AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS Thread- Page 2

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 11:40pm

Adam Lambert's was bizarre and too staged "shocking" in the cut-away as he rubbed the dancer's face in his crotch and then later with the kiss. Yawn. It's better than the usual crap of the last ten or twenty years, but the staged shock has to go. Glam is fun, at least, and back in full force judging from everyone.

Who knew Jay Z would end up the classy gentlemen, Sinatra-esque type he has turned out to be? Super classy and fabulous performance, especially Miss Keyes "New York, New York" interpolation. I bet Ebb would be proud. Great song.

Gaga owned. That was incredible and so unique... sort of Leigh Bowery meets Holly Near. Wonderful and interesting. Love the songs, of course.

And J-Lo was not only the campiest of them all, but she also fell flat on her *ss during the song after the jump from the 2 person mount. Girl worked it out, but that performance was crazy for the wrong reasons.

And Whitney is a diva and I guess that's good enough these days.

P

[Craww]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 11:43pm

LOL ADAM LAMBERT, I'M EMBARRASSED FOR YOU. In a strangely heartwarming way. I don't think he's yet learned how to sing electro pop in a live setting, though.

Lady Gaga wins again. I mean, not award wise, just merit wise.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 11:54pm

@musicalfandukie: Dancing like a fawn? Um, clearly you havent yet watched her music video for Bad Romance! Get on it, and then comment again! FIERCENESS!

The only bad side (and I speak from experience): as amazing as her choreography is for the song... it is SOOO not danceable at the club. I have learned it all and it just doesnt provide the same POW as Single Ladies (for example) did. It does, however, provide a great communal experience when we all paw the air!

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 3:49am

Lambert was a mess. He also stumbled getting up on that platform. You even heard the mic hit the surface. It was awful.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 3:52am

The album is terrific though.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 5:34am

I am NOT a fan of Lady GaGa but I am fan of Stefani Germanotta (her real name). I was so happy when she got on the piano to do her thing and then we all got slapped by auto tune. What is the POINT of that? She has a gorgeous voice but she has to bastardize it with auto tune.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 7:11am

So glad to see that I'm not alone is thinking Lambert was pretty much horrible. It was strictly a shock value performance and just outlined everything I dislike about him.

The man's ego needs some serious deflating.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 7:22am

Chris Daughtry................so hawt.

[broadwaytourist]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 8:23am

Adam Lambert is doing exactly what he wanted to do with his life. He made a plan, stuck to it, and is living his dream. On the way, he got lots of folk talking about him, and he is open about who he is. I admire him and wish him well. You don't have to like his voice or appreciate his talent to give him credit for attacking life head on.

[snl89]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 9:00am

Okay, I won't even pretend to lie: I adore Adam to pieces, but the performance last night was NOT good. And, for me at least, it didn't even have all that much to do with the raciness. It was more that his vocals were actually quite off- and his vocals are almost NEVER that off! Granted there weren't many people who DID sound super on last night, but.. still, it's just painful to think that THAT was a lot of peoples' first impressions of his voice. As for the other stuff, I mean, Adam HAS never strayed away from controversy. I personally didn't mind the raciness. I think he made a very good point in his post-show interview that if it had been a girl up there doing all that (including the kiss), it wouldn't have been received as such a huge deal.

But the thing is, usually Adam can get away with such raciness because he has the TALENT to back it up. No matter how "out there" he may be, you can't call him a joke because his voice is out of this world. But last night, no one seeing him for the first time would realize that. And I worry that all those people who could have been potential new fans might just think he's yet a person trying to get by on gimmick rather than talent. It's the furthest thing from the truth because he DOES have an incredible voice, but you wouldn't know it based on that performance.


aaanyway, everyone should still check out the album! IT really is amazing, I swear!

Posted: 11/23/09 at 9:06am

"@musicalfandukie: Dancing like a fawn? Um, clearly you havent yet watched her music video for Bad Romance! Get on it, and then comment again! FIERCENESS!

The only bad side (and I speak from experience): as amazing as her choreography is for the song... it is SOOO not danceable at the club. I have learned it all and it just doesnt provide the same POW as Single Ladies (for example) did. It does, however, provide a great communal experience when we all paw the air!

"

I LOVE Gaga (seeing her three times in Van) but I actually ama bit disappointed with the choreography when she does BR live--too much of it reminds me of the Paparazzi choreography honestly....

[Parks]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 9:18am

Add me to the list of people who hated Adam's performance. Really--there's a difference between shocking and just flat out trashy. That performance was just gross. Bad career choice so early on, if you ask me.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 9:29am

Vocal issues aside (and virtually everyone had them to some extent in the 90 minutes I watched--Amazing Race wins over this stuff every time), it seems like Adam's developed some weird sense of creative entitlement for someone so early in the game. Yes, I know he has years of professional experience and even I though I can't stand him, he is perhaps the most fully formed "performer" Idol has produced, but as a prominent recording artist, he's still a neophyte. Even so, he thinks he can pull off stuff like this...it's so baldly calculated to shock and appall that it ultimately detracts from the fact that he is a viable talent.

It just made me dislike him even more....and somehow I don't think that was the overall intention.

[poeticmelody]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 9:34am

I am not a fan of Adam, and that's okay you know to each their own but having said that...I have seen his other performances and this one was terrible compared to how good I know he can be.

Also, I agree about not being a fan of Lady GaGa but being a fan of Stefani Germanotta. Totally agree.

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 9:52am

Well, the show was kind of a let down.

Whitney's staged pause for applause combined with her better than late, but still not great vocals left me underwhelmed.

Adam, oh Adam. It was a mess. Vocals weren't great, production looked borderline crap and faces in crotch was trashy. Kissing a guy would have been more than enough to make a statement. If the performance was top notch, people would be split into love/hate but most would respect it...but it wasn't, so I'd imagine a lot of people were left a bit uncomfortable FOR him.

GaGa's performance was great, but I was expecting more. Vocals weren't as strong as they usually are and why the hell was their auto tune for 'Speechless'? Wasn't keen on the outfit/make up though I understand the crotch was making a statement. Loved the smashing glass, wasn't expecting it, but I kinda wish she was able to do a full on 'Bad Romance' performance or a full on 'Speechless' one.

Don't even get me started on how robbed she was with that award. I didn't expect her to win anything over the sympathy votes for MJ or the tween power of Taylor Swift, but COME ON! The cheering for GaGa's name compared to the other nominees said it all. She is by far the most deserving, biggest selling album of 2009...nearing 3 billboard number 1's with another 2 top 10 hits, and 'The Fame Monster' is number 1 on iTunes. It's not even all about sales, she's genuinely created iconic pop songs that people will remember.

Clearly a lot of people are unaware of what the term 'break through' means.

Awards go to **** when fans are involved.

[Q]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 10:29am

Whatever it was or wasn't (didn't see it, don't care,) Adam's performance is making the right-wingnuts' heads explode!

[snl89]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 12:06pm

it seems like Adam's developed some weird sense of creative entitlement for someone so early in the game. Yes, I know he has years of professional experience and even I though I can't stand him, he is perhaps the most fully formed "performer" Idol has produced, but as a prominent recording artist, he's still a neophyte. Even so, he thinks he can pull off stuff like this...it's so baldly calculated to shock and appall that it ultimately detracts from the fact that he is a viable talent.


I would have to agree that it wasn't such a smart move to make at THIS particular point in the game (since this was his very first non-AI solo music appearance, and a LOT of people who might not have known who he was before got their first impressions of him from it). And that's HIGHLY unlike Adam, up until this point at least. One of the things I've always been MOST impressed with about him is the way he always seems so business savvy, knowing exactly how to get people talking without turning THAT many people off. I'm just surprised that HE didn't realize how costly this move would be.

That said, I wouldn't so much say it's a sense of entitlement. I mean he always HAS pushed the limits in terms of what's appropriate- that's part of his appeal. He's super ballsy, he takes risks that most people wouldn't take until MUCH later in their career, and I wouldn't want him to change that aspect of himself as a performer. If he played it safe and acted the part of the "newbie who's just trying to please everyone" he wouldn't be Adam

The problem here was just that this was a risk that DIDN'T pay off. He's always flirted with the line between captivatingly sexy and downright raunchy, and up until last night he always stayed on the former side. But last night, it was just plain raunchy. And while I myself don't so much mind that- I mean I think a lot of other artists raunch it up as well and get away with it- I just am so confused as to how he, who's always seemed like savvy about knowing how much is too much, could have thought this was a smart move as his FIRST big non-AI exposure. PLUS, again, the lack of excellent vocals was a big part of the problem. At least if the vocals were up to his usual perfect par then you could say "well the performance was in the trashy realm, but at least the guy can sing his butt off!". But the vocals were so off too, that it just across like he's all shock and no substantial talent (which is so NOT actually the case)

Now granted it certainly did the trick of sending the message that he is NOT your family-friendly AI contestant, and that he doesn't want to be forced into being a role model when that's just not the kind of artist he is. So he def probably weeded out the people who were more on the fence about him and only liked him when he went the "sweet and wholesome" route. But at the same time, he KNOWS this is a business! He knows that if he wants to be able to sell well he's going to have to bring in new fans. His fan base from Idol alone isn't going to be enough out in the real world. And I don't think this performance really brought in more fans.

I still adore him and I still have every intention of following his career. And in the grand scheme of things I really hope that a couple years down the road this performance will just seem like a quick misstep from someone who is both incredibly talented and typically extremely business-savvy. But in the mean time, it does have me worried for him. Quite a bit.

[EVIE]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 12:24pm

I sat thru that crap fest just to watch Adam perform, and boy oh boy...A MESS!! Like one poster just said, I felt embarrassed for him. His voice sounded awful and I really think he fell and tried to cover it up (a la J-Lo). I also heard the loud thud of the mike hitting the floor. Kelly Clarkson was the high light for me, she is beautiful and talented. I loved that she just sang, no weird gimmicks or costumes, just SANG beautifully. My Loubs and I HATED J-Lo's song/performance! Am I mistaken, or did she really sing a song about Louboutins and then not even wear a pair during the performance?!

Posted: 11/23/09 at 2:17pm

Michael Jackson won four awards for a 3 year old Greatest Hts album? How can that be possible? If that's how they play it, why didn't Abby Road win Album of the Year?

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 2:20pm

Come on, guys. Haven't you ever heard that there's no such thing as bad publicity? Personally, watching the performance, I totally missed the fellatio-miming, and hardly noticed the male/male make out sessions, and in that sense, I think it could have been more tactfully done, but the level to which some people are shocked by his performance reminds me of the way people reacted when Madonna rolled around on the VMA stage in her wedding dress, and Britney striped of her pin-stripes to reveal her nude colored suit on the 2000 VMAs. Not to mention, when the two locked lips on a later VMA show. People were outraged. Now those moments are iconic.

I think he sounded fine. I just think the song kind of sucked, and he was trying to hard to be consciously shocking. I'm all for controversial performers (in case my references to Britney and Madonna didn't suggest that), but I think it has to come organically. I don't know if this did. I just remember hearing some lyric in Adam's song along the lines of "I bet you thought I was sweet," and I kind of laughed to myself and though, "No actually, I didn't, because I'd hardly seen you do anything before." It's like he's trying to break through an image (a la Britney spears "I'm not that innocent") without having established one to begin with, which makes me wonder what exactly his message is in doing so (if there IS any other than generating record sales). I have to give him a hand for being bold, but I wish it wasn't just being bold for the sake of being bold. I wish he had been bold because he was trying to tear down a double standard, or because he wanted people to grapple with having an openly gay pop star. Instead, I feel like he didn't want the issue to be broken open so much as HE wanted to be the one break open the issue for his own sake.

Anyway, I'd HARDLY be worried about his career. I'm sure his record sales will be sky high after this. And I certainly don't feel embarrassed for him! He made a bold move (if a little misguided), which is so much more than I can say for some.
Updated On: 11/23/09 at 02:20 PM

[I<3bway]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 2:40pm

The best word to describe Adam's performance last night is raunchy.

He was right next to Lady Gaga of the performers who I wanted to watch, and what a total letdown from him. I love his voice, but I have to agree that the song sucked and his performance sucked.

[musicalfandukie]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 3:27pm

"@musicalfandukie: Dancing like a fawn? Um, clearly you havent yet watched her music video for Bad Romance! Get on it, and then comment again! FIERCENESS!"

I have seen the Bad Romance Video several times and I love Lady Gaga and the Video. I just thought the choreography didn't work so well on stage. But i still think she gave a great performance.

As for Adam Lambert I Hear they had to edit some of the Raunchiness out of his performance when it aired on the West Coast so they didn't even get the full effect of his tasteless performance..lol I just think the poor guy is trying to hard to be controversial.
Updated On: 11/23/09 at 03:27 PM

[StockardFan]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 4:31pm

Michael Jackson won four awards for a 3 year old Greatest Hts album? How can that be possible? If that's how they play it, why didn't Abby Road win Album of the Year?


I know, right?

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 4:45pm

Oh, I forgot to mention that I LOVED Daughtry's performance and its not usually my kind of thing!

I thought of you, StockardFan. There might've been a bum note, but the performance was so emotional. I totally get why so many people dig him. He was probably gave the best male performance of the night, right up there with Jay Z.

P

[StockardFan]

Posted: 11/23/09 at 4:56pm

Thanks P!!! I did notice his voice sounded a little strained, but since they are out on tour right now it's not surprising.

I do love that song.....it is emotional yes!