Adam Lambert and TV scandal: A match made in rock heaven

Adam Lambert has taken the better part of a year to unfold his shiny wings on national television. He finally took flight Sunday on the American Music Awards -- but not in the direction that many, including some devoted fans, had hoped. The singer's decision to take some exhibitionist risks onstage, starting with the kind of simulated foreplay that Madonna's been including in her concerts for years and culminating in a libidinous lip-lock with his male keyboard player, apparently has alienated as many observers as it's impressed. But there's a third way to view Lambert's staged provocation: not as a new low for pop's moral standards, nor as a revolutionary act, but as one of the most traditional things he's done so far.

Lambert's sexy moves, which he's saying were at least partly spontaneous, were a gamble. "Good Morning America" booted him off its schedule after a reported 1,500 viewer complaints came in to ABC, the network that airs that show and the annual AMAs. Such a cancellation could have set Lambert's career rolling down fame's incline, which is where Kanye West has found himself since publicly challenging Taylor Swift's global domination at the MTV Video Music Awards in September. (For the record, I'd like Kanye to make his comeback soon).

But Adam's bouncing back, at least for now: CBS immediately stepped in with an offer for him to appear on "The Early Show," and Lambert's "American Idol" colleague Ryan Seacrest gave him room to make some witty and substantive rejoinders on his syndicated radio show.

Lambert's party line is that women performers have been incorporating eroticism into their acts for years. "Janet Jackson's performance had a hand-grab of the crotch at one point," he told Seacrest, invoking the elder who opened the AMAs. He went on to cite controversial elements in numbers by Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Eminem -- the latter, he noted, "mentioned that Slim Shady had 17 rapes under his belt. Always conciliatory, even when being unapologetic, Lambert said he was "OK with all that -- it's entertainment, it's edgy and pushing the envelope."

Lambert's own move was something more specific, which he also mentioned when he said, "The spirit of rock and roll is alive and well."

Rock music and television emerged and blossomed together, and their symbiotic relationship has been marked by productive scandal. To state the mind-numbingly obvious, Lambert's full-force eroticism can be seen as the revenge of Elvis Presley's wiggly hips, cut out of the camera's frame on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1956. Or let's call it vindication for Mick Jagger, forced to change the title of "Let's Spend the Night Together" to something more chaste on Sullivan's program in 1967. Jim Morrison's ghost could give Lambert advice -- he staged a similar impromptu freedom fight the same year, when he "forgot" to change the drug-suggestive lyrics to "Light My Fire" on Sullivan. The Doors were never invited back, but their countercultural cred was secured.

Need I go on, to mention the Sex Pistols swearing on Bill Grundy's "Today" show, Sinead O'Connor ripping up the pope's picture on "Saturday Night Live," or Nirvana refusing to lip-synch on "Top of the Pops" in 1991? (Lambert's favorite rock band, Muse, did something similar recently on an Italian talk show.)

What these moments share, whether the rock stars in question capitulated or rebelled against their television handlers, is an intense mood of discomfort. The cool medium of television (to use Marshall McLuhan's famous term), which normally diffuses emotions, can't accommodate the hot one of rock and roll, which intensifies them. Watching Elvis squirm, Jagger sneer or Kurt Cobain act like a clown, even a fan of those artists feels a little uncomfortable. They don't fit. They break the frame, shattering our assumptions about what a performance should be and forcing us to confront what turns us off -- or on.

In recent years, the symbiotic relationship between rock and television has grown less powerful, partly because enough taboos have been broken that it's harder for artists to really shock audiences, and partly because rock itself has grown far less sexy. While hip-hop, dance music and R&B continue to push the boundaries when it comes to eroticism, rock has become almost square in the 21st century, the province of Christians, dads, earnest political activists and other basically wholesome superstars.

There's nothing wrong with that. It's just how art forms evolve. Rock, once the primary cultural means for Americans (and Brits) to explore their sexual edge, has lost sight of its libido. Think of the other rock acts who performed at the AMAs: Daughtry might be some women's dream guy, but his music is all about being married. And Green Day, though eminently admirable, wasn't even sexy back when Billie Joe was singing about solo self-pleasuring.

Lambert's musical connection to hard rock is actually pretty tenuous -- though he's brought back the heavy-metal scream, his vocal performances really reflect stronger connections to New Wave, post-disco and even opera. Where he is a rocker is, frankly, in his groin. Showing off sexual desires that are still considered outlaw by some, he produces the kinds of responses that threaten some people and change others -- and signal bigger shifts in society in general.

Lambert is right to say that there's a double standard when it comes to female displays of sexuality in pop, as well as in men's verbal expressions of prowess and desire. Let's take it one step further, in fact -- we don't have any problem watching a black male artist, like Usher, or a white one who works in a mostly black musical style, like Justin Timberlake, miming a sexual connection with a woman. There's really only one kind of man who isn't sexy in rock today, and that's the rock dude. By insisting upon his right to claim that title, Lambert upsets the apple cart.

The distancing of white male rockers from their own bodies isn’t merely a matter of an art form aging out. It has to do with power and status. Rock is no longer an outsider’s game, and the stars it produces aren’t freaks simply for loving it. Instead, they’re often “regular guys,” proudly displaying the masculine conventions that once seemed off limits in the rock world (though, as any female consort or closeted gay musician will tell you, they were always there beneath the surface).

Few straight white men don’t strut the way Lambert does (sadly!). Most still embody the norm in our society, because racism, sexism and homophobia still haunt us. And the norm never shows itself off. It’s just taken for granted. For all of his media-savvy and strategic approach to stardom, Adam Lambert remains a rock outsider. Though I’m his fan, I don't think his AMAs' turn was perfect; it would have been much more effective it his usually excellent vocals had matched the audacity of his dance moves. But I don't agree with those who are saying his routine was just a tired attempt to shock. What he did won't be mundane until no one in America flinches when two men kiss on the street. Or until an out gay rock star is no longer an anomaly.

-- Ann Powers

Photo of Adam Lambert by Chris Pizzello / Associated Press

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Comments

[AllenAtlanta]

Everyone who really watched Adam on Idol and liked him and his music also liked his performance on the AMA awards show. These are his fans who will buy his album and make him one of the fast rising stars in pop music. No one else really matters. All the ultra conservatives - religious right nuts posting all the protests about Adam's AMA performance didn't like him on Idol and they really should just stick to gospel music and watching Donny Osmond on Dancing with the Stars and leave adult entertainment to adults. Afterall, Adam's performance on AMA was in the 10:00 to 11:00 pm viewing time slot.

[CornerJ]

Adam's excuse ("Hey, if girls can do it, why can't I?") , and your excuse of his excuse are totally lame. Nobody cares what Adam or the girls do in private. But we do care what performers do when we are watching with our family. Simulated rough sex isn't "edgy", it's inappropriate and it's rude in that kind of venue. On cable, pay-per-view, or late night? Fine. On national TV in prime time? Not so much.

Furthermore, aside from the really bad vocals, the entire production was almost desperate, in-your-face hostility. There was absolutely nothing sexy about it. It was more like a visual sexual assault.

Lastly, every performer has to consider what his potential audience range is, and whether he is going to cater to or eliminate any segments of that audience. Apparently, Adam made a deliberate decision to cater to a very small subset of his potential audience and eliminate the vast majority of it. In fact, he literally flipped off that majority.

[Rocco]

The fact that we're talking about him and you have several pages of comments shows that it was at least an effective stunt.

Personally, I don't care to see what he did with another man on my TV.

[steven irvin]

Screw the critical theory of gender and performance and you swooning over yet another mediocre "artist." Don't mince opinion with artspeak, Ann. What Adam Lambert needs to understand is that he is no (as much as he wants to be) Janet or Madonna. In the age of immediate gratification (sex via TV and the daily emergence of subpar poptarts that exploit it), ABC got it right and CBS didn't by offering an olive branch. Seacrest can do what he wants - he's behind closed doors and they have history, afterall. I don't believe in censorship, but I do think upstarts in a rapacious industry need to be put in their place to remind them that there's a long road to winning respect as a performer. It isn't about double standards; it's about respect, and Ann you are doing us all a disservice by concealing that under this veil of race and gender. ABC didn't do that and should be punished for not employing quality control before the show and not admonishing Lambert more after his debacle. The guy was so much better on Idol, when he had something to lose.

[swf]

Hey kids! This is show business, not real life. The guy's a musical performer where outrage sells. Remember Gansta Rap, or any of that annoying stuff with or without the N word? The only scandalous moment to come out of all this is the ABC/GMA cave. Think I'll move to CBS for a while, too.

[Caustic Commoner]

The article misses the point that this was a broadcast and, as such, is subject to certain rules not applicable to cable or concerts. In those venues, he could hit high notes while getting buggered for all I care.

I thought Adam Lambert delivered an explosive performance on the AMA and would have had no problem with it on cable. It was inappropriate for broadcast television, before 10 PM in the Central time-zone, with many families watching and no parental warning. Not only was there no parental warning, the announcers teased with it and pimped it all night. The gay kiss was less a problem to me than jamming a male dancer's face into his crotch, groping a female dancer's crotch and a female dancer groping his crotch. The crotch-grabbing of other people appears to be new ground as I'm only accustomed to seeing artists on broadcast television grabbing their own crotches. Would you want someone in your home doing that in front of your children? If so, no play dates for my grandchildren with your kids or grand kids.

The two best performances of the show were by Jay Z and Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga who didn't seem to need the shock content to slay their audiences.

Dick Clark Productions used to stand for family-friendly entertainment. Now DCP and ABC are like the neighbor you can't trust your children with because you're afraid he or she will try to act out sexually with them.

Among the decades-old dinosaurs who performed, did anyone see George Michael? I won't be surprise if a couple of decades from now Lambert is just as forgotten, remembered only when arrested for having sex in a public park or restroom. Some will recall that at one time he seemed to have talent and promise.

[bob]

Sadly this article misses the point while praising Lambert:

NOT ONCE has any female artist simulated oral Sex with a Dancer on Stage during a Prime Time Broadcast.

NEVER HAPPENED.

No Discrimination here - and It has been revealed that Lambert planned this by conveniently leaving these bits out of the rehearsals.

this is a planned Controversy - plain and simple.
11 minutes left of your 15 Adam, you just lost A LOT of fans.
Good luck with the screeching.

[racbec]

Adam had been talking for weeks about how he was going to put on a sexy peformance at the AMAs. Clearly, some people weren't ready for that. I thought we'd made so much progress, but I guess not. I'm a pretty protective parent, and I am more concerned about my kids reading the hate on some of these blogs than what they would have seen on Adam's AMA performance.

[Joe Peon]

Adam Lambert is a product of his environment... Hollywood. His talent was overlooked by record producers before AI because of his overt perversion. Because of his national exposure from AI he has set the stage to show his true character which once again detracts from his talent. Ms. Powers uses excellent examples of rock stars such as Elvis, Cobain, and Morrison unfortunately they all ended in self destructive death. Rock music accommodates all forms of entertainers but BDSM performances like Adam Lamberts on the AMA's will certainly keep him an outsider.

[greenshift]

Adam lost fans at our house. We were so impressed by his mad skills on Idol, but shoving his sexuality down our throats on ABC "Family" was not cool.

[Mathew]

Sorry, you are never going to have an America where people never flinch when two men kiss.

Girl on girl = hot, guy on guy = not.

That's just the ways things are.

[Mikkko]

Ann Powers is using the red herring of two men kissing. I don't think many people are shocked to see that on TV anymore. Why don't you discuss the part where the male dancer on all-fours ground his face into Adam's crotch?? Yes, I know that was cut out of the West Coast version of the show, but that was the part that crossed the line. Duh. Two men kissing?? Big deal.

[ITOTALLYGETIT]

YOU TOTALLY HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.

[Apres Ski]

Folks, there are 7 pages of comments at this point . . . all about Adam! If you didn't watch American Idol Season 8, you missed the parts where he sang low & sweet and wasn't screeching his voice to the heavens. You missed the part where he was showing the audience he knew what he was doing & how he did it his way.

I watched the Early Show & he changed his music for the morning audience. Did you think he was going to do his AMA act on morning TV? Think again.

Does anyone remember who won American Idol, Season 8??? NO! Kris Allen was his name, but you'll never hear from him again. Adam is smart, clever, witty, funny and a fun guy who is making his dream come true because he knows what he's doing.

Those who are throwing stones at him are being manipulated into throwing stones at him . . . by Adam himself!! He's got you hooked in a bad way & he will continue to hook all the Haters because he knows how.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9g-jDV5K3o
Adam sings Smokey's "Tracks of My Tears

[hal9000]

how many times did jimi hendrix simulate humping his amp before he became famous? the point is, he is not remembered for humping his amp. adam is bringing attention to himself, but he really is raising the bar for talent and reigniting an interest in better music.

[Levinson Axelrod]

I wasn't impressed with his performance. Yes, he is undeniably talented, but he is amateur and tries too hard. It's just overwhelming and the sex innuendos were just unnecessary.

[EJL]

What is the matter with everyone??? If we acted on every complaint, we would have no art. Adam's performance was performance art. Look at Bowie or Iggy or even Madonna. The fact that he can't please everyone makes me like him even more.

[terie]

ADAM's appearance on CBS Early Show was attended by fans from Japan, Pakistan and all over America. ABC cancelled ADAM's live concert with NO regard to these fans who had been promised that ADAM would appear with NO reasonable notice that he would not. I applaud CBS for having the 'smarts' to pick up the ball dropped by ABC & score a winning run. ADAM sang two songs and did it magnificently & flawlessly ... just like I knew he would. ABC's decision to cancel was a HUGE mistake since a lot of ADAM's fans are no longer tuning in to ABC programs ... I AM ONE OF THEM!!!!

[Jon Wilson]

"Adam Lambert did the gay community no favors."

Adam Lambert doesn't OWE the gay community any favors. In fact he never claimed to be speaking on behalf of gays everywhere. Good or bad, Adam performed what he felt. It wasn't my favorite performance from him, but it doesn't reflect on me as a gay man. Any gay person who thinks it does needs to work on developing their own identity. In fact, any straight person who thinks what he did was representative of all gay people clearly doesn't know any actual gay people, and is probably too stupid to see beyond their own prejudices anyway.

[miza]

Great article Ann. I love Adam's album. For me, he is the best vocally trained singer in the world! I cannot stop listening to the CD and the bonus tracks are awesome, as well. Even though what he did at the AMA was over the top, he is an artist. He is so polarizing that people are just so amaze by his performances. Whether people like it or not, Adam will be a legend.

[Mike]

Right on steven irvin!

It boils me that those who approve can't accept that some of us don't. We all have every right to dislike and disapprove of the simulated sex on prime time tv. Can't you all just accept that some people don't want to see that crap. It doesn't make us conservative right wingers. In fact, I'm a leftie liberal all the way and still don't want to see that on my tv network. The FCC has rules for a reason and Adam and ABC crossed the line. It's the fans who think he can do no wrong that need to grow up not the grown ups who are complaining about this. World is screwwed up for a reason and it has nothing to do with gays. It has to do with people living on the fringe and acting to the extremes like Adam did on TV at the AMAs. Maybe he knows better now.

[MikeOHara]

Here's the understatement of the week: "I don't think his AMAs' turn was perfect; it would have been much more effective it his usually excellent vocals had matched the audacity of his dance moves." He can't sing live.

And if he's trying to be honest and real, then why lie and say the eroticism was partly unplanned, when it was entirely choreographed?

[Ed Morrow]

Adam needs natural consequences. Why be creepy and perverted on network TV? Please... do it on your own time and don't make the rest of us feel sick to our stomachs.

[maduceone]

Adam simply out-Ga-Ga'd Lady GaGa at the AMA's. Unfortunately, with all the activity going on around him, his vocal didn't come through very well. But his BDSM-themed production number seemed to be in-tune with the times, since almost every act on the AMA's had some connection to the latest fetish- oriented fad going on in the media. GaGa's "Bad Romance" video (which couldn't really be reproduced as an on-stage live production) is terrific, even if you aren't into all that fetish wear. In her AMA number, the burning piano was a great effect, actually looking a little dangerous. She should get an award for sticking to her outside the mainstream act and oddball persona and finding a surprisingly large audience! As far as the tension between artists and the major mainstream media exec's, it would be interesting to see what would happen if Kanye, Jay-Z, 50-Cent or almost any of the top hip hop artists were to go on a major network show (like the AMA's or the Grammys) and not have their lyrics censored (bleeped). For example, 50-cent could perform his latest, "Have a Baby by Me", maybe followed by Britney Spears doing "If You Seek Amy". Could they get together for a duet maybe? Just an idea guys. In the case of Adam Lambert, the network couldn't bleep the visual aspect, although the lyrics seemed to be acceptable. Get with it ABC, et-al.

[Honest Abe]

The author of this article is as unacceptable as the performer of that freak show. People need to become human again.