” It made the whole thing look even sloppier than it already was.

Love Adam. Love the new CD – there are definintely some hits on it (Pick U Up and Broken Open). AMAs – overdone. Too much going on – couldn’t find the singer….oh wait – there he is falling up the stairs. The best part was the opening (spinning the dancer) after that too busy, vocally a little disappointing etc. The “raunchiness” doesn’t bother me if it’s staged correctly – this wasn’t. It’s all been said. Will I stop supporting Adam? No. If Adam was given a lot of control over the production maybe he’ll invite some more experienced help in next time – mistakes are a great learning tool.

I like that Adam goes for shock (For the record, it didn’t really shock me either), but not when it ruins his performance.

The controversy itself isn’t a bad thing at all. But for Americans who don’t know him, it wasn’t a good first introduction.

This is what I’m saying. And he’s got a network upset at having to edit him. Whether or not you think they should have is besides the point. You have industry execs saying “who the hell is this kid, that we had to do that?” Not to mention him blasting the media. Not a way to make friends who you will need later. You don’t have to sell out – but you’ve got to play the game. That’s the entertainment world. Adam doesn’t have the clout yet to fight the machine.

I doubt Simon Fuller is thrilled either. Hard to manage talent is not a great thing out of the gate. Again, not MY judgement. I’m not offended by any of it. Just pointing out why I personally think it was a serious misstep. Recovering in this competitive climate ain’t so easy.

I have no problem with the kiss, blow job, or any of the other sexual stuff. I do have a problem if it’s done at the expense of the vocals. Unfortunately, that was the case.

THIS. I dont care about the trip, or the BJ, or the kiss-what disappointed me was his vocals. Gaga did what I had hoped Adam would do. She was OTT with the performance, but her voice was on point.

Radio is talking again, saying it was so smart. They loved it.

Scott, I don’t know if your post was directed at me, but I am not blaming ABC. Yes, they wanted him for shock and ratings (obviously) but Adam’s team–and Adam–needs to learn when to pull things in. Where is Lee Cherry or whoever that guy was at Zodiac who warned Adam about the danger of “being laughed at.” Adam needs someone on his team who can pull things back to the center when they are moving too far out the box. I think this was, perhaps, a wake-up call for all involved.

Yes, Adam shocked us. Headlines! Twitter goes crazy! Adam gets a chance to talk about ‘artistic integrity’. I’m sure this is exactly what he wanted.

But the question remains, “Did I like what I saw?” No. I especially did not like what I heard. That performance was both sonically and visually bad. His voice was off and not just in spots. And the choreography seemed designed for maximum shock but not artistic merit. It was like throwing out the most shocking acts they could in the time allowed. That’s not art. It was choppy, with little flow or continuity. It’s almost like he’s using the pretense of music to get his rocks off by ‘shock and awe’ing on national TV. I mean he wouldn’t get this forum for doing a simulated bi S&M show any other way.

That quote from the Baltimore Sun, “We were thinking music was getting a little too stale” speaks volumes. Adam didn’t wake up music. He woke people up by putting on a bi S&M sex show on TV. The gods of music didn’t stand up and applaud. (BTW, neither did most of the AMA audience in attendance, even though most of them are clearly not prudes). The performance just sucked and didn’t deserve applause.

I think his energy was so directed at the shock value, that he didn’t give enough attention to the actual music. Either that or he was so tense about the shock waves he was about to send, that his voice froze up. That and his body looked awfully stiff. And then there was the trip and roll. If you’re going to go for Madonna/Britney, you sure better have the music to back it up. They had the hit songs before they started playing with the shock. Maybe Adam has convinced himself that all the hype is enough of a welcome mat.

It was so glaring last night that all the other performers were proven artists, all with big sales and hits under their belt. And who gets the grand finale performance, the untested, megahyped Adam Lambert with virtually no radio play, no hits, no album sales yet and a mess of a performance to boot. Congratulations hype machine. You got what you deserve.

The price for Adam ´s CD is $ 9.99

Download MP3 Album: $3.99

So NO changes have been made. Do not give partial truths.

David has been very supportive of both Adam and Kris in the press and in concert and even during Idol never took sides, but considering the last 3 weeks he pimped Kris’ single & album on Twitter urging people to buy them, and tweeting Kris last night..well I think it speaks volumes.

I also think that just like what Carrie did for him, he’s paying it forward. She liked David and they got along really well so it really wasn’t a chore for her to pimp him (even if she’s schizo about her her favorite DC track LOL). The same goes for David, he likes Kris so he’s happy to tell people to buy his album/single.

I like that he stirred up controversy (Although, TBH, it probably shouldn’t be as controversial as it is in an ideal world, at most how controversial it is when female performers do the same stuff >_>), but that only really works if the performance was amazing. It really wasn’t, but it could’ve been.

I think I have a rather bad memory but which female artists did what Adam performed?which is blatant simulated fellatio,giving the dirty finger(never mind the scantily-clad male/female dancers…there are so many of those around)….because I don’t really remember any…..

I think Adam’s using this “discrimination” thing to try and justify his offensive performance….

So if Cook twitters Allen, and Jason, Carrie, Archie and Daughtry have come out and said they like Allen better’ ¦uh that about tells you something right there since they all have met both Allen and Lambert.

Like everyone, former Idols are entitled to their opinions and to like whatever music they want to. I don’t see why this is such a problem.

Cook has been super supportive of both Kris and Adam. The twitters last night just sounded like 2 friends having a conversation that we all got to see. It reminded me of when Cook responded to Kris’s tweet about ice shift and the banter betweent he 2 guys about what they teach idol winners.

And Jason is allowed to have an opinion of his own.

Adam needs someone on his team who can pull things back to the center when they are moving too far out the box. I think this was, perhaps, a wake-up call for all involved.

Agree. Although perhaps not to the “center” – but someone to at least make sure he doesn’t fall off the edge would be nice. A voice of reason. Just because Adam has an idea, it is not automatically a good one. I’m guessing their are people on his team just staring at eachother this morning.

There’s no such thing as a musician or entertainer who doesn’t tank from time to time.

All the Idols have tanked on an occasion or two, at least, despite their being, as a group, among the best live singers and performers we’ve got going these days.

But when you just tank singing an acoustic song with a guitar, it seems very minor and blows over in a second. When you tank with a huge production number going on around you, it looks like a much much bigger tank and of course it’s going to loom larger in everybody’s mind … But Adam’s a go big or go home guy, so, when he tanks, that’s the way he’s going to do it …. Have to say that this is the very first time I’ve seen him tank, though, so I don’t think the odds are in favor of his doing it very often.

He needs to be a great singer and on-the-money performer in his next performances coming up — great vocals and no falling over, please — and then this, too, shall pass. I don’t doubt that he’ll do that.

Honestly, I think Carrie kind of tanks also, every time she takes off her clothes and does one of those stupid dance numbers. I thought so last night. I’m sure this is RCA’s bid to turn her into a very big crossover pop artist, but frankly, she just doesn’t look right — or happy — doing it and I wonder why she doesn’t flat out refuse.

Chicagolaw, ITA. I’m not sure my post was aimed at you. A few posts blamed ABC. I’m a fan of Adam’s and I agree with what you just posted. Adam and his team need to know when to go near the line, when it’s ok to cross over it, and how to wait to cross way over it. If only to serve him better. I agree, this was a wake-up call for all involved. What was it Paula once said to David Cook (after Billy Jean?), about taking it to the edge but never crossing over or fall over it?

And he’s got a network upset at having to edit him. Whether or not you think they should have is besides the point. You have industry execs saying ‘who the hell is this kid, that we had to do that?’ 

Its the AMAs..the network was ready with its bleeper and editors….the network execs are not upset with Adam….award show performances are edited ALL the time.

I do think that Adam has a point wrt “discrimination” tho. If this was a woman, she could have performed the exact same number (probably lip synched it) half or three quarters naked and no one would have batted an eye. Adam was fully clothed (wearing a 3 piece suit, long sleeves, probably more clothes than anyone performing last night actually, male or female), and it is oh, so shocking! Give me a break…criticize the performance for poor execution, say he did not sing well (all true), but the pearl cluthing over the content is just silly imo

While Gaga was visually interesting and amusing,Adam was visually annoying and offensive.Plus Gaga’s vocals never get lost despite all the dancing she does (though I’m not really a fan either).

I’m not going to debate the Adam performance other than to say it wasn’t my cup of tea, but then Adam isn’t my cup of tea period. But re: Jason, basically what he said when asked to explain himself about Adam’s performance was that he wasn’t bashing Adam, but he’s not a fan of groping and making out in public. Probably not the smartest move to comment about it on twitter, but the part I find ridiculous is the Adam fans coming out of the woodwork to automatically label him as a homophobe. I know if you say something you have to expect the wrath, but if any of these people had paid a bit of attention to Jason before last night they would likely know that the performance wouldn’t have been his cup of tea whether it be girl on girl, guy on girl or guy on guy. This is the same guy who also had to mute Chelsea Handler when Brooke was on the program because she was a bit too profane for his tastes. LOL. Also where were these fans when Jason tweeted positively about Adam’s single a few weeks ago?

Sorry, but I swear some of these fans are worse than the Claymates.

I just tried to watch it again on Youtube and Perez. It’s blocked by the school filters with the label of Pornographic Images. I just LOLed.

well what a night. don’t get why it was censored if it was all rehearsed. all night we were told expect eye popping, the performance everyone will be talking abt, performance u have to see to believe etc. so i am assuming they knew it was coming and allowed it. apart from the oral sex dance and maybe the kissing what else wld have qualified for the above statements.

anyway i am just sad the talk today is not about his vocals cos he can sing his face off. come to think of it does anyone remember if the madonna/britney/christina kiss was censored for west coast viewers?

Has there ever been this much talk about an artist the day the album goes on sale? idk something tells me this was the most brilliant stunt ever pulled (riskiest too) All I know is that Adam has always been brilliant at singing and publicity. lol yes I believe he is.

Okay, so remember when I said that all Adam had to do was not suck on the AMAs and he was golden, because he already had the media in his pocket? Well, the suckage might not even matter now. The media who have been declaring him the next big thing are, for the most part, wagging the dog now, focusing on the brass ones he showed and not so much on the off key singing or, and this was the part that bugged me, cheesy, trite, amateurish choreography. I mean, really, Rolling Stone? I like Adam, I have no problem with guy on guy kissing or the overt sexuality being incorporated into his stage show. He’s not really the first male pop star to be overtly sexual..I seem to recall something about Prince showing up on an awards show in assless pants once… However, he is the first openly gay male to be overtly sexual, so I see his point about discrimination. But ouch, who the hell did they get to choreograph that trainwreck? Brit Brit had the genius of Wade Robson behind her back in the day. Adam needs to hook himself up with an innovative rising young choreography talent to tighten up his stage show. Sigh. It was all flash and no artistry. Is sad.

So there’s tons of backlash within the AI bubble where people are used to that kind of performance being pegged “indulgent rubbish” and the like. It will be interesting to see if the public outside of the AI bubble will buy what the media is selling, or conclude the that Emperor has no clothes. He’s definitely ensured that he is the topic of water cooler convo, and maybe that was enough.

(For the record, my favorite performances were Kelly, Green Day, Gaga, and JayZ/Alicia. In that order.)

And Simon Cowell called David Cook “smug”! Who the hell does Adam think he is? It would be one thing if the performance last night was actually good, but it sucked.

I think maybe Adam needs to go back to college and study a little Shakespeare and Greek mythology, because what I’m seeing here is just an epic demonstation of hubris. I said in an earlier thread that his performance last night was tragic, but after listening to this, I’m thinking he’s just a hugely talented emperor with no clothes on.

Of course that might be a good thing to Adam’s over-inflated ego.

don’t get why it was censored if it was all rehearsed. all night we were told expect eye popping, the performance everyone will be talking abt, performance u have to see to believe etc. so i am assuming they knew it was coming and allowed it.

Well, it was barely censored on the East Coast, and COMPLETELY censored on the West Coast. Could be that ABC was flooded with email, texts, phone calls and tweets. I think ABC & the AMA folks (Dick Clark productions) wanted to take it to the edge. I think it went past what ABC execs wanted. Again, Adam did say some of the stuff was impromptu, spur of the moment – can’t do that, newbie.

I agree with Adam that there is discrimination against male artists sexual performances in the music industry. It just is kind of poor timing to talk about it right after he messed up his performance. Sometimes I feel he is quite ambivalent about wanting success, I found it ironic that he did the Ring of Fire performance risking getting kicked off 11th before the tour. Did he really not know what its effect would be, at least he was saved by his good vocals on ROF, last night his vocals were mediocre.I think he basically is a born performer but is a bit afraid of the fame. I think lately he’s had alot of distractions breaking up with Drake and the Out Magazine feud. I sometimes feel his risk taking is so fearless and inspiring, but other times it looks foolish. I bet Letterman and GMA will encourage him not to sing FYE, I certainly hope he doesn’t use this performance for the GMA’s.

Has there ever been this much talk about an artist the day the album goes on sale?

Sure there has. And I hate to break it to you, outside the Idol world, namely this blog, Rickey’s, and various fan sites, Adam is getting very LITTLE coverage. He’s gotten online & entertainment (EW, Eonline, etc) coverage. Newsradio in LA, KABC which carried the AMAs? Not a word about Adam or his performance. It’s all been a rundown of the major awards, with emphasis on Taylor Swift’s and Michael Jackson’s big wins. I’m sure few people are discussing this where I work. Fox LA will likely do something ’cause they’re the Idol station. LA Times and other publications have a writeup in their entertainment sections – some just on Adam’s performance, others as part of AMA coverage. This is NOT that big a deal. It doesn’t take much to set off twitter. For heavan’s sake, David Cook fans were able to trend his rhythm guitarist’s (Andy Skib) birthday last week. Didn’t take that much to get him to #2 in 30 minutes. Not saying this isn’t a water cooler event, just that you guys need to step out of the AI/MJ bubble and into the real world LOL!

Its the AMAs..the network was ready with its bleeper and editors’ ¦.the network execs are not upset with Adam’ ¦.award show performances are edited ALL the time.

I do think that Adam has a point wrt ‘discrimination’  tho. If this was a woman, she could have performed the exact same number (probably lip synched it) half or three quarters naked and no one would have batted an eye. Adam was fully clothed (wearing a 3 piece suit, long sleeves, probably more clothes than anyone performing last night actually, male or female), and it is oh, so shocking! Give me a break’ ¦criticize the performance for poor execution, say he did not sing well (all true), but the pearl cluthing over the content is just silly imo

Do you honestly think that they’d let anyone get away with doing the dirty finger and the simulated fellatio(it wasn’t even in a silhouette or something—it was in your face smothering the guy’s face onto his crotch)???It wasn’t the almost-there attire of the male and female dancers because there are lots of those in the other performances….well anyway,I wasn’t able to watch the west coast broadcast so I wouldn’t know which particular parts they edited out but I’m guessing these are just two of the most offensive…..

Don’t remember who posted it, but I agree that last night’s performance put the lie to Adam’s claim that “it’s all about the music.” Clearly, it’s not. Which is fine, it’s his career and his choice, and as he said last week HE is in control of his image, but if he didn’t expect that this performance would be polarizing then he’s been believing way too much of the hype.

The fact is that he’s NOT a star yet, he’s a novelty, and while this performance might have been edgy-but-believable for a STAR, for a newcomer it comes across as someone wanting to be a tabloid-darling rather than a singer/musician/performer

I have to agree with Lynne. I do think he looked uncomfortable. Even though he has performed before I still feel nerves could have been an issue and maybe not enough rehearsal time for a “production” of this type. Perhaps less action in the background for him would have allowed him to concentrate more on his vocals. I don’t pretend to know but one mediocre presentation will not stop me from following him in his career. I have purchased his album and love it.

I really don’t think he started over singing until after the trip…I think it really threw him off.

I predict Adam will pull a page out of his American Idol playbook this week. Shock followed by pull it back. That was his strategy on Idol and he’ll probably continue with it.

Don’t remember who posted it, but I agree that last night’s performance put the lie to Adam’s claim that ‘it’s all about the music.’  Clearly, it’s not. Which is fine, it’s his career and his choice, and as he said last week HE is in control of his image, but if he didn’t expect that this performance would be polarizing then he’s been believing way too much of the hype.

The fact is that he’s NOT a star yet, he’s a novelty, and while this performance might have been edgy-but-believable for a STAR, for a newcomer it comes across as someone wanting to be a tabloid-darling rather than a singer/musician/performer

This!!! Adam went on about Britney/Madonna/Xtina – but all 3 were established when there’s went down. Adam is a newbie, despite so many claiming him the next big thing he hasn’t done anything yet.

TheSpindleshay

Also, anyone who allows their children to stay up and watch tv past 10:00 on a school night deserves whatever they get. 10:00 and later is not Family TV time.

First of all, it was aired before 10pm. From what I’m reading all over the place, many adults are disgusted by this performance I don’t think a time frame is the problem here.

Sure there has. And I hate to break it to you, outside the Idol world, namely this blog, Rickey’s, and various fan sites, Adam is getting very LITTLE coverage.

It’s all about Susan Boyle today.

After cheesy movies, reviews about “Medocre singing” and weight issues and scandalous sexual movements (at that time) Elvis became King. Stay tuned Adam will be iconic. All he has to do now(after all this explosive publicity) is be his old perfect self.

Bull fucking shit Adam. You do not get to hide away from any thing political, saying “it’s not too deep”, and then the minute something goes wrong for you start claiming discrimination because you are gay. Why weren’t you concerned before about the discrimination gays receive in terms of employment and marriage? What a hypocritical slimeball. I was pretty neutral on him before and actually thought of buying some of his songs because they are catchy, screw that this snake in the grass will never get a dime of mine.

I predict Adam will pull a page out of his American Idol playbook this week. Shock followed by pull it back. That was his strategy on Idol and he’ll probably continue with it.

Yeah, I hope so.

So, at this point, the only people who really know the guy are the Idol fans. So he was trying to get those people to buy and everyone else to remember him favorably.. maybe they could buy in the future. The problem here is that I think he actually turned off some casual idol fans and made a big chunk of the rest go WTF?. Then he comes out with statements that make him seem a bit obtuse. Accusing the network of bigotry? After you just stunk up the stage? Not good.

But it is recoverable, these things die down in time. But he has to play his cards right IMO and not come off like King Douche from here on out. Show some humility. Sing on key. He needs to sing a better song and sing it well going forward.

RowZee—I agree, he looked uncomfortable from the moment the band kicked in. You could tell right away that something was off. I don’t know if it was nerves, all the chaos, having to leap around on scaffolding while trying to sing. All I know is that as a fan, it was difficult to watch (and that was before all the sexual stuff). And, I think his face at the end said it all–no joy.

But, I still love him and the album is stellar.

I. Was. Not. Entertained.

He lost a fan here. And a sale.

Scott: I just don’t see this serving him well in the long run. Mostly because the vocals just weren’t there. If he at least had hit it out of the park vocally, this discussion would be a little different.

Exactly. If the vocals had been stellar, people would still be talking about the shocking aspect of his performance but adding that his vocals were tremendous. That’s not the case. Had this been my first Adam “experience”, I would be left scratching my head.

Bull fucking shit Adam. You do not get to hide away from any thing political, saying ‘it’s not too deep’ , and then the minute something goes wrong for you start claiming discrimination because you are gay.

The double standard he was talking about was Women vs. Men, not Gay vs. Straight.

I love Adam, and I have NO problem with the LA Times giving that performance a D, LOL. Adam and his team need to look hard at that grade and make adjustments. It could be a blessing in disguise.

I still feel sad that the vocals were off’“he is a tremendous singer. And the fall had to be a nightmare. I actually turned the TV off at that point, it was too painful to watch.

TBH – the fall was the worst part to me. And that was something that happens to everyone (like J Lo) and in the bigger scheme of things isn’t really a big deal (the recovery was AWESOME, after all). He was off a little on the vocals, but, as I said before, he has been off before, and more noticeably than that. And many pop performers do much worse than that. Though, I do tend to agree that he should have focused more on great vocals, and less on all the gimmicks.

Still, though, FYE is hardly the deepest song ever. It’s not exactly Mad World, and I feel Adam gets into the song much more from the full performance aspect, rather than necessarily the vocal aspect of it. Hmm. I feel he should maybe work with Lady Gaga, have a few chit chats with her, to get a better idea of how to balance the two. Make it shocking, but know how to stay on just the right side of the line without going WAY over it.

After cheesy movies, reviews about ‘Medocre singing’  and weight issues and scandalous sexual movements (at that time) Elvis became King.

Except that Elvis broke new ground. What new ground is Adam breaking? He’s not in a brand new genre, like rock & roll was in 1956. Women have been doing this for 2 decades (again, see Madonna, Xtina, Britney, Lady Gaga). The men? Ok, his idols Bowie and Mercury. That’s so 30 years ago. No new ground. Nothing on CYE seems new to me. Sorry. Adam is not the new Elvis LOL.

Honestly, I think Carrie kind of tanks also, every time she takes off her clothes and does one of those stupid dance numbers. I thought so last night. I’m sure this is RCA’s bid to turn her into a very big crossover pop artist, but frankly, she just doesn’t look right ‘” or happy ‘” doing it and I wonder why she doesn’t flat out refuse.

ITA Lucy – I’m not a real Carrie fan either, although I recognize her talent.

Also agree with folks who say this is more of a big deal in the idol bubble. The bigger deal is Swift beating out GaGA and MJ. Now that is shocking.

Adam’s performance was solid, but flawed. I watched it on youtube last night and his vocals were fine, just not up to his standard. It seems to me there are Adam fans who were hoping for something steller and are now disappointed. Then there are the usual Adam haters who are painting this performance as the worst of all time.

Adam isn’t the first to go “too far” and he certainly won’t be the last. Like I said last night, those who saw Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” performance on MTV in the 1980s that this is nothing new. That performance was a WTF! at the time. But it served its purpose. Adam knows Madonna, he and she have the same guitar player. I would love for her to chime in on this.

I also remember the “Little Prayer” MV that had alot of conservatives freaking out.

Adam now needs to balance this performance with a steller musical performance that is vulnerable. Sounds like that is what he is planning from what I see in news accounts.

Adam once again delivers a brazilliant performance. The only part I had issue with was the ending run which was too much. I think his nerves got the best of him towards the end of the routine. Listening to just the audio of the performance, he really sounded very good until his trip, drop & roll, it got a little messy after that.

Love the CNN and AH interview vids from after the show. So articulate and charming.

I can’t see the flipping the bird part, guess I must watch the vid again!

Also, anyone who allows their children to stay up and watch tv past 10:00 on a school night deserves whatever they get. 10:00 and later is not Family TV time.

Agree! Especially on your last paragraph.

That was NOT entertainment for me, sorry. It was vulgar and unnecessary, not to mention his vocals & choreography weren’t good. I don’t need to see that on my TV, and won’t be watching anymore of his performances. TOO MUCH HYPE. Thanks, but no.

I was listening to my local radio station this morning, and the DJ’s LOVED it! I listen every morning and I have never heard them talk about Adam before, and now they are…now if only they’d play his music.

I never heard Adam say that he was being discriminated because he was gay, he simply just said that if female artists can push the sexual envelope then male artist should be able to as well. And there was a whole lot of sexual vibe the whole night from more than just Adam.

and then the minute something goes wrong for you start claiming discrimination because you are gay

He wasn’t saying it was discrimination because he was gay…he was commenting on the double standard that women can give highly sexual performances, but that men cannot

Also, anyone who allows their children to stay up and watch tv past 10:00 on a school night deserves whatever they get. 10:00 and later is not Family TV time.

Wasn’t it in prime time in central time? And a lot of people record these things and watch them the next day. Sorry, you shouldn’t have to worry about simulated blowjobs on network TV. Fine on cable, not on my network TV. I have children myself, BTW. And while they were not up at 11, and I didn’t let them watch his performance since I’d already seen the rehearsal footage, there are PLENTY of people out there who have no idea who Adam is and may watch it with their kids and just not see that coming. So yeah, I sympathize. Because I woulda had a stroke if my kids were watching that.

Like I said last night, those who saw Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’  performance on MTV in the 1980s that this is nothing new.

That was on cable. This was on network TV.

Adam will most likely tone it down (like he did on idol) He’ll put on a grey suit unspike his hair and sing the glorious “Broken Open” then he’ll shock us again and so forth. I love this man.

I never heard Adam say that he was being discriminated because he was gay, he simply just said that if female artists can push the sexual envelope then male artist should be able to as well.

I think he’s right in some respects – there is definitely a double standard. But I don’t want to see female artists getting/giving simulated oral sex on my network TV channel either, thanks

People who say Adam has lost a fan… never knew what Adam was all about. It’s good that Adam is losing people that never “got” him… he doesn’t need or want them.

It seems to me there are Adam fans who were hoping for something steller and are now disappointed. Then there are the usual Adam haters who are painting this performance as the worst of all time.

You know what? I am so sick of this crap I could scream. Not liking that mess gets you labeled a hater? I like Adam just fine, thank you, even if I don’t think puppies and rainbows shoot out of his ass. LOL.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/11/ladies-night-at-the-amas.html

“Lambert’s vocals were sometimes off, but his all-out plunge into erotic exhibitionism was very entertaining and pretty freaking rock ‘n’ roll. Eminem and 50 Cent uttered obscenities that were bleeped out on the telecast; it wasn’t possible to hide Lambert’s in-your-face routine.”

That’s why Adam was so pissed. Now I’m going to @kick some a$$ …

I just think it’s funny that Adam was preaching earlier this week that he didn’t want to get caught up in drama but just wanted to be known for “singing his face off.” Well, he’s lucky people are talking about the drama because his singing was terrible last night.

I had always liked Adam’s voice and ignored any other drama that wasn’t part of who he is as an artist, like he has said many times. I planned on buying his CD today.

After last night, he appears to be just another sellout that is going to shock people for publicity and distract from his talented voice. I lost some respect for him and won’t be buying his CD now.

Not liking that mess gets you labeled a hater? I like Adam just fine, thank you, even if I don’t think puppies and rainbows shoot out of his ass.

edit: don’t question the motives of posters!

I think Adam was trying to do/prove too much in this first performance. He should have concentrated more on making sure his vocals were as amazing as they can be. There was just too much going on on that stage, quite apart from the stuff that some people found offensive.

I don’t think this is catastrophic, but I do think that it’s not going to give him as much of a bump in CD sales as it should have. Which is a shame. I think the album is really good. FYE isn’t the strongest song on the album (not the first time the label has chosen to release a weaker song as a single, see, e.g., David Cook) but its a better song that it appeared to be last night.

Also, anyone who allows their children to stay up and watch tv past 10:00 on a school night deserves whatever they get. 10:00 and later is not Family TV time.

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Adam can get a simulated blowjob on television and do whatever the hell he wants because he’s an “artist,” but I’m a bad parent because my kids, who don’t start school until 8:30 am, stay up to 11:00 pm? Allrighty then! And I thought the show was rated PG (L). No S’s or V’s for “sexuality” or “violence,” LOL.

Well, it was barely censored on the East Coast, and COMPLETELY censored on the West Coast.

I’m not sure everybody on the East Coast saw the same thing. I’m in Philly and, in addition to the sound being censored during said simulated blowjob, there were two times when the screen went black. The second one, which lasted 3 or 4 seconds, was particularly bizarre because you could hear somebody rustling papers and killing time. It was WEIRD. I actually thought my DVR had cut the show off. Maybe it was something the local ABC affiliate did? I’m guessing this was when Adam flipped the audience the bird?

new Rollingstone? Kiss with Tommy not planned

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/11/23/adam-lambert-breaks-down-amas-controversy-as-stars-react-to-his-wild-night/

Also, anyone who allows their children to stay up and watch tv past 10:00 on a school night deserves whatever they get. 10:00 and later is not Family TV time.

Just to clarify, in central time zones Adam was being televised BEFORE 10:00 pm. And yes, many kids (pre-teens and tweenies) will be up until 10:00 on a school night. They’ll still be getting 9 hours of sleep since in my area school doesn’t start until 8:30 am.

As for me, he didn’t lose a fan (I wasn’t one), but he didn’t gain one either (he didn’t win me over).

I’m in NYC and didn’t get any black outs. I did find it odd that they bleeped out “totally blown” — a lyric they knew is in the song — while showing the simulation.

So does it take longer for television signals to reach Philadelphia than it does NYC?

Earlier I posted if you threw a brick at Adam’s butt, you’d give Rolling Stone a concussion. Well, RS just posted this write-up and I suspect they don’t know quite what to make of it. However, relevant to our conversation, there is more information about Adam’s impromptu actions, including his kissing of his keyboard player.

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/11/23/adam-lambert-breaks-down-amas-controversy-as-stars-react-to-his-wild-night/

But any criticism of Lambert not being gay enough went out the window as soon as the Elvis-haired and glittered rocker belted the first words to ‘For Your Entertainment,’  the title track off his debut album (conveniently out today), then proceeded to make out with his (male) keyboard player, ride two of his (male) dancers like dogs on a leash, and grab another (male) with a face-to-the-balls maneuver. At least some portion of that performance, presumably the latter, did not get approved beforehand, and after the East Coast broadcast, was deemed too racy to repeat.

‘Due to the live nature of the show we did not expect the impromptu moment in question,’  said ABC and Dick Clark productions in a joint statement following the edited West Coast version (Jennifer Lopez’s tumble was also omitted).

Again, IMO not the way to start off as a newbie and gain important people as allies. Like Network execs, Dick Clark Productions, familiy friendly companies like 19/Fremantel, labels, etc. I think this was ill advised, and largely not advised. I want more for Adam. If this is his idea of how to debut with a bang, then he will learn how to play the game the hard way. And that doesn’t mean selling out. But it is a game folks.

People who say Adam has lost a fan’ ¦ never knew what Adam was all about. It’s good that Adam is losing people that never ‘got’  him’ ¦ he doesn’t need or want them.

That may be true of the people who were surprised or offended at the overt sexuality. Me, I was surprised and disappointed by the subpar stage production. I’ve seen more interesting Adam performances in old Zodiac show youtubes. I’m not loving Adam’s album as a cumulative artistic effort, but I like quite a few songs and have been reeeeallly looking forward to the type of stage show he would put together. I mean, I can not say how much I floved, say, Feeling Good on AI. Now, I’m a little worried that his stage show will suck. Find a good choreographer, Adam. Ring up Uncle Nigel…he knows quite a few of those. I bet Adam and Sonya Tayeh, for example, could do fabulous things together.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/11/adam_lambert_heroically_upstag.html

NY Mag’s take…they always have a good sense of humor

I wonder if they edited the vocals for the west coast feed… When I was listening back on youtube he really sounds much better than what I heard on the tele. Have a listen here.

Adam will most likely tone it down (like he did on idol) He’ll put on a grey suit unspike his hair and sing the glorious ‘Broken Open’  then he’ll shock us again and so forth. I love this man.

But this is something that works onIdol because we see the contestants week in and week out. This isn’t how the real world of entertainment works.

And for all of you going on about kids should be in bed, etc., first of all this was before 10 PM Central. Second, if a kid was in bad nad had a parent DVR this for them, that kid expects to see the performance at some point so the parent is forced in the no win situation os showing this to their child or trying to explain why they aren’t letting their child watch it. Third, kids are technologically savvy and this is all over YouTube and kids can and will find this.

People who say Adam has lost a fan’ ¦ never knew what Adam was all about.

I knew what Adam was all about and that is why I was never a fan.

It’s good that Adam is losing people that never ‘got’  him

Really?

This isn’t the only comment that I’ve seen to this effect, suggesting that Adam is better off losing, or that he actually will be HAPPY to lose, potential fans that don’t “get” him. I can’t imagine any scenario in which a new artist could benefit from, let alone be happy about, turning off potential buyers of his or her music.

Adam knows he choked and has set up a distraction with his whole “men are discriminated against” crap. C’mon Adam, man up. I’ve seen more than my share of edited performances by women and plenty of stuff by men(women in cages, female half naked, submissive dancers) that went without challenge. The main difference was usually cable vs network tv, something hisMadonna/Britney example forgets.

Don’t claim all that matters is the music then make your first performance all about your sexuality, then bitch about discrimination against the male species even before the replay just to distract from your lackluster performance. It might work but it still makes you a hypocrite.

I was getting quite a laugh about the frequent censoring silences during the Eminem and 50Cent performances last night. It was almost another layer of rap rhythm with how often it happened. I bet its trickier to censor visual images. Certainly, Adam tested it to the limits and it sounds like individual stations decided to do their own blackouts, or in Craig Ferguson’s world, the “ooh, la, la”s.

BTW, I do see the hypocrisy of Adam’s frequent claims that its all about the music when last night had very little to do with the music. If Adam was being honest about that, he would have apologized for a vocal performance that underperformed. But no, he went for his ace, the drama, and played the discrimination card. Because, keeping it real, that’s what its mostly about with him. Take away the sex acts last night and you’re left with very sketchy vocals and a trip and a roll.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/23/american.music.awards/index.html

So the kiss and the simulated oral sex weren’t planned? So Adam feels like he can just grab someone and force himself on them??!? Under NO circumstances is that okay! This isn’t about fucking Adam Lambert and his damn ego, this is about how it is NEVER okay to force yourself upon someone like that.

http://watching-tv.ew.com/2009/11/23/adam-lambert-ama-performance/

From EW….Ken Tucker defends Adam and says it was good TV

Ok, I was really feeling bad for Adam last night and wrote something supportive, but not quite feeling it today after those interviews.

Adam, instead of trying to spin things and scream discrimination to take the focus off your sub par performance you need to take an example from Danny Gokey and:

Admit it was bad; show you have the ability to laugh at yourself and not take yourself so seriously and move on.

You have other opportunities to show what you have this week.

So the kiss and the simulated oral sex weren’t planned? So Adam feels like he can just grab someone and force himself on them??!? Under NO circumstances is that okay! This isn’t about fucking Adam Lambert and his damn ego, this is about how it is NEVER okay to force yourself upon someone like that.

This is a very good point.

So does it take longer for television signals to reach Philadelphia than it does NYC?

LOL, I don’t think so. I watched the performance on HD, and I have noticed that the feed for the HD shows on FIOS is on a slight delay from the regular (non-HD) digital broadcasts. Whatever happened, it sure didn’t help what was already a very subpar performance.

People who say Adam has lost a fan’ ¦ never knew what Adam was all about.

With all due respect, that’s just bullshit. I was fan; I bought his AI performances, voted for him, and defended him to many friends and family members who thought he was a musical theater diva who just liked to dress up and play “rock gawd.” Guess what? They were right!

US iTunes

#4 and #7 (deluxe) on pop
#7 and #11 overall

Typical Adam making excuses for his awful performance. BS Adam, it was bad. Just admit it. He has to get all political and start a movement. Just sing the damn song and sing it well.

So Adam was just doing the lyrics justice by spontaneously grabbing fellow performers and forcing himself on them. All in the name of ‘art’. Yeah, Adam, it did get too rough for me, and guess what? I am ringing the alarm.

Sick of the “you just don’t get it” mentality. As if saying, “if you are not entertained, there is something wrong with you“.
I get it, it just does not entertain me. It’s all. It’s really not that deep. Get it?

this controversy has really helped album sales everywhere, including internationally– and:

Adam and Nicole Kidman get best dressed:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1626836/20091122/lambert_adam_american_idol_.jhtml

But this is something that works on Idol because we see the contestants week in and week out. This isn’t how the real world of entertainment works.

Again, this is a branding issue now. Schizophrenic image & branding, schizophrenic (& up until now, barely promoted by the label) single releases. The movie single. FYE. Now WSWFM. Not to mention the “unnofficial” pre-idol single. All trying to get on radio. This is a mess.

For me, the performance lacked artistry and flow. It was as if Adam had a checklist of shocking things he wanted to accomplish. One after another he checked off his list. 1) drag shackled woman. 2) Lead men on leashes. 3) Get oral sex from a man. 4) Push a woman’s face in his crotch. 5) Grab a woman’s crotch. 6) French kiss a man. Etc.

It was all very perfunctory and paint-by-the-numbers. There was no fun or playfulness. It wasn’t even shocking, just crass. The character he played was mean, cold, mechanical, and not inspiring or sympathetic.

The song is upbeat and potentially fun, the performance was not. He tried to outdo Britney, Madonna, and Lady Gaga in his very first big performance. It fell flat. He seemed to think that all that was required was putting on some costumes and performing some “shocking” sex acts. Wrong. And ironically, it wasn’t sexy, and it wasn’t fun. Big embarrassment, and a wake-up call. Back to the drawing board. We all live and learn.

I am a huge Adam fan, but gotta tell you, this bs is really turning me off…

I haven’t read all the comments, and I haven’t listened to the video, but based on the headline, Adam needs someone to tell him to “stop talking”… Just let it die. Why on earth does he want to bring more attention to that performance (and I only saw the West coast version sans the blow job part)?? He sounded like crap, so why have people who may have missed this mediocre performance, go look for it on YouTube? If his vocals were good, that would be a different story. I don’t really care about the vulgar or not-vulgar debate, it is his voice that drew me in. Why advertise a less than stellar performance, no matter the reason?

Geez, Adam, let it go…..

Controversy and hypocrisy. Two things Adam Lambert is good at besides singing (supposedly)…

I think one of Adam’s mistakes here, and there were several, is thinking that what might work on a video could work on a stage. They are two very different situations. There’s no editing on a live performance. I’m not even talking about the sex acts, I’m talking about making the whole thing flow and work together to create an exciting performance. He needs to watch the masters some more and see how they do it. Oh and it might not hurt to have some pros help him choreograph and direct, it looked like he was directing it all himself, which is surely biting off too much too fast.

And, the cries of discrimination ring hollow and do not elicit sympathy. He was just saying how non-political he was, and suddenly he wants to cry about discrimination? He should just be an artist, and learn from his mistakes. Period. IF there is discrimination, let others say it, he should not say it, it makes him sound like a whiner.

If you threw a stone at Adam’s butt, you’d give Rolling Stone a concussion.

Okay, that was the quote of the day for me. LOL

I have to say I am a bit disappointed in Adam’s response. From the look on his face at the end of the performance, it seemed that he realized he kinda stunk it up. (What was up with flipping the audience the bird, BTW?) But maybe he honestly thought he did great — or he’s just really good at shifting the attention to something else other than his intermittently off-pitch vocals. Anyway, his response to the question is a bit off-putting.

I guess I’m the only one who thinks the real obscenity is the Messiah-like fawning over that freak of nature, child molester Michael Jackson, the guy who likes to pee in front of children and thinks it’s funny.

The only way it could have been any better is if Adam ran up on stage, snatched (heh) off Janet Jackson’s shirt and exposed her armor-plated nips.

But then, that’s just me.

OMG, he doesn’t want the conservative, married, middle-age typical Idol fan from the Mid-West, who was offended by this. Your age group does not buy music!

This is isn’t hard to understand – he doesn’t want you! He wants the edgy Lady Gaga, Muse, Katy Perry demographic.

oceana
11/23/2009 at 11:43am
….

DITTO your comments @11:43.

This is isn’t hard to understand ‘“ he doesn’t want you! He wants the edgy Lady Gaga, Muse, Katy Perry demographic.

I’m a huge fan of Lady GaGa and Muse, I’m in my early 20s, I’m liberal and open minded, and Adam’s performance last night turned me off big time.

Glamour
11/23/2009 at 12:02 pm

OMG, he doesn’t want the conservative, married, middle-age typical Idol fan from the Mid-West, who was offended by this. Your age group does not buy music!

This is isn’t hard to understand ‘“ he doesn’t want you! He wants the edgy Lady Gaga, Muse, Katy Perry demographic.

I’m 25, single, and buy a lot of music. I had planned on buying Adam’s album. My money is just as good to Adam as anyone else’s, but I won’t be buying his album after that sellout performance last night.

There are a lot of people that feel this way, that liked him for his music but were turned off by hypocrisy last night.

Ladies at The View discussed Adam Woopie defended him (got applause) Adam trending #1 and #4 on google-The world is talking. This could have been a disastre but it’s actually the best you’ve ever done (still think it was pure PR, lol)

Then you go on and on about how his voice wasn’t good enough. WTF?? Do you honestly believe the general public is going to dissect his voice on a music awards show? This is entertainment – it’s not a effing competition, for heavens sake!

OMG, he doesn’t want the conservative, married, middle-age typical Idol fan from the Mid-West, who was offended by this. Your age group does not buy music!

This is isn’t hard to understand ‘“ he doesn’t want you! He wants the edgy Lady Gaga, Muse, Katy Perry demographic.

He can’t ignore all the demographics that were offended by his performance. My husband, when I showed it to him, was offended by this performance. But he loves GaGa and enjoys a lot of Katy Perry(though he can’t stand Waking Up In Vegas). So this statement, to me, is inaccurate.

http://i45.tinypic.com/2zelzeo.jpg

This is all I got from that performance. Because we all know that bellybuttons are the hottest thing ever. Bellybutton porn.

*rolls eyes*

OMG, he doesn’t want the conservative, married, middle-age typical Idol fan from the Mid-West, who was offended by this. Your age group does not buy music!

No, they’re just the demographic who actually gives their kids the money to buy that music; otherwise they’ll happily download it for free. Good luck with making a living off of that, Adam!

Ken Tucker from EW:

http://bit.ly/5cCpAY

he noses what he likes and likes what he noses!

Adam admits here that song was pitchy. He looks great-love this picture of him

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2009/11/23/adam-lambert-takes-flight/

All I am going to say here is that Adam is wrong. Over the top behavior – from men, women, heterosexuals, homosexuals – gets edited for the West Coast. He was not specifically picked out and targeted. It happens all the time, but people don’t usually make a fuss about it.

Adam is just starting his career. Does he really want to turn his back on a large part of the music-buying public? And although his performance is certainly the hot water cooler topic for today, if ll the discussion doesn’t lead to sales, then isn’t it pretty much empty chatter? He can take all the risks he wants, but in the end RCA and 19 (and Adam himself) still need him to be successful — not just polarizing. To me, his performance last night wasn’t offensive — it simply fell way sort of all the hype that surrounded it. That’s a problem, because it might have lost him a bunch of potential new “fans”.

Perez thought it was fabulous. But Perez doesn’t recognize sublety. If it’s gay enough, he loves it. Period. An art critic he is not.

Lady Gaga’s performance was a million times better than Adam’s. He needs to take some lessons and have a tad of humility. He’s still in a learning position.

“”No, they’re just the demographic who actually gives their kids the money to buy that music; otherwise they’ll happily download it for free. Good luck with making a living off of that, Adam!”"”

He doesnt need your luck, he will be fine – this demo would be me and my kids and we loved him last night – my kids didnt “psycho” analzye every little shot, what they were doing was dancing around to the beat with me – and were amazed at his voice, yes, pitchy in spots but then he wasnt moving around and lip synching like Britney does, or like Janet was doing last night – first he is sour, next he will be sweet and it is so hilarious to me how the peeps that dislike him are jumping down on him so fast, he is going to be fine and he is going far. He is following the same plan of attack that worked on AI and he might not come in first but he will always be at the top and stay there. His album is doing very good and I cant wait for his sweet side on Letterman and I am sooooo excited to see him at the ellen taping on monday, I cant wait to see what he is going to do next . That is what is soooo brilliant about Adam , he brings on the excitement and the fun – always

edit: keep the conversation focused on the subject, not on your fellow fans

Apparently the ratings for the AMAs last night were the highest since 2002…make of that what you will

OMG, he doesn’t want the conservative, married, middle-age typical Idol fan from the Mid-West, who was offended by this. Your age group does not buy music!

He’s foolish if he thinks that alienating a big chunk of the people who might have bought his album the night before his album drops was in any way a good idea, or edgy, or whatever it’s being called. He has plenty of time to be edgy instead of looking like he’s just trying too hard to be edgy. That was his introduction to a whole lot of people. And in my little world of friends and family, most people were just not feeling it. Even the ones who like him.

Adam pulls off the old man look in that picture. I’m glad he noted that it was pitchy (although “a bit” is an understatement), shows that he’s not letting it get to his head.

Does Adam really like Perez Hilton? It shocked me over the summer and it still shocks me today.

My mom said the performance turned her away. She wasn’t really fazed by the kissing the guy part, though. She just didn’t like the rest of it. She watched the censored version.

WTF? Did you really thing Adam Lambert is a boy scout, for heaven’s sake? What were you expecting? He’s a gay man who is perhaps, bi-curious.

sterling
11/23/2009 at 12:11 pm

I’m 25, single, and buy a lot of music. I had planned on buying Adam’s album. My money is just as good to Adam as anyone else’s, but I won’t be buying his album after that sellout performance last night.

Interesting. I guess I have a different point of view. Last night’s performance was, as many people have noted, a real disappointment. Vocally not great, even taking the sound issues into consideration, and visually kind of a jumbled mess (and unnecessarily OTT in places). But it was only one performance. I’ve liked other live performances that Adam has done, including the AI TV show, the AI tour and GMA last summer. Also, I really do think his album is good. So, at this point I’m not going to stop listening to his music just because of one ill-advised performance.

That said, I do hope Adam and his management team do a little soul-searching this week. The question is: what are their goals for Adam’s career? If they would be happy for Adam to be a niche artist, then carry on. However, if the goal is for him to have more mainstream appeal with large sales, then I think some “artistic compromise” may be in order. Personally I wasn’t offended by the sexual imagery in the performance last night, but I can understand that many viewers might be. And those viewers are potential buyers of Adam’s album. So, I think Adam needs to recognize that some compromise is in order. I think it is possible to create an exciting, even daring, performance without turning off the audience.

You weren’t going to buy it in the first place.

…and you know this how? I was buying it. Preordered through Amazon but I was also going to buy another copy or two. Not any more.

Glamour…you need to quit trying so hard. Those of us who are upset over last night are not going to change our minds or be stopped from voicing our opinions because you’re being so emphatic. Your dedication is admirable but really…….

I’ll just preface this by saying I’m not a fan. I wasn’t planning on buying his album but was open to buying a song or two if I liked them.

The performance wasn’t polarizing for me because of the content. It was polarizing because it was just bad. I like Gaga. I like Muse. What has always struck me as strange about the Adam hoopla has been all the trumpeting about how original and edgy Adam is. I’ve never seen that. The imagery from last night felt very borrowed to me and done. I read a lot of comments about how Madonna and Prince have done this kind of thing. Yeah, like 20 years ago. So what makes it so edgy now? Because he’s gay? That’s all ya got? So, because he’s gay everything he does is going to be edgy and groundbreaking? What about the talent that he does in fact have, because that was not on display last night. Two words came to mind for me: Ugly and cheap. None of it felt original, edgy, provocative, thoughtful. And what’s worst, vocally, he demonstrated the qualities I did NOT like from him on idol.

I admit to being fans of other idols. Not of this season, but others who I have always believed are just as talented. And I will admit that it has bugged the crap out of me at times that Adam has garnered so much attention and press and promo before actually earning any of it when others are still out there chugging along working their butts off. And it bugs me more that he went out last night and crapped all over that opportunity. JMO. Not his intent, but that is what happened. Talent should have come first, but he’s in great danger of making himself a joke.

Having said that, I’ll still buy his music if it’s good. But what he was selling last night, I ain’t buying.

WE ALL LOVE YOU ADAM, YOU ARE THE BRAVEST MAN WE KNOW AND WE LOVE IT. YOUR FANS ARE YOUR FANS NO MATTER WHAT.

I love fan logic.

he doesn’t want the conservative, married, middle-age typical Idol fan from the Mid-West, who was offended by this. Your age group does not buy music!

The reverse is actually true. Counting just the 11 platinum or multiplatinum albums from Idol alumni, those artists have sold over 30 million records in seven years, not to mentions the dozens of platinum singles.

Purchasing only singles, as well as music stealing, is much more prominent among younger age brackets, leaving people 30 and older among the remaining consumers who still purchase albums.

If Adam Lambert had no interest in selling to the audience who watches Idol, then he’s putting aside a huge percentage of the remaining US consumer market for recorded music. Therefore, I doubt that that assumption (he doesn’t care if he sells well! people who watch Idol and/or live in the Midwest or are over 30 should GTFO!) is factual.

I do think he miscalculated this roll out on several fronts. Like other artists, he needed to balance his full range of interests with those of a broader audience, in order to have a strong launch on the radio and in sales, that would *then* secure him the freedom to do whatever he wanted.

Whoever’s been coaching him that he needed to make no tradeoffs at all and should simply indulge his personal tastes to the maximum on his very first big public platform were not advising him well, I think.

I’m building a guest house. This morn, my contractor notified me that we were a few bricks short. OOPS, there they are in 19E’s Executive suites! I asked to speak to the exec’s; they couldn’t talk – still having cramps.

edit: if you don’t calm down and stop lecturing people, I’m putting you in moderation

all I have to say is ~ someone should have told him to ditch the flaming headdress!

Glamour
11/23/2009 at 12:42 pm

WTF? Did you really thing Adam Lambert is a boy scout, for heaven’s sake? What were you expecting? He’s a gay man who is perhaps, bi-curious.

It has nothing to do with his sexuality. It is with his hypocrisy. I admired and defended him earlier last night to a friend by telling them that he isn’t out there to be the poster boy for gay rights or anything political, he has said himself he just wants to sing and be known for his voice.

That performance was the opposite, nothing about his voice it was just shock rock and not even good at that. I could have done what he did last night, it took no talent or artistry.

That’s why I, and I assume many others, were going to buy his cd but won’t any more. It was about the music and the music sounded good, but if it’s not about the music I don’t want any part of it, I hate mainstream “artists” that do anything for publicity, especially when they were just preaching about it being about “singing my face off” earlier in the same week.

Finland: #3 pop chart, #3 general chart
Denmark: #11 pop chart, #18 general chart
Sweden: #12 pop chart, #22 general chart
Norway: # 54 pop chart, #132 general chart

Other European countries:

UK: #23 pop chart, #53 general chart
France: #37 pop chart, #86 general chart

Rest of world:

New Zealand: #2 pop chart, #3 general chart
Canada:#5 pop chart, #10 general chart

GO ADAM!!! I think this is pretty awsome

Adam is going to be SO rich. The media loves controversy. His name and photos/clips from that performance will be in the media for months. I bet Letterman gets the highest ratings he’s had in a year.

Objections to the performance last night based on morality (or just poor taste) are NOTHING compared to the titillation factor. People who have never heard of Adam Lambert will become aware of him and his music because of the entertainment news coverage.

Personally, I don’t get how simulating sexual acts (or performing them) enhances a music performance, but in long run, stuff like this doesn’t hurt careers–it helps them. that kiss with Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguiliara helped all of their careers, even though they are all straight and there really was nothing to it. And sometimes it seems that you can’t be bad enough. I personally would never give a penny to any product produces by or endorsed by Britney Spears because I think she’s a rotten mother. But most people don’t put their money where they claim their morals are.

People buy what’s popular. Exhibitionism escalates popularity.

Good for Adam. He’s working what sells here in the USA.

I wonder if this was just a stunt to get even more attention…
anyway – Jason has a right to his opinion (and so do I) without being called a homophobe.
and I think if a female performer were doing what he did (the simulated oral sex) I would have found it just as offensive. In fact I didn’t like much of the “shocking” bits Madonna has done in the past. Lambert seemed to be going for shock value alone, and now complaining if people didn’t like it. Well, what did he expect?

That’s why I, and I assume many others, were going to buy his cd but won’t any more.

But for every one of you who won’t buy because of it, 100 or 1000 people have been made aware of Adam Lambert and many of them will hear the music and will buy.

I hate that crap too. Adam is an amazing singer. If it’s not about his voice, for me, it’s a waste to watch it. But that’s me. Most people want to act out by supporting someone who acts out.

clearone, yes. And that is why I am going to stop posting till the furor dies down. I thought last night’s performance was awful for a number of reasons, and I am not going to defend them. I hope this won’t stop people from buying the album, but let’s be honest, it will. Others might buy it b/c of the performance, and good on them. My supervisor came in a few minutes ago, and asked what I thought, and then said, I didn’t care about the performance per se, it didn’t bother me, but I thought he sounded horrible. I agreed. I love his album, I think it’s one of the best I’ve ever heard, and I think vocally he is a genius. I look forward to seeing him on Letterman, GMA, etc., but maybe his Tour won’t be my thing.

laterz

Talent should have come first, but he’s in great danger of making himself a joke.

Yes, I fear this as well.

I think Adam has mad talent and I did buy his CD because I think he sounds fantastic on all the songs. It is a very well done CD and I recommend it to anyone.

That being said, you have to wonder who is advising Adam? He really needs to be careful here or he will become a joke. He needs to think twice about his actions going forward. If he can turn an ardent fan, like me, off with that performance (and I have been a fan since the beginning and am still a fan), imagine what those who hardly know him or are just seeing him for the first time, think?

Again, it wasn’t the vulgarity, it just wasn’t very well executed and I actually found it kind of predictable and boring….

ETA: Ulitmately, this makes me a bit sad as I really like Adam and hate to see him made a fool of…

WTF? Did you really thing Adam Lambert is a boy scout, for heaven’s sake? What were you expecting? He’s a gay man who is perhaps, bi-curious.

I was expecting that he’d sound good singing, and he didn’t. I was expecting edgy, not crass. I don’t give two hoots about his personal life, sexual preferences, whatever. That performance was super hyped and it didn’t deliver, not for me anyway.

WTF? Did you really thing Adam Lambert is a boy scout, for heaven’s sake? What were you expecting? He’s a gay man who is perhaps, bi-curious.

Not being a boy scout is supposed to justify that crude mess? That performance was a shock burrito: he tried to pointless stuff as many gay references into that performance as possible.

Oh yeah…he’s not performing FYE anymore? So has his record label accepted it for the commercial bomb that it seems to be turning into?

I think Adam wants ALL his fans. He took great care to create an album that had something for everyone. He really tried to please everyone while still holding onto his vision.

Under incredible pressure last night, he slipped up. There is so much going on around him with so many expectations he (and his team, because I don’t think he is the type to “go rogue.”) may have lost their bearings a bit. Hopefully someone will pull things back into line.

I think he is doing the best he can amidst a lot of chaos. I will cut him some lack. Hopefully others will do the same.

LeHommeAdam
11/23/2009 at 1:17 pm
Finland: #3 pop chart, #3 general chart
Denmark: #11 pop chart, #18 general chart
Sweden: #12 pop chart, #22 general chart
Norway: # 54 pop chart, #132 general chart

Other European countries:

UK: #23 pop chart, #53 general chart
France: #37 pop chart, #86 general chart

Rest of world:

New Zealand: #2 pop chart, #3 general chart
Canada:#5 pop chart, #10 general chart

GO ADAM!!! I think this is pretty awsome

THIS^^^^

Is where Adam has the advantage to previous idols… when you start seeing worldwide sales numbers like those, the scared and offended “midwestern/conservative” sales numbers in the USA really won’t be that big of a deal.

Thanks for posting these numbers! They say alot!

OMG, he doesn’t want the conservative, married, middle-age typical Idol fan from the Mid-West, who was offended by this. Your age group does not buy music!

Well… actually, this age group DOES buy music. Quite a bit of it, in fact. Also, I don’t think being offended by Adam’s performance has anything to do with age. After all, plenty of people on this blog have said that nothing Adam did last night was really ground-breaking or envelope-pushing. It’s all been done. “Middle-aged” people are certainly used to it. (And, for the record, Madonna and Prince are both middle-aged.) So, I wouldn’t count out the middle-aged crowd just yet. Most of us get it.

I’m always surprised by people who REFUSE to buy an album for any reason other than they simply do not like the music. It’s your right, of course. Granted, there are a few things an artist could do that would make me boycott them – rape, murder, domestic violence, child abuse. But, to each his own. I think it’s a great album, as do most of the professional reviewers. Sorry to those who will be missing out. But, I think Adam will be fine.

Adding here (because I still can’t edit). We all know he can sing. FYE is a crappy song to try and showcase vocals in a live setting—then you add strutting around, stairs, ramps, etc. I should have known it just wasn’t going to sound good. I think I kind of sensed it after that rehearsal footage, but I guess I thought he would pull off a miracle and sound awesome as always.

He will shape things up for the rest of the week, I’m sure. The guy can sing, and there is some incredible material on the album. Too bad nobody got to experience it last night.

The cd is really good, I think anyone who is boycotting the cd based on AMA should wait until Letterman, GMA and Ellen.

Suebrody, you said it all, you are a fan and maybe didnt like it last night but it isnt stopping you from buying his cd. We all are not going to love or like what he does but you dont kick someone when they (or you perceive them to) fall. I personally have missed seeing him and loved it along with my more conservative 48 year old sister in Missouri, she saw it uncut and said she was just laughing and thought it said exactly what Adam wanted it to say. Screw you if you dont like it, he addressed all issues in this, is he gay, is he straight, can he be gayer, he was playing and it was fun, for me and mine at least.

The cd is really good, I think anyone who is boycotting the cd based on AMA should wait until Letterman, GMA and Ellen.

See, that won’t happen. Once he lost them they aren’t coming back , IMO

sr4mjc
11/23/2009 at 2:08 pm
The cd is really good, I think anyone who is boycotting the cd based on AMA should wait until Letterman, GMA and Ellen.

Whether you love him or hate him….Whether your shocked or not…

You gotta give the boy that..he created a really great all around cd in like 4 months.

We will see Adam-Lite this week on his New York shows, and I hope that settles down some of his original fans that have issues with handling the “dirty” Adam.

Someone said paint by numbers. I agree. It was horrible. I nearly shut off the TV but it’s like watching a twenty car pile up. You can’t just look away…*sigh*

Someone also said that if he’d knocked it out vocally it wouldn’t have been so bad. Truer words have never been spoken. But I want to point out here that with the type of album that Adam put out it’s going to be very hard to sing the synthesized songs live. No doubt the sound was off but I find that laughable in the face of his behind the scenes rehearsals where he gives a shout out to the sound techs.

The joy is slowly leaving him. He was angry during that set. I think that identity crisis during the making of the album is so true. He just wants to be fun and carefree as himself but he can’t seem to let himself be that way. He says it’s a collaberation but it all felt forced, I think he was taken advantage of. He’s comfortable being OTT but he was pushed to a whole new level. Which he probably thought was cool at the time but when it came to actual performing…he went on overload.

I could be all wrong. For me I fell in love with his Kradison life . I was comfortable with the OTT because it was just play fun…not that deep.

Loved this interview above, it shows the sweet and fun Adam we love so much. I also really like the album, mine came on Saturday. I had already been streaming it, and really like many of the songs. Thought the performance last night was over the top and exactly what Adam promised it would be. He has never been shy on stage, “Crawl Thru Fire” anyone? The Idol Tour, WLL, very sexual, Bowie medley-amazingly sexy. Adam’s true fans expect him to be outrageous one minute and sweet the next. That’s what is the biggest draw for a lot of us. His ability to mix it up. True, the vocals were a bit of a let down last night, but, the audio was a mess, and they kept cutting his sound off. If nothing else, he will be remembered for this performance. The editing on the west coast was unnecessary, and I agree, discriminatory. For heaven’s sake, ABC has Brothers and Sisters and gay make out scenes in the same time frame weekly. So what?
Looking forward to Letterman, maybe he’ll sing Broken Open, it is a beautiful and haunting song. That should showcase his sensitive vocals.
By the way, I’m from the midwest, married, have teenagers who were not even remotely offended by the performance, already own 2 FYE CD’s, and can’t wait for a tour, I’ll be there, front and center!!

Adam Lambert is a hypocrite and a fraud. He doesn’t want to be the poster child for gay rights and yet he thinks it would be discriminatory if his kiss with a ‘straight male” keyboardist is edited out of TV? What is that if not a political statement?

He doesn’t want to be known only for his sexuality and yet he purposely kissed a “straight male” keyboardist on TV!!! And don’t tell me that was NOT planned because if I were the “straight male” keyboardist and Adam was going to kiss me like that, I damn well better be in on the plan!!!

AND WHAT WAS UP WITH GIVING THE AUDIENCE THE FINGER? SORRY, DUDE, BUT WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I DON’T CARE HOW MANY PUBLICATIONS KISS YOUR @$$ YOU’RE STILL A NOBODY AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE IMMEDIATELY.

The funniest thing about all this is that Adam doesn’t even need to do all this stuff to get attention. He already has the world at his feet. He’s got an amazing voice and he would have kept everyone in the audience enthralled just by sitting there and singing. But no, because that’s not how he wants people to see him as an artist. He doesn’t want to just be known for his voice, he wants to be known for his exploits and his “edge”. That crap last night wasn’t edgy, it was embarrassing. He had the pimp spot on a nationally televised award show where he was making his splash onto the music scene on the eve of his album debut and he executed one huge belly flop.

Adam may be the talk of the town post-AMAs but it’s not about how great a singer he is, or how awesome his song so is so ooh let me run out and buy it right now. He achieved what he wanted, which is to be gossip fodder. And yet every single interview he keeps insisting it’s about the music when clearly last night, it was NOT about the music.

His single on iTunes is #31 on pop and #61 overall. Where is the huge upsurge in sales of people wanting to buy his music? And now he’s not even singing this on Letterman? Why not, Adam? Why won’t radio play your songs, Adam? Cuz you and RCA both know it sucks and now you’re doing damage control and releasing a much more radio-friendly single?

Is that why RCA is allowing Amazon to sell your entire album for $3.99 (with a $3 amazon mp3 credit) so that people who wouldn’t have otherwise bought your album — especially after last night — can now get it for less than a dollar and you can still save face and count it as part of your “first week sales” making you appear to be a bigger deal than you really are?

I think the saddest part about this is that there are a ton of artists out there who would kill for the kind of publicity and opportunities and accolades that Adam is getting and he is just basically taking everything like it’s his due instead of showing people that he deserves it. Everyone talks about how he’s such a sweet guy underneath all that leather and eye makeup. Well, I just don’t see it.

Elspeth, you really hit on something. There was no joy in that performance. Incredible vocals can overcome a lot, so can looking like you are having fun. There is usually such a sense of fun with Adam’s OTT stuff. I have no idea what was going on, or maybe he finally cracked under all the pressure. But, he is a tough guy, and he will bounce back. I hope he gets to have some fun with his mom and Neil in NYC this week.

Adam sucked last nite. ha ha

I took this from another website…..

The View discussed Adam today…and Barbara confirmed that Adam was on her most fascinating list for 2009…

Hey if Barbara can still love Adam..what’s up with everyone else..LOL!

“They said that ABC censors wouldn’t allow them to show a clip of the performance. Elizabeth went off about how he “went too far”. Whoopi brought up the 2003 incident where Madonna kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Barbra quoted Adam about the discrimination he would feel if ABC censored or edited his performance in a future re airing of the show. Whhopi brought up that parents shouldn’t be upset because their kids shouldn’t have been up that late anyways and that Adam is very open about “what he does” and the parents should have known that before letting them watch.

Barbra confirmed that he is on her list of the Most Fascinating People of 2009 and said the special will be airing on December 9th on ABC. Lady Gaga is also on the list.”

Oh, so now you hate him because he’s getting all kinds of publicity.

You are obviously fans of other Idols and you can’t stand it. True colors are now showing.

I was physically sick last night after seeing Adam perform. I was so shocked by how angry and uncomfortable he seemed. Hard to believe it was an act. He had to know how poorly it went. On the other hand he seemed relaxed and happy when interviewed backstage. Don’t get it at all. I love his music and will continue to support him by buying his CDs. I am still confused (but not happy) by last night and don’t know if I “get him”. I thought at the very least he would have tried making light of the awful sound, the fall, etc. while still supporting the idea of the performance. Maybe it makes good business sense to ignore mistakes and keep up a good front but it does provide the appearance of not really giving a crap about the entertainment value.

I was worried that I would wake up this morning and see that all of his speaking engagements had been canceled and that he was already on the road to oblivion. I also was concerned that he would be totally crushed by the less than perfect performance since I didn’t see the backstage interviews till this morning.

Looks like he will continue on (nothing canceled that I know of) and hopefully get to remind the world of his beautiful voice.

“WE ALL LOVE YOU ADAM, YOU ARE THE BRAVEST MAN WE KNOW AND WE LOVE IT. YOUR FANS ARE YOUR FANS NO MATTER WHAT.”

ha ha – speak for yourself PLEASE.

Thank you Kanadie for that – I was trying to find a clip of the View but I couldn’t. I wasn’t thrilled with Adam’s performance but will admit that I always totally discount what Elizabeth Hasselbeck says anyway . . no surprise at her reaction. Would like to hear more of what Whoopi and Joy had to say. I actually am seriously interested in seriously a Barbara Walters interview with Adam. Am looking forward to Letterman performance. I just want it to be good vocally. I think it will be.

Oh, so now you hate him because he’s getting all kinds of publicity.

When has he not been getting publicity? This comment doesn’t seem to make any logical sense

The Choreo: D-
His Dancing: D-
His Singing: C+
The Song: D+

Bury it.

On a positive note, he’s garnering all sorts of attention and buzz. For his sake, I hope there isn’t some grand disconnect between the media and the people.

I love the song and he sounded fantastic in rehearsal. It’s a really catchy tune.

Too bad the performance didn’t match the rehearsal b/c he was so nervous and stiff. I think all of the choreographed dance moves distracted him from the singing. It was missing his characteristic inflection and a natural flow. Last night was a trainwreck.

I agree, Adam can’t claim not to be an activist or a poster child and then call “discrimination”. He’s going to dig himself an even bigger hole if he doesn’t learn from this and regroup.

Is the Barbara Walters special airing on the 9th or is that when she is taping it? I always thought the show aired sometime in early January, but awesome if it is sooner.

Suebrody, you said it all, you are a fan and maybe didnt like it last night but it isnt stopping you from buying his cd. We all are not going to love or like what he does but you dont kick someone when they (or you perceive them to) fall.

Thank you, b/c it has been lonely in my land.

BTW, WWFM is starting to get significant airplay. Take from that what you will.

Were you OK when a few years ago Madanna was grabbing her crotch and kissing females and males on stage?

Me, personally? Not so much. HOWEVER, Madonna ruled the stage in a way that Adam did not last night. If you are going to bring the edge you have to be ready to own it. That performance owned him, IMO.

TommyJoeRatliff http://pic.gd/4179eb
10 minutes ago from UberTwitter

Love This!!! Maybe Dave will to a Top 10 List of why Adam’s performance freeked everyone out last night..that would be awesome!

A note to the picture…Letterman keeps his studio at 58 degrees, looks like the are bundle up for it..LOL!

ugh,people are freaking out about this.I mean it’s expected.for me,the only thing it did was get my dad pissed at Adam.big friggin deal.I liked it(I actually thought the fall was part of the choreography-maybe Im just stupid). I liked the performance last night although I thought the vocals weren’t as good as usual.they were still gr8 though. and the kiss was unnecesary.I didn’t “get” most of the choreography.I think at his hyped national debut performance it might not be the best move.I’m dissapointed it’s overshadowing his album release.as for not buying his album because of what he did last night -please,don’t even get me started.I couldn’t care less who bought adam but even liking Adam the person less because of this is just moronic (although it’s just someone’s opinion)imo. discrimination?! no.somtimes I have noticed Adam can be a little haughty while defending his edginess.I personally had no probalem with it.I just don’t think it should affect sales,but unfortunately it does(I think).besides,the only people watching for ONLY Adam were his ott fans,right?and they’ve seen worse , on the tour.

i liked it but at this time? I think it’s a bad career move…

Thanks for the heads up.

Don’t cry or hate cos it’s too late. Meet some Adam instead:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rozP0GlbMoU

Im confused….what exactly was edited out? I live in LA and I saw the kiss and the simulated bj (that was towards the beg of the performance, right?). The only omission was the finger flip. We all know the rules for MTV/Cable versus ABC are quite different. Plus, I don’t recall a time where a female performer pretended to receive oral sex on the AMAs or Grammys. So how is that discrimination? After the Janet jackson nipple pop, the networks have been extremely cautious (with men and women peformers). Whatevers, the only shocking thing was that his voice sounded weak and off key. The kiss and the grinding didn’t phase me, however I was disappointed by the “trying too hard” vibe. Kiss, bj, nipple rings, crotch grabbing, finger playing….everything but the kitchen sink.

Were you OK when a few years ago Madanna was grabbing her crotch and kissing females and males on stage? Have any of you been to a Madonna show? Let’s not even discuss Michael Jackson cause that’s a whole other conversation!

I don’t really care anymore anyway, cause Adam is awesome and he’s got a fabulous career in front on him. Again, if you don’t like him anymore, then nobody is twisting your arm. I have to keep telling myself I’m talking to Idol fans = TV fans.
*
milwlovesadam
11/23/2009 at 2:22 pm

Loved this interview above, it shows the sweet and fun Adam we love so much. I also really like the album, mine came on Saturday. I had already been streaming it, and really like many of the songs. Thought the performance last night was over the top and exactly what Adam promised it would be. He has never been shy on stage, ‘Crawl Thru Fire’  anyone? The Idol Tour, WLL, very sexual, Bowie medley-amazingly sexy. Adam’s true fans expect him to be outrageous one minute and sweet the next. That’s what is the biggest draw for a lot of us. His ability to mix it up. True, the vocals were a bit of a let down last night, but, the audio was a mess, and they kept cutting his sound off. If nothing else, he will be remembered for this performance. The editing on the west coast was unnecessary, and I agree, discriminatory. For heaven’s sake, ABC has Brothers and Sisters and gay make out scenes in the same time frame weekly. So what?
Looking forward to Letterman, maybe he’ll sing Broken Open, it is a beautiful and haunting song. That should showcase his sensitive vocals.
By the way, I’m from the midwest, married, have teenagers who were not even remotely offended by the performance, already own 2 FYE CD’s, and can’t wait for a tour, I’ll be there, front and center!!
*
Jasper
11/23/2009 at 2:25 pm

Adam Lambert is a hypocrite and a fraud. He doesn’t want to be the poster child for gay rights and yet he thinks it would be discriminatory if his kiss with a ‘straight male’  keyboardist is edited out of TV? What is that if not a political statement?

He doesn’t want to be known only for his sexuality and yet he purposely kissed a ‘straight male’  keyboardist on TV!!! And don’t tell me that was NOT planned because if I were the ‘straight male’  keyboardist and Adam was going to kiss me like that, I damn well better be in on the plan!!!

AND WHAT WAS UP WITH GIVING THE AUDIENCE THE FINGER? SORRY, DUDE, BUT WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I DON’T CARE HOW MANY PUBLICATIONS KISS YOUR @$$ YOU’RE STILL A NOBODY AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE IMMEDIATELY.

The funniest thing about all this is that Adam doesn’t even need to do all this stuff to get attention. He already has the world at his feet. He’s got an amazing voice and he would have kept everyone in the audience enthralled just by sitting there and singing. But no, because that’s not how he wants people to see him as an artist. He doesn’t want to just be known for his voice, he wants to be known for his exploits and his ‘edge’ . That crap last night wasn’t edgy, it was embarrassing. He had the pimp spot on a nationally televised award show where he was making his splash onto the music scene on the eve of his album debut and he executed one huge belly flop.

Adam may be the talk of the town post-AMAs but it’s not about how great a singer he is, or how awesome his song so is so ooh let me run out and buy it right now. He achieved what he wanted, which is to be gossip fodder. And yet every single interview he keeps insisting it’s about the music when clearly last night, it was NOT about the music.

His single on iTunes is #31 on pop and #61 overall. Where is the huge upsurge in sales of people wanting to buy his music? And now he’s not even singing this on Letterman? Why not, Adam? Why won’t radio play your songs, Adam? Cuz you and RCA both know it sucks and now you’re doing damage control and releasing a much more radio-friendly single?

Is that why RCA is allowing Amazon to sell your entire album for $3.99 (with a $3 amazon mp3 credit) so that people who wouldn’t have otherwise bought your album ‘” especially after last night ‘” can now get it for less than a dollar and you can still save face and count it as part of your ‘first week sales’  making you appear to be a bigger deal than you really are?

I think the saddest part about this is that there are a ton of artists out there who would kill for the kind of publicity and opportunities and accolades that Adam is getting and he is just basically taking everything like it’s his due instead of showing people that he deserves it. Everyone talks about how he’s such a sweet guy underneath all that leather and eye makeup. Well, I just don’t see it.

Jasper, I agree entirely. And ya know what? I don’t want to see him on Letterman or any other appearance. I was once a GIANT fan, now I’ll be glad in a month or so when he has just gone away. I find him coarse, profane, nasty and all around offensive. And NONE of his new tunes are spectacular enough to own. (I don’t like Kanye either, but hey, some of his music I love and own).

http://tweetphoto.com/uz5pbcjz

Adam looks ready for Letterman. Btw Tommy is cute.

Love this short snippet from USA Today…..looks like Adam’s performance didn’t even come close to being a disaster in ABC’s eyes! They got huge ratings!!!!>>>>It’s all about the ratings = $$$.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/entertainment/2009/11/abc-fields-adam-lambert-complaints-compliments.html

“Just in: ABC has received approximately 1,500 complaints about Adam Lambert’s performance last night, which it doesn’t consider to be an unusual number, reports USA TODAY’s Gary Levin.

A major PR disaster would normally prompt 15,000 to 20,000 complaints. On the other hand, ABC says at least 100 people called to say they liked it.

Meanwhile, all the hype about the star-studded event seems to have paid off. According to preliminary Nielsen ratings, the American Music Awards show saw its best numbers since 2002, with 14.2 million viewers.”

Seems that everyone in these threads getting all worked up was actually not a big deal at all in ABC’s eyes….You Go Adam!!!

Jasper, I agree entirely. And ya know what? I don’t want to see him on Letterman or any other appearance. I was once a GIANT fan, now I’ll be glad in a month or so when he has just gone away. I find him coarse, profane, nasty and all around offensive. And NONE of his new tunes are spectacular enough to own. (I don’t like Kanye either, but hey, some of his music I love and own).

all because of one performance? okay then…

“”His single on iTunes is #31 on pop and #61 overall. Where is the huge upsurge in sales of people wanting to buy his music? And now he’s not even singing this on Letterman? Why not, Adam? Why won’t radio play your songs, Adam? Cuz you and RCA both know it sucks and now you’re doing damage control and releasing a much more radio-friendly single? “”"

But – his album is at #7 – so he is just fine and as far as doing a different song on Letterman, he is just following the formula that got him as far as it did on AI – shock and then bring it back softly, it worked well, he did great and will continue to do so

“”I was once a GIANT fan, now I’ll be glad in a month or so when he has just “”"

Um – no – never saw you on here going to bat for him – just now when it seems to appear to a few that he is going to fail peeps are sayin they hate him after just one performance – LOL – oh how people love to kick and beat down people when they seem to be at their worst, I dont think it was his worst – just sayin

luvadamlambert
11/23/2009 at 3:49 pm
Jasper, I agree entirely. And ya know what? I don’t want to see him on Letterman or any other appearance. I was once a GIANT fan, now I’ll be glad in a month or so when he has just gone away. I find him coarse, profane, nasty and all around offensive. And NONE of his new tunes are spectacular enough to own. (I don’t like Kanye either, but hey, some of his music I love and own).

all because of one performance? okay then’ ¦

Well said Luv!

OMG, he doesn’t want the conservative, married, middle-age typical Idol fan from the Mid-West, who was offended by this. Your age group does not buy music!

Is where Adam has the advantage to previous idols’ ¦ when you start seeing worldwide sales numbers like those, the scared and offended ‘midwestern/conservative’  sales numbers in the USA really won’t be that big of a deal.

Put that fucking brush down cause I’m real tired of being painted with it. I doubt you have any clue about the “Midwest” cause if you did, you would realize that what you both wrote is utter and complete bullshit. I was born and raised in the Midwest, single, NOT conservative, close to middle aged as are the majority of the people I know/are related too/ work with so step off and rethink your sterotype. It takes a hell of alot more than Adam Lambert acting a fool on national tv to offend most people in the midwest. We weren’t sitting around today, cluching our pearls and fanning ourselves over that “obscene display” we witnessed last night.

brought up the 2003 incident where Madonna kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Barbra quoted Adam about the discrimination he would feel if ABC censored or edited his performance in a future re airing of the show.

my only problem with this argument is that MTV (cable) has different broadcast rules than a regular network channel such as ABC. now, if MTV had censored the kiss, then yes, I would cry double standard.

Really, the issue is not ABC. In general, we live in a world where women kissing each other is hot and men not so much. We also live in a world where men pushing envelopes are pioneers, yet women are whores and/or bytches. double standards in both incidents. doesnt make it right, but it doesnt surprise me. Welcome to planet earth. Life is not fair.

This interview with Adam really, really annoys me. The whole discrimintion thing is total BS. It’s like I was totally decieved by what kind of person I thought Adam was.

I’m putting off buying his album,Buying Rihanna’s tomorrow.

If Adam sings WWFM he’ll be amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy him as much though.

I hate this now.so much for Adam day.he has lost so many die-hard fans.people that loved him yesterday now ont buy his music,couldn’t care less about him.I hate this so friggin much….

Is that why RCA is allowing Amazon to sell your entire album for $3.99 (with a $3 amazon mp3 credit) so that people who wouldn’t have otherwise bought your album

Um,, Amazon is just trying to steal market share from itunes. and lots of stuff is on sale this week. some of the other top selling mp3s are also 4 and 5 bucks.

AND WHAT WAS UP WITH GIVING THE AUDIENCE THE FINGER? SORRY, DUDE, BUT WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I DON’T CARE HOW MANY PUBLICATIONS KISS YOUR @$$ YOU’RE STILL A NOBODY AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE IMMEDIATELY.

It’s a performance. Not meant to be taken seriously. I’ve seen a bunch of promotional pics of other artists with them giving the finger. They are not giving the finger to you. I take it to be a symbol of independence, like I’m not taking shit from anyone. At the end of the song, he sings about not being soft and sweet. It’s a performance.

“AND WHAT WAS UP WITH GIVING THE AUDIENCE THE FINGER? SORRY, DUDE, BUT WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I DON’T CARE HOW MANY PUBLICATIONS KISS YOUR @$$ YOU’RE STILL A NOBODY AND SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE IMMEDIATELY.”

From http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/11/ladies-night-at-the-amas.html:

‘Lambert’s vocals were sometimes off, but his all-out plunge into erotic exhibitionism was very entertaining and pretty freaking rock ‘n’ roll. Eminem and 50 Cent uttered obscenities that were bleeped out on the telecast; it wasn’t possible to hide Lambert’s in-your-face routine.’ 

So Adam’s gesture was aimed at these two loosers, IMO.

beehiway
11/23/2009 at 4:15 pm
Sorry Luv, wasn’t picking on you.

huh? I didn’t think you were…:).it’s all good.except for this shit.

Just finish some RL work so I’m in a better mood now to chime in.

I hope at the end of the day, the music is the only thing that matters.

I have no problem with last night performance. Was it his best? No. He was trying to accomplish to much in one performance. The hype on his shoulder also cracked his nerve a bit. But I think it was good for him in a long run because now the hype will scale back and let Adam focus on the music and on promoting it.

As for public reaction and purchase decision on his album, I think it will be those people’s loss to judge an album or an artist basing on one performance. I didn’t like Gaga’s AI performance, love her bleeding dress one, meh on her last night performance. But all these performances, like it or not, bring her to my awareness, I find her music and MV present different facets of her musicianship and start checking out her songs. I like Adam’s talent and his type of music approach, and I hope as long as he has other performance opportunities, he will win over people who like his music.

As for the attitude toward his fans, I don’t really care what he thinks of his fans. As long as he can produce good music, I’m a fan of his music. I like his philosophy of staying true to ourselves and living the moment. That’s what I get from him and that’s enough for me to stay as a fan of his personality. I don’t need to agree everything he says to be a fan of his.

As for sales, the more I listen to FYE the album, the less I care about sales. This is a solid and damn good album that I’ve ever heard. If the number is good, then I’m lucky because that means I’ll have another album from Adam in one or two years, in the same or better quality I hope. I can’t wait for that even now. If the number is bad and RCA drops him, then I probably need to wait longer.

If Adam has to go indie, so be it. I watch the behind scene video and find out Adam had a lots of input in this album although he just wrote 4 of them. He hand picked all the songs and judged from the final product, his music taste appeals to me.

I hope this hoopla fades away soon and we can go back to discussing the music.

Hey luv, don’t be blue. There’s plenty of fans who thought the performance was entertaining with a capital E. Well, I did anyway. I find all this “concern” kind of amusing. And puzzling. Adam will be more than fine. Before you know it we’ll be dissecting his Letterman performance. Which some will love and some will hate. Life goes on.

Well, Adam has to scale and scale back his dancing to match his abilities, whih are limited. The boy may be light in his loafers, but he ain’t light on his feet! The choreographers really shoulda stopped thes – then again, he’s a big boy. Seriously, he hasn’t the moves of one who has had much dance training.

I thought it was raunchy and I wasn’t entertained. I admit to not liking the song to begin with, but I’ve found Adam is more performance and I thought I may change my mind watching him perform it. I just really dislike it more and hate that the visual is implanted in my brain.

Sorry, Adam. No double standard. Why did you flip off the audience at the end?

I wasn’t particularly thrilled with it. You know what? I’m not going to lie. He gave me a heart attack because I knew it would be raunchy, but it was still more than I expected. I guess that makes sense because the two things I was not expecting, the kiss and “simulated BJ” were both in the moment moves. Now that I have had time to think about it, it’s still not my favorite performance but my main issues were his singing. His voice got lost in all of that.

But, wow he is getting a lot of attention now! I guess that is what he wanted.

Also, the AH interview was hilarious to me. Hahahah- “My crotch?!!!!”

edit: yes, you are pointing fingers, and lecturing. Please don’t do that.

(UpdateScandinavia (Northern Europe)

Finland: #2 pop chart, #2 general chart (briefly at #1)
Denmark: #10 pop chart, #17 general chart
Sweden: #8 pop chart, #13 general chart
Norway: # 24 pop chart, #50 general chart

Other European countries:

UK: #20 pop chart, #40 general chart
France: #35 pop chart, #93 general chart
Portugal: #4 pop chart, #10 general chart

Rest of world:

New Zealand: #2 pop chart, #3 general chart
Canada:#5 pop chart, #10 general chart

In Canada, these are the # for the deluxe album. The regular album is right behind at #6 pop and #11 in general chart
d)

Good news. Go Adam!

ugh,people are freaking out about this.I mean it’s expected.for me,the only thing it did was get my dad pissed at Adam.big friggin deal.I liked it(I actually thought the fall was part of the choreography-maybe Im just stupid). I liked the performance last night although I thought the vocals weren’t as good as usual.they were still gr8 though

You’re not stupid, luv. I was convinced it was part of the choreography too until I saw the slow motion version. Actually, it makes me giggle now becasue how he came up from that trip and roll without losing the mic and his train of thought is beyond me. He deserves an award!
I don’t think it’s a bad career move. Do you know how many people are going to watch Letterman and GMA now?! And he will give a completely different performance. Plus, he is getting good reviews from press that isn’t your traditional AI fan. That’s exactly what he needs to do.
Keep the faith. You are the fan of someone who is worthy. He will not disappoint you!

edit: one more like this, and I ban you

Oh, this is only the teeter.

I hurt when you hurt……………
I smile when you smile………….
He is in my heart…
I will aLWAYS be here for you………
Our BB is growing up!
It will always be “as you wish”

Starry, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Expectations were high…for me it was a good performance, and I’m still a fan. Being an Adam fan is exciting. So happy that I could get his cd here in HK.

Why are people complaining about the kiss being edited out? IT WASN’T. Saw it on the west coast airing and the edit was the simulated blowjob, and rightly so. What was the discrimination here? Discrimination against the performance of lewd acts onstage?

Starry …. well said and ITA.

I miss the smile he normally did at the end of a performance.

Ah well….haven’t read thru all of the comments of the day, but IMO AL’s performance wasn’t offensive in the puritan sense….but thought it was just plain stupid. What was he thinking? I didn’t find anything about the performance sensual. Just uncomfortable. Vocals were off. Choreography not vocalist friendly. And….just felt an immature vibe coming off the performance. And why was he flipping me off?

I do not care anymore about Lambert`s music, after this performance. He is not interesting. I`ve downloaded couple of his song before, but that`s it from me.

have you,koka? really? hmmmmm…;(….

Set aside the performance issues here, I have serious problems with AL claiming discrimination based on the editing here. Maybe if the kiss had been edited out, but I don’t know of any other situation where a simulated bj by any artist (or anyone else, for that matter) was permitted on network television during prime time. Period. Regardless of gender of sexual orientation. Discrimination is a serious matter. And it didn’t happen here.

Reminder:

Deleting and editing angry, defensive posts. Also, the lecturing–please keep your screeds on your fansites. We DON’T keep fans in line here.

FolkFan
11/24/2009 at 12:32 am
Set aside the performance issues here, I have serious problems with AL claiming discrimination based on the editing here. Maybe if the kiss had been edited out, but I don’t know of any other situation where a simulated bj by any artist (or anyone else, for that matter) was permitted on network television during prime time. Period. Regardless of gender of sexual orientation. Discrimination is a serious matter. And it didn’t happen here

Adam’s comments about censorship came immediately after the performance and before the west coast feed had been broadcasted. At that time he did not know what might or might not be censored or if it would be edited at all. He simply stated that if his performance were subjected to censorship, it could constitute discrimination.

I’m upset that I didn’t get my FYE album today by mail Yep, still an Adam fan even though I had to pull my mouth shut after that performance. lol
He sure has people talking though. Have to watch MTV Tuesday 3:30pm eastern time to see him with Alexa Chung. Letterman’s gonna have a field day with him for sure. haha. Wonder what he’ll be singing then.

Letterman’s gonna have a field day with him for sure. haha. Wonder what he’ll be singing then.

He’s singing Whataya Want From Me on Letterman and I don’t believe there is an interview. Letterman doesn’t usually interview the guest performers.

Preemptive claims of discrimination don’t really make me happy either. Part of me kind of feels like he kissed his band member so that he could make this about “freedom of expression” and non-discrimination.

Discrimination my foot. What Adam did was just plain porn & totally inappropriate for that audience. Yes, some people show way too much but there is a distinction between “sexy” and just plain porn. Adam needs to STFU & don’t dig his hole deeper. What is done is done.