Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Much Ado

So, the fallout from the Adam Lambert at the American Music Awards thing, huh? Interesting.

I actually saw the performance. Unlikely given the fact that I’m fairly anti-award show. And also, given the fact that most of the acts up to that point were pretty meh. That chain coat that Alicia Keys was wearing looked like she stole it from a Fly Girl. Probably Jennifer Lopez, because she was obviously digging in her old Fly Girl costume closet. And when even I, who would lick Billy Joe Armstrong from nose to toes, find Green Day’s performance a bore, you’ve got problems. Pretty much only Gaga broke the malaise miasma that hung over the AMAs.

Then we ended with Adam Lambert. He tried. But let’s face it, the kid has a lot a larnin’ to do when it comes to big stage performance. He got a little big for his britches and would have probably pulled it off if he’d scaled the entire performance down by half to a quarter. But, points for ambition. Which is more than can be said for most performers Sunday night.

Which leaves us with the “acting out” behavior. As far as the boy-on-boy kiss, I did not really realize that he was kissing a boy. In fact, my thought was, “For a homosexual, he’s really snogging the heck out of that girl. Too many Katy Perry plays on his iPod?” But I approve of Universal Love Gods, and actually thought it was a little edgy that he was shmenking a girl. So, I have to admit I’m a little disappointed that he was just kissing a boy. Yawn. Way to play to type.

Which leaves us with the rather blatant simulated oral cop (as they’d call it on the SVU). That was in poor taste (ahem), and way over the line for the AMAs. In his own stage show? Certainly and brava. On MTV? Borderline, but it is cable so go for it. But miming a blow job on network television, that’s just not cool. And it wouldn’t matter whether it was a guy or a girl with their face smashed against his groin. I’m just hoping it was an artistic miscalculation, and not just a cheap publicity move timed to coincide with his album dropping. Adam has enough talent to make it on just being a cute guy with a great voice. Knock ‘em dead with your pipes. Not by faking getting . . . oh, nevermind.

[Sidebar note: Why are all of these people so phenomenally poorly mic’ed? Seriously. If we expect people to actually perform, without artificial help, go to the trouble to make them not sound like they’re singing through a tin can.]

4 comments:

WashingtonGardener said...

The sound and camera work were bad all night.

I loved every sec of Adam's performance - BJ simulation and all. Go for it -all Elvis and Freddoe Mercury and TIm Curry - meowr! I say

ABC needs to check their double-standards and I'm not talking boy vs girl -- I'm talking bloody stomache-urning violence in prime time is fine, but mild sex pantomiming is not.

What wish folks were still talking about was how CREEPY Jermaine was and how wooden and LAME Janet was. Who cares taht JLo fell? I wanttotalk about how pathetic the song and outfit was. Embarrassing.

FirePhrase said...

I'll concur on the violence point. But kissing was plenty for prime time. The crotch thrust with accompaniment was overkill. Save something for the tour.

I thought at first it was file footage of J-Lo. That outfit was vintage. And not in the good way. Plus, could somebody please invent some other formation for dance routines? They've been working that same tired triangle for 20 years.

And what the Fraggle Rock was up with Janet's outfit? She looked like a frontier trapper. She just needed a coon skin hat.

And Jermaine needs to throttle back on the Valium and Botox. He looked pickled.

And speaking of Whitney. I'm glad she's back. But when you think of what she was. . .

victory4angela said...

I've been trying to catch his performance on YouTube since I forgot to set my DVR, but it's full of other people doing the same thing so the link is not working.

I like Adam and am glad he's shaking things up a bit. Poor ABC can't handle anything remotely crazy like him! They want "safe" performances. I can't speak on his performance since I didn't see it.

Speaking of safe performances, seriously "The Who" for the superbowl? I can't even name one of their songs but I know who they are. Could they get someone a little more "now". I know they're squeamish since Janet and JT, but seriously? Since they are deathly afraid of performers younger than 40, I'm going to lobby for Pat Benatar next year. She can still rock, she's a CHICK, and at least the 20somethings might have heard of her.

I tried to see JLo's performance on YouTube, but it looked like someone recorded it on their cell phone and uploaded it to the site. Too grainy to see much.

WashingtonGardener said...

Ang - try Drfunkeberry.com - his blog has the good clios from the AMAs.

Saw Adam on The Early Show today - two great songs and wonderful fan interaction - what a sweetie! Good Morning America really missed out - dummies!
I like how Adam afmitted getting nerves and adrenaline taking over Monday night - it was obvious, but I'd rather see someone over-amped than someone like Shakira deliver a by-the-book watered-down performance wen we all know she can do much better.

Janet's outfit was to cover her weight gain - those flat boots did nothing for her thoughs/butt. How about a dress and some heels? The dancing and lip-sync were just sad.

Jermaine and his "personal family" comment made me (again) question his grip on reality.

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