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Posts Tagged ‘ Adam Lambert ’

Adam Lambert Wrestles With Fame in Video for Pink Team-Up “Whataya Want From Me”

by Daniel Kreps | January 15, 2010 | In Rock News | No Comments

Adam Lambert began performing “Whataya Want From Me,” the song Pink and Max Martin contributed to his debut For Your Entertainment, live in the days after his controversial American Music Awards performance, but the song’s video didn’t arrive until this morning via VH1.com. The song’s lyrics describe a creative mind in turmoil, and the fairly direct, Diane Martel-directed clip echoes the theme: instead of raging like a fierce glam icon, Lambert peels back the layers of his Glambert persona and explores how his public self is sometimes at odds with his inner Adam.

Check out photos of Adam Lambert backstage and on the road.

The video depicts Lambert in a sharp suit pushing past cameras and facing his public, and a more sullen emo Adam alone in a spare apartment, gazing at a postcard and thinking in bed. The divide between his two personas is amplified when both guises sing “Whataya Want From Me” during the chorus while staring at the camera. In the context of the video, the pleading lyrics seem aimed more at his fans than any one individual.

In the days after the AMAs flap, Lambert told fans over Twitter that he would be “goin’ in a new direction” when it came to promoting his album, insinuating he’d be scaling back on his Glambert side. Still, three videos into his fledgling career — he’s released clips for “Time For Miracles” and “For Your Entertainment” — Lambert may be playing it too safe. Hopefully next time around, Lambert unleashes his inner Ziggy Stardust and goes all “Bad Romance” on us.

Adam Lambert shocks, Taylor Swift soars: see the 2009 AMAs in photos.

Complaints Over Adam Lambert’s AMAs Performance Posted Online

by Daniel Kreps | January 6, 2010 | In Rock News | No Comments

Adam Lambert’s performance of “For Your Entertainment” closed the American Music Awards and opened a world of controversy for the American Idol star. Rolling Stone reported that only 1,500 of the show’s 14 million viewers wrote letters of complaint to the FCC after the singer simulated oral sex with his male backup dancer and enjoyed a make-out session with a male keyboardist on live television. Now, a Website called Why Not Glambert? has made use of our Freedom of Information Act and posted a handful of these indecency reports.

Adam Lambert shocks, Taylor Swift soars: see the 2009 AMAs in photos.

Anyone who spent any time in the comments section of our original Lambert AMAs story has a good sense of what made viewers mad, and the ongoing theme on Why Not Glambert? is that Lambert’s performance was “inappropriate.” That term alone is used seven times in the first nine letters of complaint. A few parents stressed that their young children were watching the broadcast to catch a glimpse of Lambert’s first post-Idol performance and were shocked at what they saw. “The entire show pushed the limits of good taste, especially since this program was billed as a ‘family show.’ There was nothing ‘family’ about it,” one viewer wrote.

Infamous crotch-rock moments, from Lambert’s AMAs to “Dick in a Box.”

In the West Coast feed of the AMAs, the performance was toned down slightly thanks to some quick editing. As Rolling Stone previously reported, the “FCC heat” that followed the AMAs cost Lambert performances on ABC programs like Good Morning America, The Jimmy Kimmel Show and Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve. Following the controversy, Lambert wrote on his Twitter, “Goin in a new direction now. Focus back on the music. Don’t worry friends: I’m still gonna be me. Always. W/o apologies. Just gonna experiment differently [with] how I present myself.”

The most “inappropriate” thing about the posts on Why Not Glambert? though are the rampant misspellings that plague a large number of the FCC letters. One author declared they were “truely disguisted” and another called the performance “obsene.” Another complainant said the “choreagraphy” was inappropriate and even a Senior Pastor at a church threatened to “boycot” ABC because of what they broadcast on “national televeicion.”

Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga Named Walters’ “Fascinating People”

by Chris Harris | December 10, 2009 | In Rock News | No Comments

Photo: ABC
Two singers who are closing out controversial years made Barbara Walters’ annual “Fascinating People” show last night: Adam Lambert and Lady Gaga. Lambert’s appearance was anticipated as his grand return to ABC, the network that aired last month’s American Music Awards and then canceled two of the American Idol breakout star’s appearances because he showed himself to be “unpredictable” on live television (relive his controversial AMAs performance here). Lambert will also appear on today’s episode of ABC’s The View, though his segment was pre-taped earlier this week and will not air live.

When Walters asked if, in retrospect, Lambert would change any aspect of his AMAs set, the singer joked about his unanticipated fall, but added, “I would do it exactly the same way. I am who I am and I think freedom of expression should be alive and well and unfortunately, it’s not.” Walters called the performance “raunchy” and “lewd.” Lambert responded, “You can’t plan everything — if I did a performance exactly how I rehearsed it, it would be so boring” and said he was not sure how the hullabaloo would impact his career. “I don’t think that, you can really … jump to conclusions about me as an artist based on one performance, that’s, that’s an ignorant thing to do.”

Check out Idol’s glam-rock sex god in photos.

Walters also questioned famously bisexual Lady Gaga about her sexual lyrics and performances, and Gaga responded by removing her sunglasses and getting serious (”I don’t take my glasses off for many interviews but I’ll take them off for you,” she said). “Every bit of me is … devoted to love and art,” Gaga said, adding that she feels an obligation to inspire young fans who feel out of place. “I aspire to try to be a teacher to my young fans, who are — who feel just like I felt when I was younger.”

Check out Lady Gaga’s wildest wardrobe moments.

Adam Lambert Gets Burned By “FCC Heat” As ABC Cancels Two More Appearances

by Daniel Kreps | December 3, 2009 | In Rock News | No Comments

Photo:
Devaney/WireImage
More than a week after his racy American Music Awards performance, Adam Lambert is still coming up against a brick wall at ABC. Yesterday the singer revealed that the network canceled his scheduled appearances on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. As Rolling Stone previously reported, Lambert’s Good Morning America appearance last week was also nixed following his AMA performance.

Adam Lambert shocks, Taylor Swift soars: see the 2009 AMAs in photos.

“Yes, sadly friends, ABC has cancelled my appearances on Kimmel and NYE. Don’t blame them. It’s the FCC heat,” Lambert tweeted yesterday. “I AM doing Leno though. And lookin into something for NYE. It’ll all blow over. Let’s focus on being positive!” No date has been announced yet for the Leno appearance. Lambert was scheduled to perform on the outdoor stage for the December 17th episode of Kimmel. The Kimmel cancellation is especially surprising given that the late night talk show airs well outside the primetime hours when younger viewers would be watching.

Infamous crotch-rock moments, from Lambert’s AMAs to “Dick in a Box.”

The cancellations come just days after Lambert himself vowed to scale back on his controversial performances and focus more on the music. “Goin in a new direction now. Focus back on the music,” Lambert wrote. “Don’t worry friends: I’m still gonna be me. Always. W/o apologies. Just gonna experiment differently [with] how I present myself.” Following Lambert’s AMA performance, ABC received more than 1,500 complaints regarding the graphic nature of the Full-Frontal Glambgasm.

Adam Lambert Vows to “Focus on the Music” After AMAs Controversy

by Rolling Stone | November 30, 2009 | In Rock News | No Comments

Photo: Devaney/WireImage

Adam Lambert has finally admitted he was a little rattled by the big reaction to his controversial performance at last Sunday night’s American Music Awards. In a series of tweets posted today on his official Twitter, the American Idol runner-up vowed to ditch some of his spectacle in favor of more attention on his songs. “Goin in a new direction now. Focus back on the music,” he wrote.

“Don’t worry friends: I’m still gonna be me. Always. W/o apologies. Just gonna experiment differently w how I present myself,” he added, concluding, “I’m learning” before thanking fans for their supportive notes over what was “a looong week.” He added his relatively stripped-down performance of “Whataya Want From Me” will air on Ellen DeGeneres’ show tomorrow.

Adam Lambert shocks, Taylor Swift soars: see the 2009 AMAs in photos.

Lambert’s week in the spotlight launched with a racy performance of “For Your Entertainment” at the AMAs, which featured the singer simulating oral sex with a male dancer and making out with his male keyboardist. Some of his performance was edited for the West Coast rebroadcast of the show, but backstage Lambert stood by his performance, telling Rolling Stone any cuts to his song would be “discrimination.” “My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom,” he said.

Infamous crotch-rock moments, from Lambert’s AMAs to “Dick in a Box.”

Of the 14 million who viewed the AMAs on ABC, only 1,500 phoned in complaints to the network, but ABC nixed Lambert’s scheduled appearance on Good Morning America, calling the singer unpredictable in a live setting. Lambert instead played two songs on CBS’ The Early Show, and submitted to an interview during which he stopped short of apologizing to anyone offended by his performance. Arguing the AMAs featured many instances of Rated R content, Lambert said, “I think it’s up to the parents to discern what their child is watching on television. Lady Gaga smashing whiskey bottles, Janet Jackson grabbing a male dancer’s crotch, Eminem talking about how Slim Shady has 17 rapes under his belt — there was a lot of very adult material on the AMAs this year and I know I wasn’t the only one.”