MTV is going to be reviving its famous ‘Unplugged’ series in collaboration with Starburst candies. The revival will be seen across the board of MTV networks, meaning there will be an edition on MTV, VH1, CMT and streaming over their respective websites. The first round of acoustic performances will be Adam Lambert on VH1, Phoenix on MTV and Reba McEntire on CMT this Wednesday. The tie-in with Starburst comes in as the shows will feature an addition of an unexpected performance of a cover song or a contradictory musical moment, which syncs up with the candy’s new tagline “It’s a juicy contradiction”.
Adam Lambert’s sexual orientation had nothing to do with ABC’s decision to cancel his appearance on two shows on their network but because the American Idol alum couldn’t stick to a script – at least that’s what the network and GLAAD would like you to believe. The nation’s most outspoken gay rights group just released a statement in support of ABC’s decision to pull the singer out of Jimmy Kimmel Live and an upcoming New Year’s Eve special in the wake of his AMA performance. GLAAD backed ABC’s explanation saying “It would appear that the kiss between Adam Lambert and his keyboardist did not factor into ABC’s decision … ABC has a history of positive gay and transgender inclusion that includes featuring kisses between gay and lesbian couples on-air.”
Adam Lambert recently got a sit down with Barbara Walters as the openly gay singer is part of the icon’s special ‘Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009’. Along with Lady Gaga, the American Idol alum was chosen as two of the most prominent names in entertainment, sports, politics and pop culture. Those are two good choices, not only in the music industry but as a whole. Barbara’s interviews with them will air on Wednesday, December 9 on ABC. Also rumored to be on the list are Kate Gosselin, Sarah Palin, Tyler Perry and Glenn Beck. I wonder who the rest are.
Adam Lambert’s performance on ABC’s Good Morning America got cancelled last week. There was no official reason that was given for the axe of his planned performance. We all know what it really meant though. The network was upset with the gay singer’s American Music Awards performance and was afraid of what he would do on live morning television. I doubt any of this would be happening if it was Lady Gaga who gave the same type of performance by making out with one of her female musicians or shoved one of her female dancers in her crotch. If Britney Spears and Madonna got away with it, why can’t Adam?
Although many people loved Adam Lambert’s performance on Sunday night at the American Music Awards, there are also many conservatives that have their panties in a bunch. The American Idol alum performed his latest single ‘For Your Entertainment’, which included simulating oral sex with a male dancer, making out with one of the male band members and plenty of crotch grabbing. According to ABC, over 1500 people have called to complain about the singer’s performance. Though the network has classified the response as moderate, there are still those who have taken to online forums to bash Adam’s performance. I guess it was just too much all in one time.
During Adam Lambert’s interview with Out magazine, the American Idol alum spoke about his fellow singer, Lady Gaga. He said “I’m so refreshed by her. I think she’s finally taking risks. Like where are those people? You know what I mean? I’m inspired by it. I’m like, ‘Yeah, fuck yeah. Let’s take risks. I think she’s smart. I predict that she will experiment and change it up a little bit. She’s got to show a little crack in the veneer for the audience to really get a three-dimensional view of who she is. I love that she’s brave enough to be that eccentric. I think it takes balls to be that out there.”
Another subject of controversy is Adam Lambert, more specifically his performance at the American Music Awards. It seems Adam Lambert simulated oral sex with one of his male dancers and also made out with one of the band members on stage… among a few other things. This did turn a few heads, but Adam Lambert stood adamant in front of all the complaints saying: “You know honestly, if I offended some people… it’s apples and oranges. I’m not an artist that does things for every single person. I believe in artistic freedom and expression, I believe in honoring the lyrics of a song, and those lyrics aren’t really for everybody either.” Adam Lambert really does make a valid point here… or at least, that’s what he’s hopefully doing and not trying to subtly say that libido is the essence of life, because then he’s no different than the other stage performers that might end up turning heads.
Singer Adam Lambert and his boyfriend, interior designer Drake LaBry, are calling it quits – at least that’s according to a source close to the now former couple. The source said “The relationship just ran its course. The break-up was mutual and amicable. They remain friends and still care for each other.” When one of the people involved happens to be in the entertainment industry, that reason is kind of hard to believe. I wonder what the real reason is for their break up. They’ve been pretty all up on each other up until a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if the American Idol alum has found someone else.
Adam Lambert has created a video to thank all of his fans who have collectively donated $229,000 to support public school classrooms as part of the challenge he launched with education charity DonorsChoose.org. The singer said “I am unbelievably moved by the generosity and resolve of my fans, who have donated beyond what I could have ever expected to help students around the country. Although I was on tour during the length of the competition, I frequently checked in on the challenge progress and was so amazed to see the number of donors and total amount donated continue to rise and rise.”
Two American Idol champions and one American Idol runner up performed several songs during Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series at New York City’s Rumsey Playfield last Friday. Adam Lambert performed his own rendition of Muse’s ‘Starlight’, David Cook performed his third single ‘Come Back to Me’ from his album, and Kris Allen performed an acoustic version of Kanye West’s ‘Heartless’. The three singers came back together on stage to perform a cover of ‘Little Lies’. I wish I could have been part of that audience. The three of them had really great performances. And if that translates very well on video, you can only imagine how they are live.
Those Clay Aiken fans can be pretty sneaky and they have enough power among them to influence some major news stories. Apparently, a group of Claymates were pretty angry over the whole Clay VS Adam Lambert showdown. They’ve taken it upon themselves to start a vicious rumor about the recent American Idol runner up and it spread like wildfire on the internet. They were supposedly the ones responsible for telling MSNBC that Adam was a crazy diva who was nothing but rude to everyone he met on his publicity tour. It seems to me that the only crazy ones around are the Clay fans.
While we’re all still left without an official confirmation on whether Adam Lambert is really gay, the American Idol runner up pretty much came out in his own way this past Monday. The singer was partying it up at the Guys and Dolls club in West Hollywood and when he came out, he was holding hands with boyfriend Drake Labry. Witnesses also say that Adam was caught snuggling up to Drake all evening and kept their iron love grip all the way to the car even with loads of paparazzi already surrounding them. I think this is all the confirmation any of us needs.
Everyone has been calling Kris Allen’s victory over Adam Lambert an American Idol upset. What’s so upsetting about it? It’s not like Kris isn’t talented. But when you’ve pretty much orchestrated a finale show that showcased Adam more than Kris, it would be upsetting to you. Kris only got to perform one song with Keith Urban while Adam got to sing a medley with rock icons KISS. Heck, even Danny Gokey got to sing more songs than Kris when Danny sang a medley with Lionel Richie. Add to that, the final performance of the two before the winner was announced was with Queen.
He was called the dark horse of the competition and was clearly the underdog, but in the greatest upset in American Idol history since Chris Daughtry was eliminated, Kris Allen was named as season 8’s winner. When everyone from the judges to the producers to even Kris himself thought that Adam Lambert was going to win, being announced as the winner was a big shock. Heck, I was rooting for Kris to win but I was still shocked when he was announced as the winner. I was already thinking that there was a landslide vote for Adam. It goes to show that you really can’t underestimate the power of a fan.
In the final round of last night, both Kris Allen and Adam Lambert had to tackle a new challenge: a song co-written by Kara DioGuardi, Cathy Dennis and Mitch Allen. The song is a power ballad and it seems to suit Adam Lambert a lot better than it does Kris Allen. The judges all seem to agree that Adam Lambert’s performance was better than Kris Allen’s. The latter said that he and Adam Lambert weren’t going to compete, but just do their best to give a great performance when asked by Ryan if he thinks he did enough to win. So it’s a close shave, as was expected and the result is yet to be given. What a way to build up an audience.
If you watched the results show of American Idol on Wednesday night then you would have found out who Katy Perry was rooting for. The singer took to the stage to perform her new single ‘Waking Up in Vegas’ just before the results were announced. Katy came out in an Elvis inspired costume. On the back of the cape of her outfit, the name of Adam Lambert was boldly emblazoned. Katy is always a fun performer to watch. It would have been even more fun if she stepped up to the then final three of the show and danced with Adam.
The remaining 3 contestants on American Idol got to perform 2 songs each last night – a judge’s choice and their personal choice. Danny Gokey chose to sing ‘You Are So Beautiful’. It was leagues better than his performance of Paula Abdul’s song choice for him and showcased his vocals and arrangement prowess. Kris Allen sang an acoustic version of Kanye West’s ‘Heartless’. I wasn’t expecting him to choose that song, but man was it a great performance! Adam Lambert chose to sing Aerosmith’s ‘Crying’. And what can I say? Adam Lambert knows how to put on a show and deliver a great performance. It seems that all 3 of them have upped the ante several notches. Who’s going to make it to the final is really up in the air.
American Idol did something different during last night’s show when they had the remaining 4 hopefuls pair up to perform a duet in between the solo performance. Kris Allen and Danny Gokey were the first to try their voices out for a duet after Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta performed their solos. Kris and Danny sang ‘Renegade’ by Styx. Their harmonies were amazing but Simon Cowell commented that Danny was better than Kris. Adam and Allison closed the show with their duet rendition of Foghat’s ‘Slow Ride’. Simon said that “In the battle of the duets, you win the show tonight” and I completely agree. He even said that Adam may have given Allison another week on the show with that performance. Combine the duets comments along with the solo performance comments and it seems that Kris is really on his way out.
After a mediocre night at the movies last week, disco night brought about the creativity of American Idol’s remaining 7 contestants. Most of them dramatically reworked their song choices. Adam Lamberts pain-wracked ballad version of ‘If I Can’t Have You’, Allison Iraheta’s smoldering ‘Hot Stuff’ and Kris Allen’s totally revamped acoustic groove of ‘She Works Hard for the Money’ earned unanimous praise from the judges. Since the judges exercised their one-time save for Matt Giraud last week, who are the two who will go home tonight. Despite his performance of ‘Stayin Alive’, I’m not going to be surprised if Matt is in the bottom 3 again with Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai.