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If you’re like us, you didn’t expect much out of last night’s American Music Awards. They are, after all, a second-rate awards ceremony at a time when even the Grammys and the Oscars fail to provide much fodder for water-cooler conversation. But now that we’re living in a post-Kanye-interruptus world, the potential for moments of unscripted magic were enough to plant us in front of our TV sets last night. And, although Taylor Swift took home five awards without incident, it was the evening’s performances — not its winners — that wowed us.
You see, for us, last night marked a sort of changing of the pop guard, with established divas like Jennifer Lopez and Whitney Houston falling on their asses (sometimes literally) as ascending stars Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert turned in jaw-dropping production numbers. (Must be why the show logged its best ratings since 2003.) After the jump, check out Glambert’s hot, homoerotic performance and three other essential AMA moments.
Strangely, we had been talking with roommates, earlier in the evening, about folks like Adam Lambert and Lady Gaga. Their new, polysexual, culturally literate brand of pop star has been on our mind since they came up in our chat with David Bowie biographer Marc Spitz last week. We said something along the lines of, “Adam Lambert is okay and all, but if he wants to keep my attention, he better do something legitimately shocking soon.” Lo and behold, a few hours later, he did.
On a stage full of bondage-clad male and female dancers, Glambert rocked the kind of polysexual performance that would make Bowie (or Madonna, for that matter) proud. The song began with some simulated boy-on-Lambert fellatio and ended with the Idol runner-up grabbing his male keyboard player and planting a giant kiss on him, in a move Rolling Stone says producers weren’t prepared for. Oh, and his new single, “For Your Entertainment,” was pretty damn entertaining, too.
Unsurprisingly, Lambert’s friend and mentor Lady Gaga put on the second-best show of the night. Decked out in nothing more than a nude body stocking topped with light-up bones, she and her army of sexy skeleton dancers nailed “Bad Romance.” (Check out those androgynous codpieces!) Then, Gaga put her mic stand through a wall of glass, sat down at a flaming piano and gave an intimate, liquor bottle-smashing performance of “Speechless.” Two very different moods, but Gaga mastered both of them.
Now, on a night full of big comebacks — which also featured Whitney Houston bathed in angelic light but failing to reach the sublime vocal heights of her heyday — none was better than Rihanna’s. The singer’s recent sci-fi aesthetic was perfectly fitted to the stage, where she — dressed in white leather and spikes — sang her new tough-girl anthems “Wait Your Turn” and “Hard” in front of a wall of staticky TVs.
Now, lest you think everything at last night’s ceremony was glossy, sparkly and perfect, witness Jennifer Lopez’s much-anticipated return to music. Sure, it was a big, Rocky-referencing production number. But nothing can save J. Lo’s uninspired new single “Louboutins” — and it doesn’t help that she fell on her butt around the three-minute mark.
So, what do you think? Is a massive shift in the pop-music landscape underway? Or did Jen and Whitney just have a bad night?
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17 Responses
I think Whitney was GREAT. I think it is your review that is off.
What? You think Whitney Houston fell on her butt metaphorically and that Rihanna was great? Do you have functioning eyes and ears? While her voice isn’t what it once was, she stood at a microphone with no acrobatics or crazy costumes and silenced that entire auditorium with a voice that is growing stronger with each new performance. Reba McEntire was shown in tears at its conclusion and the entire audience was on its feet.
I’m not even going to get into Rihanna’s awful performance. If that’s what you think is a good performance then you are sadly blind to REAL talent.
It is so sad that these so called performers needed all the hijinks to get our mind off of their terrible voices. Adam, Ga Ga give me a break …the bigger the stage show the worse their voices were. I thought the whole show sucked. Do we really need to see this poor young boy simulating oral sex. Give me a break
Idiots…yes they r performers! Whitney really did suck ass sorry…granted i will give her credit…u cud still tell she ONCE was a powerhouse vocalist in her voice…but a few years and crack pipes later…hmmmm not so gud…adam lambert was ok the song was bad…nd it was a “bit” overdone lol. I thynk he was tryin way too hard…GAGA HAD THE BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE NITE! Regardless of wut n e of u haters consider a performer u cnt deny she is extremely talented. She nevr fails vocally…her performances surely entertain…she is not to be underrated. Sorry. But lets be honest michael jackson did glitzy performances…bowie…madonna…janet…im just sayin…wuts so great about watchn sumone stand infront of a mic? Wheres the show? Its ok to be a great singer but an ENTERTAINER does it all…even if breaking glass boxes nd gas masks r involved…visuals r always a plus…
Have never heard this Lady Gaga sing. Now I see why she wears the stupid costumes. she has nothing else to offer.
Thats bc ur completely out of the loop loser…buy a radio…
Actually…DO YOU KNO WUT YOUTUBE IZ? LOL…jeesh! Losers…
For those of you who may have missed the AMA’s last night you will probably be hearing about what Adam Lambert did, how Lady Gaga looked and the Janet & Rihanna performances. So I found this great album of pictures for you to see! They are definitely shocking and I wanted to pass on, enjoy!!
http://tinyurl.com/amarecap2009
THE SCUMBAGS WERE OUT IN FORCE AT THE AMA’S LAST NIGHT. JUST WALKING, TALKING,SINGING AND DANCING TRASH. THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS INFECTED WITH THIS MADDNESS. OBAMA FIDDLES WHILE AMERICA BURNS.
Are you crazy or just trying to start trouble? Don’t you know that people will just look at the performance and either deduce that you have no idea what you are reviewing or just trying to pull a fast one? Where is the integrity in this business? Whitney Houston received the biggest standing ovation of the night both before, during and after her performance. Her vocals were full of power and emotion. How about writing a review after you actually watch the show?
I agree Jeremy. I couldn’t believe this review. All my friends said Whitney was fantastic and beautiful. I missed the original airing but have since caught the performance and the show on Youtube. She was great. Why is this woman held to a standard she created almost twenty years ago? Aretha Franklin doesn’t sound like she did twenty years ago either. The fact is Whitney is vocally, still far superior to anyone that took that stage. This review was definitely misleading.
Whitney Houston was amazing! Have we gotten so used to crap that we don’t know good singing anymore? It is not all about high notes and being half dressed. (though I did like Adam Lamberts “performance?)
Not exactly a Whitney Houston fan but that was a great performance she gave. Maybe you should watch it again. And if those other performers are the future of pop music then we are all in trouble…
Funny how you didn’t put Whitney’s performance up for people to watch.(Though you did link her name) No matter I found it myself and she was fantastic. What exactly do you have against this woman?
Whitney looked great and sounded terrific. She was the only one that actually sang. All the other performances were simply gimicks.
[...] shocking costumes. Take her for what she is: a performer. And a very good one, at that. Witness her AMA performance of “Speechless.” The girl belongs onstage. Janet Jackson 2009 AMA Performance – Janet took the stage for a [...]
[...] shocking costumes. Take her for what she is: a performer. And a very good one, at that. Witness her AMA performance of “Speechless.” The girl belongs onstage. Janet Jackson 2009 AMA Performance – Janet took to the limelight [...]