The ABCs of Adam Lambert: Jeff Weiss

If you ask anyone about me, I'm confident two words that will come up are “American” and “Idol.” The FOX hit is my favorite television show - however to me it's so much more than a TV show. I see American Idol as more of an event. Not unlike the NFL, there is a pre-season (the Idol auditions), a regular season (the top 32), playoffs (the top 12), and of course the Super Bowl (the finale). I eagerly anticipate the weekly performance shows, after which I happily text my votes and wait 24 hours to find out who will be sent home. Last season I fully expected Adam Lambert to win. Week after week, he did everything the judges requested for seven previous seasons by taking risks, adding his own style to each song he sang, and he consistently performed well. And then he lost to Kris Allen. I anticipated Lambert becoming another Chris Daughtry or Jennifer Hudson and eclipse the actual winner of the show with a very successful career. Now, I'm not so sure that will happen.

During the American Music Awards on ABC last month, Lambert performed his new single “For Your Entertainment” but it was anything but entertaining. Shocking? Yes. Scandalous? You betcha. Disturbing, vulgar, and borderline obscene? Yep, yes-siree, and uh-huh. I won't go into detail about exactly what he did because everyone has talked and written about it ad nauseum, and there are photos of it above. After the performance, ABC canceled Lambert's scheduled performances on Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live, then quickly retreated and allowed him to perform in a taped segment for The View. I believe ABC gave in when they should have stuck to their guns. Twenty years ago, comedian Andrew Dice Clay was “banned for life” by MTV after using the “f-word” on live television during the music channel's Video Music Awards. When was the last time you saw or heard about Clay?

If the media would stop glamorizing the worst of entertainment, talented performers like Adam Lambert would quickly learn that they don't need to shock, horrify, and embarrass their audience to gain attention. Sometimes we just like to see and hear good performances - and if you are truly talented, giving a good performance shouldn't be a difficult task.

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