|
"American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert got a little naughty during his live performance at the American Music Awards Sunday - and, purposefully or not, exposed a double standard in shocking musical performances.
Lambert performed the single "For Your Entertainment" as the closer of the AMAs on ABC Sunday night, and now he's getting some heat for his sexually-charged performance. During the performance, he shoved a dancer's face in his crotch and spontaneously made out with a keyboardist. Both the dancer and the keyboardist were - gasp! - MEN.
That's right. Adam Lambert, openly gay rock star, made out with a guy. On TV!
Won't somebody think of the children!?!?
Seriously, though, it was kind of a naughty, envelope-pushing performance. His dancers were all in S&M gear, including boys on leashes and clad in leather, and Adam Lambert got all kind of thrusty during his singing. (That man has a pelvis that could rival Elvis', for sure!) It was also aired at 10:55 p.m. on a Sunday night - when all the impressionable little children should be tucked in their wee little beds, dreaming sweet little dreams - and on a live music awards show - the type of show that is considered an epic failure if there isn't something controversial or envelope-pushing happening.
But, after the performance, of course, came the inevitable "poo-storm." The Parents Television Council did its normal freak-out routine, calling the performance "tasteless" and "vulgar," and urging everyone to call and complain to ABC, Dick Clark Productions and advertisers. (What a surprise!) And ABC received a whopping 1,500 complaints. Honestly, there are probably 1,500 in the U.S. who would call and complain to ABC for just about anything they would air, so I hardly think that's a particularly exciting statistic. OK, so maybe it was a manufactured poo-storm that was blown out of proportion.
Adam Lambert has come out completely defending his performance, saying, "People are scared, and it's really sad. I just wish people could open their minds up and enjoy things. It's all for a laugh -- it's really not that big of a deal." And what did he think about the fact that the performance was edited for the West Coast broadcast? Well, he called it "discrimination," and said "Female pop artists have been doing things provocative like that for years."
Ding ding ding! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!
Let's take a little trip down memory lane by about 6 years, to the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. I feel like something important and controversial happened then, too. Hmm, what was it? Oh yeah - Madonna made out with both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilara during a performance of "Like A Virgin." (Photos of the performance are here.) Not to mention the thrusting, simulated sex, writhing and other raunchy moves that have been broadcast for years by Madonna, Brit-Brit, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, the Pussycat Dolls and a whole host of other female performers with a minimum of freaking out. But when it's a gay man in tight leather pants, then, woo-boy, you better watch out, because it's just plain dirty. And a guy kissing another guy, well, that's just plain icky, don't you know? It's OK when women do it, because then it's "hot," but not when it's two men.
Look at it this way - if Madonna had gotten up there and done a bondage-themed song, crushed a woman's head into her crotch and made out with a female keyboardist, would it have been so shocking? I must say, I doubt there would be quite the backlash (though I'm sure that the Parents Television Council would still be upset.) It's a double-standard for sure.
At the very least, people should be a mite more concerned about the undertones of violence that come with the S&M costumes and dance moves, but all I keep seeing is people who are shocked about the kiss and the simulated oral sex. Hello? He had people on leashes! Let's put this all in proportion, people!
Listen, Adam Lambert is a rock star, pure and simple, and he's pushing the envelope like all rock stars. People were upset when Elvis Presley shook his hips on Ed Sullivan, and that's part of the reason he's the rock legend he is today. Rock stars have been pushing the envelope in fashion, music and, yes, good taste, for over 50 years, and that's the reason that rock music is still exciting, fresh and fun. As long as they have the talent to back up the shock factor - which Lambert definitely has in spades - then let them shock, titillate and entertain us. If you don't like it, change the channel.
What did you think of Adam Lambert's AMA performance? Is there a double-standard for what female and male performers can get away with on TV?
|
