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In a pre-taped interview and performance, Adam Lambert finally made a return to ABC on “The View” Thursday morning, proving once again that his racy performance at the “American Music Awards” last month was a one-time deal and that he is able to act like a perfect gentleman on-camera and onstage.

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg took on the elephant in the room, that Lambert’s interview and performance on the morning show had been pre-taped a couple of days earlier because of network concern over what could happen during a live taping. Lambert shocked ABC and America with his AMA performance where he kissed his male keyboardist on the mouth and simulated oral sex with a dancer.  Read the rest of this entry »

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ABC is finally extending an olive branch to Adam Lambert after the network canceled three performances by the singer in the wake of his controversial American Music Awards appearance.

Lambert will appear with the ladies of “The View” talk show on Thursday in a taped interview and performance, according to the show’s Web site. The episode airs after Wednesday night’s Barbara Walters primetime special, which features Lambert as one of the year’s “Most Fascinating People.”

Following Lambert’s AMA performance, where he shocked the network and viewers with his salacious dance moves that included simulating oral sex with a dancer and kissing a male keyboardist on the mouth, ABC canceled the singer’s live performance on its morning show “Good Morning America.” Read the rest of this entry »

Adam Lambert is a genius. He is an artist who knows exactly what he wants, and he knows how to get it.

For people who have actually followed Adam, it's hard to believe that anyone could really be "shocked" by his performance at the American Music Awards. Ever since "American Idol" wrapped, Adam has been on a straight streak of gaining attention and stirring up controversy wherever he goes.

It started with his Rolling Stone article. You know, the one where he confirmed his homosexuality to the entire world. Next came his Details magazine shoot, where he was photographed being overtly sexual with a gorgeous and naked female model, and it didn't end there. Just as his first album was about to drop, Adam released the cover image for the album and yes, just as expected, people had a problem with that too. Who would have thought that a little bit of eyeliner and bright blue hair on a guy would get people so... riled up?

Hmmm, perhaps Adam.

He does what he wants, and he doesn't care who he offends. To me, that sounds like a true rock star in the making.
Read the rest of this entry »

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You must remember this; a kiss is just a kiss. Unless of course that kiss is between two men… and broadcast worldwide from say, the American Music Awards.

Then a kiss becomes part of the national agenda, as it did when Adam Lambert planted a wet one on the lips of his keyboardist at the AMAs on Sunday night. And even though Lambert’s kiss wasn’t the first time two men have smooched on network television, it promises to take on a life beyond just a kiss. So let’s prepare to brace ourselves for Smooch-gate 2009, as everyone and their mother weighs in on Lambert’s lip lock.
 
Some folks are already so riled up that they have taken to Twitter asking people to file a formal complaint about Lambert’s performance to the Federal Communications Commission. And others have just begun complaining.
 
“Just watched Adam Lambert's performance @ AMA's. Appalling,” JoshYates posted to Twitter, in one of hundreds of tweets lambasting the performance, of which there are an equal number applauding it. 
 
The AMA kiss isn’t the first time that two men have kissed on network television and it certainly won’t be the last. In 2000, the characters on the NBC sitcom “Will & Grace” ambushed Al Roker on the “Today" show to protest the network’s refusal to air a gay male kiss on television. Out of frustration the characters cheekily kissed in front of Roker and the live “Today” audience. Admittedly it was a chaster kiss than you might plant on your grandmother.  Surprisingly teen drama “Dawson’s Creek” was one of the first shows to pick up the mantle from there and show an onscreen male couple in a serious relationship sharing a really passionate kiss in 2000.
 
The barriers to gay kissing didn’t exactly come tumbling down after that, even on “Will & Grace”. Will Truman’s (played by the straight actor Eric McCormack’s) love life remained G-rated until 2006 when the show took on another network television barrier with Truman kissing his boyfriend James, played by another straight actor Taye Diggs, in what was promoted as the first interracial gay kiss on television.
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Over the past week, we've chronicled Don Cheadle and friends playing poker to benefit Darfur, Selena Gomez working for UNICEF, and Anthony Edwards running the New York City Marathon to help build a Kenyan children's hospital.  Each time, we've received at least one comment along these lines: "What about all of the problems here?  Why don't these stars help Americans first?"

It's not an unreasonable question – though maybe those folks missed our coverage of Georgia flood relief, David Spade helping firefighters, Moby donating concert proceeds to domestic violence shelters, and our first Find The Good story, Ludacris helping donate cars to people in need.

It's true that many of the highest-profile celebrity charity efforts seem to be aimed overseas.  Is that because those projects seem more exotic, or is the need there truly greater?  Plenty of stars are working to solve domestic problems, from David Arquette's constant work with food banks to Adam Lambert helping schoolkids to Soleil Moon Frye's advocacy of Alzheimer's awareness.  And let's not forget the king of celebrity philanthropy: the late Paul Newman, whose Newman's Own foundation has donated more than $280 million to thousands of different charities, in the U.S. and around the world.

But back to our question: should American celebs focus on American causes, or is all charitable work laudable, regardless of location?  And for those who favor domestic efforts, what should take priority?  (Are you doing anything toward that cause?)  And do you know of any stars whose work we should be profiling here?

Full disclosure here: My name is Jenny, and I’m an "American Idol' fan. With that out of the way…

Have you seen it? Adam Lambert’s album cover?

Well, you should.

When I first saw it, I thought it was a picture from my favorite movie when I was 5 – "Xanadu."

But no, it’s the cover art for "Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert’s debut album.  His blue hair, rainbow eyeliner, overly photoshopped face and no shirt (but is he wearing roller skates?!) picture definitely grabs your attention.

The photos released last week from Lambert’s Details Magazine shoot also grab your attention. If you haven’t seen those photos, just click here.  Pretty crazy, huh? Clearly this is a guy who likes to push boundaries – all of them.

Adam, though, seems to find the blogosphere buzz over the cover a little strange.  He tweeted out today his exasperation with people who didn’t get his "omage" – his spelling, not mine – to the campiness of the past. Hey … maybe my "Xanadu" reference wasn’t too far off.

If you’d like your own personal copy of "Xana" - oops, sorry, Adam Lambert’s "For Your Entertainment" – the album will be released on November 23.

Paula Abdul sported a black church lady hat and Adam Lambert rocked a skinny bow tie, but it was Snoop Dogg who elicited catcalls from the media when he strolled into the Beverly Hills press conference to announce nominees for the 2009 American Music Awards. The rapper had traded in his signature football jersey and braids for a vest, a velvet blazer, a slicked-back ponytail and a pair of nerd glasses. "This is about me stepping up and becoming a bigger, better person and becoming a business," he confided after the presser. "I'm the new President/Creative Director of Priority Records." Does this mean the iconic hip-hop star has turned over a new leaf, so to speak? Well, judge for yourself. When we asked him if marijuana should be legalized, he had this to say: "You know how I stand. I stand very high on that!"

Lambert tells us he's been buried in a studio, working on his new album - which he described as "glam rock packaged in a pop sensibility." He gave a thumbs-up to the gay rights rally that took place in D.C. over the weekend, saying "I think it's great. I think it's a civil rights issue, and I think people deserve to be heard on it. I believe in equal rights for everybody." He said his Rolling Stone cover story was liberating. "To really sit down with a reporter and talk about me from the ground up was really, really great, and I feel like we got a lot of stuff out of the closet - literally cleaned out that closet - so hopefully people can focus on the music." His debut CD hits stores November 24th - two days after he performs on the AMAs.

As for Ms. Paula Abdul... she gave us this Sarah Palin-esque answer when we asked if a show in Vegas was in the cards as part of her post-"Idol" life. "I have many different opportunities in Las Vegas, which I've been offered for years, but the timing is right because I have TV projects that I'm doing - a lot of different things that are very exciting that I get to continue to live my dream now."

However, she was much more succinct when discussing frustration that the "Idol" women have been pitted against each other in the media. "No one ever said anything about the guys, and I know for a fact there was jealousy going around with the guys - bigger dressing rooms, trailers, someone buys a house for X amount of millions, and the other one says, 'Well, I bought the whole land.' And then somebody got J. Lo's interior designer. 'Well, I bought J. Lo!' That's how it would work, you know."

Adam Lambert's fans made him last season's "American Idol" runner-up - now they've answered his call to help struggling schools.  The singer's online fan groups competed to see who could raise the most money for DonorsChoose.org, which lets people give money directly to classroom project requests submitted by teachers around the U.S.

The month-long challenge raised $229,000 for arts- and music-related learning resources and supplies, benefiting nearly 88,000 students - many in high-poverty schools.

According to DonorsChoose, U.S. school teachers spend $1 billion out of their own pockets each year, trying to make up for seemingly endless cuts to school budgets.  The Web site, founded in 2000, allows teachers to describe specific projects for their students; donors can then select which projects to support, either in part or in full. YouTube: Lambert thanks his fans

So far, 109,000 public and charter school teachers have used the site to obtain $38 million for books, supplies, technology, and other learning resources, helping some 2.5 million students.  The Lambert competition is over, but fans can still donate in his name at DonorsChoose.org/AdamLambert.  And whether you donate in his name, or on your own, I can tell you: the photos and thank-you notes you'll get from the kids you help make it even more rewarding.