Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert is the ‘theatrical’ one on American Idol. We’re talking non-stop guyliner, nail varnish and piercing tenor vocals that will make Sebastian Bach cry like a girl. But there is one thing that’s been a hot topic of discussion amongst his fans: is he gay?
Although there are images of Adam making out with other guys floating around the internet, the singer refuses to make a public statement and prefers to remain ambiguous. Sexual ambiguity is old hat in entertainment business; yet it works every time like a charm. David Bowie dressed in provocative body suits, Madonna offered shocking confessions, Mika – who I suspect is as straight as a cross-tie – hit unthinkable falsetto notes in hot pink pants, while categorically refusing to talk about his private life. And the throne still isn’t vacant today – Lady Gaga just came out as a bisexual (we all sighed a sigh of relief, even if we don’t exactly bi it).
Everyone chooses to do it for different reasons. Some are genuinely afraid of social backlash, like Clay Aiken (can we just call him Clayken already?) – and Lance Bass. Others shamelessly go gay-for-pay – Madonna/Britney scandalized us by sharing a kiss on stage, and Marilyn Manson has toyed with homo-eroticism on more than one occasion for pure shock value.
Historically, American Idol has eschewed any kind of potentially scandalous quality of their contestants playing to a conservative majority of its viewers. Adam is the first to shatter the mold, insisting that his singing ability take center stage. He knows that his appeal lies in being a flamboyantly gay entertainer in the traditionally macho and even homophobic genre of rock-n-roll, but instead of overtly proffering his sexuality, he is being coy about it – thus accomplishing the notoriety that has eluded his histrionic predecessors.
I don’t watch AI , but i have heard of him, and how people are accusing him of being gay…to me So WHAT?? and so what if a guy paints his nails, or is into fashion more then a girl. I know plenty of guys like that , and they are straight .
We can’t forget the 80′s either, where the Rock Stars had big hair, had make-up on, eye liner, lipgloss. To them the bigger the hair and the more make-up they had on make them more popular and noticed. Some where prettier then most real girls, LOL!! That was the thing to do back then, and maybe it’s time for ti again. I love it, i love when people step outside the norm and become what they are meant to be!!!
Where/what night is this photo from?! He looks freakin’ awesome!
I’ve been kind of watching American Idol, soley for Adam (I work so I miss it sometimes). I haven’t watched the show for seasons but when I heard him sing while my family was watching, I couldn’t help but have a look. Being gay myself I’m not attracted to him and could care less if he’s gay or not. All I know is that if he doesn’t win, I definitely won’t be watching American Idol again.
I don’t care either way. I think he’s absolutely fabulous. He knows how to please the crowd and be and eye-catcher, and by the gods does he know how to sing! I personally think he should be this years idol. I want to choreograph a belly dance to his version of “Ring of Fire”. It would be teh awesome.
Whether he’s gay or not.. I don’t care. To me, all that matters is that he is a great singer, hella fantastic performer, and damn hot too. And if he IS gay..? That would just make me jealous of boys. *drool*
I think that now since the new “Emo” genre has come in style being in touch with your femine side is definatly in. I think that Emo is a terrible genre of music. I hate the terrible stright legged jeans that are five sizes to small. It dosent look good at all.
I beleive that people like Bowie,Madonna,GaGa (ect.) are artists. When your an artist you are expected to push the envelope. I love them all. It seems that they are all geniune in there feelings.
People nowadays are not geniune they see a certian trend and act on it. “Well if my favorite rockstar does it It must be fun”. They really don’t realise that it’s not a trend, but a lifestyle choice.
I think that it is a really easy way to get publicity.
Since when is Rock n Roll homophobic? Some individual bands, sure, but not the genre in general. Two words: Glam Rock!
Clay Aiken wanted it to be about his singing and not his private life and everyone shredded him in the media for not making the big announcement. Adam Lambert is doing exactly what Clay did and being given a pass for it. WTF!
Excellent post with excellent examples. You could add Pink, who’s been coy lately about being straight, gay or bi. While getting back with her biker-guy, she’s asserting publicly now that she’s bi-sexual.
I hate that sexual orientation is something to be used to get attention for entertainers. I certainly think the public is more open about it now, but still there are people who are not fond of it and gay/bis go through it all. But some people want to be ambiguous just to get attention? I think that’s just rude. Of course I don’t think someone’s sexuality is anyone’s business to begin with.. I really wish this hype about people’s sexuality dies soon. Plus I don’t think guys painting nails and dressing up means he’s gay. Straight guys should be able to have fun too!
But I do realize people can be gay/bi and just afraid to admit it including celebrities. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I would know.
You know, believe it or not, Metal has had a few gay front runners. Even though they were not open about it in the 80′s, people knew, but it was never spoken, it was accepted. Any one remember Rob Halford, Judas Priest’s front man? Freddie Mercury (even though I wouldn’t really call Queen Metal but you get the idea).
While ambiguity may be a fashion forward movement right now, I can’t help but think its just an attention getter to gain more fans because of what you say you are. Not only that, but as a teacher, I’m starting to see more and more teenagers saying that they’re bi. At least with the girls, they’ll say that they’re bi, and the boys will ask (of course) if you had kissed a girl, and they said yes, but not any farther than that. And I always wonder…are they just following a fad, or are they really? Of course, out of professional respect, I never ask, but I do wonder.
While I don’t follow AI, I have heard chatter about the remaining contestants. Fashion seems to want to lean toward an androdgenous (might have spelled that wrong) sort of look these days, insofar as I can tell.
Music seems to have always held some sexual tones, ambiguous or otherwise, and it works. Take old jazz and blues for instance; lot of those artists referred to their music as makin’ sweet love to their instruments, and it shows in the way the music sounds.
I’d never watched AI until this season because I became enamored with Adam. I don’t care if he’s gay or straight. He is an amazing entertainer. He is the only reason I even turn the show on. I sit there, in awe, and relish in the goosebumps he gives me. I cannot wait for him to cut his own album. He is so original and not boring and he has my support either way.
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I do love Adam, it shouldn’t be an issue whether or not he’s gay – he has an incredible voice and that’s what the contest is (should) be about. He puts on a good show though :)
I have a soft spot for Danny actually, who is stylish in a whole other way. I think it’s the beard/glasses combination.
xx
I’m so shocked that Adam Ant wasn’t mentioned in this post! This Adam is cleary drawing inspiration from him.
On the subject matter of this post: I’m not the type to demand information in a celebrity’s personal life. I watch the movies, I listen to the music, but as far as I’m concerned, they’re just people. There’s really no need to bother about their sexuality, in my opinion it’s the same as someone coming in to my store and speculating if I’m gay. Who cares? The only thing that should ever matter in the entertainment industry is this: Are they good at what they do? Adam is a very promising contestant both in performance and in astrology (He’s an aquarius, afterall, and this is an excellent year for an aquarius).
I have to say I don’t follow AI, but in my eyes, this guy is just awsome!!! And I’m telling you this just by watching this… And I could care less if he was gay/bi/straight or asexual!
I don’t think sexuality is a matter to be taken lightly, because there are still many people struggling with it, I have many gay friends and my own boyfriend is bi, so I’m totaly OK with it…
But I don’t like people who use the gay/bi preference as a reasure for the OWN campaing, if you know what I mean… It’s just… Not good, this is a very hot topic for some, and I’m talking about the ones not coming out of the closet because of social disturbance (does that exist? xD)
Don’t get be wrong, I love people being free to do whatever the like… But there are some that still have a hard time doing so.
I knew I got the gay vibes from Lady Gaga! Of course, I figured it was just wishful thinking. ;)
Ah… I love American Idol, especially Adam Lambert.
For me, I think in things like music, who gives a flip what you prefer? It’s great that he doesn’t feel the need to say that he’s gay just because he’s flamboyant.
It’s totally inspiring, to me, to see someone act in a way that’s stereotypically ‘gay’ and not feel the need to come out. Really, he’s such a good singer that I think no one cares.
All this attention on celebrities’ sexualities has been bugging me for a while now. I mean, of course I’m glad that the media seem to be more open-minded nowadays, but the way they focus on sexual orientation is a little off-putting and I actually find it slightly insulting, even when they don’t intend for it to be (I’m not really sure how to explain myself. It very much reminds me of the time my family stopped in a very small, not-so-diverse town during a road trip when I was young. We were shopping and just doin’ our own thing but there was this lady who couldn’t stop staring at us, and I was pretty sure it was because we were Asian. It was likely just because there probably had never been any Asians to step foot into that place ever, haha, and she was just not accustomed to seeing people who don’t look like her. But it’s rather like that, if this makes any sense at all.) I understand that people might just be trying to expand their horizons but all this overenthusiastic fuss only focuses on people’s differences and further alienates us. Even people who refuse to allow their sexuality to define who they are end up garnering some attention for being labelled ‘sexually ambiguous.’
I do believe he is actually gay. I remember watching an interview with him after those pictures surfaced and he basically said “what are you gonna do? I have nothing to hide.”
But at the end of the day, Adam Lambert is an amazing talent, and that’s all that really matters!
For me, sexual ambiguity because of how someone dresses is an entirely made up concept. Society decided that men wear trousers, girls wear makeup and dresses, why should anyone have to follow this? Being female does not equate to societies constructs of girly or feminine, and being male does not mean you have to fit societies concepts of the masculine. They key thing is that society decided that by wearing these clothes it makes you sexually ambiguous, why shouldn’t he wear these clothes? Hes wearing what he likes and good for him, society spends too much time focusing on the idea of sexuality because of a persons appearance
It’s funny how different rock is in Japan… many singers and artists (especially those with a Visual Kei history or style) take great pride in their androgyny, even flaunting it. I think I prefer it over the “macho” of American rock you mentioned.
I think its so “popular” because it IS so talked about and focused on.
I think people focus too much on “orientation,” and not enough on LOVE! Whether or not Mr. Lambert loves girls, boys, both, or neither is up to him. What’s important is that he remembers that he is his own person and can make the world bright and beautiful using his music. I’m not a follower of American Idol, either, so I really don’t even know what this fellow sounds like! In fact, I only just saw his face for the first time a few hours ago when I saw it on a magazine in my house.
So the point is that we shouldn’t judge, just love. Love makes the world gleeful! <3
actually, I like men that wear makeup and paint their nails. I’m gothic and men in this scene are absolutely not adapted to any kind of rules concerning gender-appropriate dressing.
i think, lots of men would look really good with some powder and kajal on. and why not? women started to wear trousers somewhen, though trousers were before forbidden for females!
men of this world, start to take a step out of the system, discover your beauty, wear whatever you feel like and whatever suits you. nobody ows anybody an explain over his sexuality. and if some people base their opinion about others on their clothes and look, they really dont deserve to be taken serious!
I am a fan of original expression! One should dress and behave only how they feel like, and i dont even think this has anything with their sexuality. However, i have a question mark for some artists who seem to pretend something they’re not, and this has everything to do with sexuality most of the time! Pretending to be anything you’re not is just deeply repulsive for me for whatver reason this happens. And i find it even worse when several people pretend to be homosexual (or build such a profile,without ever saying it) in order to become popular (im not talking about Lambert, before this post i never knew who he is :P)! I think this is offensive to the “real” homosexuals out there…faking identities…just not my thing!
I don’t watch American Idol regularly, but I may have to start… he’s like a fabulous flaming King Tut…
I’m actually not a big fan of Adam *waits for attacks and cringes* It has nothing to do with his sexual ambiguity, I just don’t care for his style of singing and such.
Anyways, I agree with Mary, I’m not a big fan of the guys wearing super tight skinny jeans, and I think SOMETIMES being sexually ambiguous has become kind of a trend.
I do think some guys look great in nail polish though, it all just depends, just like some girls can’t pull off some looks.
its funny…. i dont know if its because im used to glam rock (david bowie, older Placebo, etc) looks, or japanese’s visual kei style but…. it never came to my mind that Adam could have been gay >.>
Don’t forget Marc Bolan!
There was a big furore about the first Pop Idol winner, Will Young. He wanted to come out but the record company were not at all happy about it. I think sexual ambiguity is something that comes and goes — right now it does seem like a throwback to the glam rock/ Marc Bolan/David Bowie era. Personally I couldn’t care less either way, but the costumes are fab ;)
Ok, super old post, but I just read and had to comment!
I hate that sexuality has become a trend, I think it only makes homophobia worse because it convinces certain people that to not be straight is to make some kind of provocative statement, when it fact, it is completely natural! would love it if you did an update on this post!
Adam lambert is of course a very talented singer, i also see that he has a good showmanship.’