Adam Lambert Vows to "Focus on the Music" After AMAs Controversy

Adam Lambert has finally admitted he was a little rattled by the big reaction to his controversial performance at last Sunday night's American Music Awards. In a series of tweets posted today on his official Twitter, the American Idol runner-up vowed to ditch some of his spectacle in favor of more attention on his songs. "Goin in a new direction now. Focus back on the music," he wrote.

"Don't worry friends: I'm still gonna be me. Always. W/o apologies. Just gonna experiment differently w how I present myself," he added, concluding, "I'm learning" before thanking fans for their supportive notes over what was "a looong week." He added his relatively stripped-down performance of "Whataya Want From Me" will air on Ellen DeGeneres' show tomorrow.

Adam Lambert shocks, Taylor Swift soars: see the 2009 AMAs in photos.

Lambert's week in the spotlight launched with a racy performance of "For Your Entertainment" at the AMAs, which featured the singer simulating oral sex with a male dancer and making out with his male keyboardist. Some of his performance was edited for the West Coast rebroadcast of the show, but backstage Lambert stood by his performance, telling Rolling Stone any cuts to his song would be "discrimination." "My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom," he said.

Infamous crotch-rock moments, from Lambert's AMAs to "Dick in a Box."

Of the 14 million who viewed the AMAs on ABC, only 1,500 phoned in complaints to the network, but ABC nixed Lambert's scheduled appearance on Good Morning America, calling the singer unpredictable in a live setting. Lambert instead played two songs on CBS' The Early Show, and submitted to an interview during which he stopped short of apologizing to anyone offended by his performance. Arguing the AMAs featured many instances of Rated R content, Lambert said, "I think it's up to the parents to discern what their child is watching on television. Lady Gaga smashing whiskey bottles, Janet Jackson grabbing a male dancer's crotch, Eminem talking about how Slim Shady has 17 rapes under his belt — there was a lot of very adult material on the AMAs this year and I know I wasn't the only one."

Related Stories:
• Adam Lambert Argues "I'm Not a Babysitter" on "The Early Show"
• "Full-Frontal Glambgasm": Rob Sheffield on Adam Lambert's AMAs
• Adam Lambert Breaks Down AMAs "Controversy" as Stars React to His Wild Night

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter