Adam Lambert - Whataya Want From Me

[tinawina]

I don't know. While I am certainly open to the idea that Adam's sexuality could possibly affect his career, I'm not buying this line of logic that blames his sexuality for everything. When you do that, you are pretty much creating a logic system where nothing is ever his (or the song's) fault. If he succeeds, its because he's just so amazing, if he fails (or just does okay), its because he's being discriminated against. Where is the room for the possibility that his songs just might not connect to the point that you thought they would? WWFM still might shoot up the charts, but you mean to tell me if it doesn't the ONLY possible excuse could be homophobia? What would y'all need to hear to believe that is NOT the case? I don't get it.

[Rumors]

Jan 18, 2010 14:44:45 GMT -5 brb said:

That's not true, just because there are PDs that are smart enough to recognize the quality of this song and spin it and add this as they should, doesn't mean there aren't other PDs out there that won't add this song even when it enters the top 20 only due to his sexuality. Adam is the first openly gay artist and I think the radio still doesn't know how to accept that and still hasn't given him the chance he desevers, but hopefully this will change soon.

I don't believe this at all. Now, if Adam were trying to break through on country radio I might agree but we are talking about pop radio where pretty much anything goes.

[Rumors]

Jan 18, 2010 16:47:20 GMT -5 Ragin said:

Jan 18, 2010 16:42:13 GMT -5 grey said:

Nobody will ever convince me that PD's are sitting around saying "I won't add WWFM because Adam is gay".

Really? I wasn't aware of a block of stations that didn't play Elton John. Culture Club, or Erasure.

Have you ever considered there is a fair number of people that just don't like his music?

And if you sense opposition to Adam, I'd suggest it has more to do with his lude behavior on stage and less to do with his sexual orientation.

You might have a point with someone like Clay where is target audience isn't very receptive to that, but in the Pop world, that just isn't an issue.

I agree 100%.

[Kworb]

The lack of gay artists on pop radio is more the major labels' fault. Why take a chance on an artist who is not closeted when there are a dozen safe heterosexual artists also knocking on your door? In the end it's all about money and optimizing profits. Adam kind of minimized the risk by being a popular Idol contestant.

I don't think the radio stations and the general public will be so homophobic that they'll hinder his career.

[Rumors]

Jan 18, 2010 17:08:58 GMT -5 StarSprinkles said:

It'll be interesting to watch Melissa Etheridge's climb on the charts with her new song out "Fearless Love", and compare it to that of Adam's chart rise. I'm actually looking forward to that. Hers was the last big radio hit any openly gay artist has had, and that was 14 years ago now. WWFM and Fearless Love are both charting right now on HAC.

Why would you compare chart action between Melissa and Adam? Melissa hasn't had a hit in years. I guess it's because she is gay and not because radio doesn't show much love for ANYONE that's 40+ (unless its AC or country which we aren't talking about). The age issue isn't fair but unfortunately that's how it is. How much airplay are U2 and Bon Jovi getting these days?

[StarSprinkles]

Yes, I'd like to watch Melissa's chart rise because aside from Adam she's the only other openly gay artist vying for airplay right now. It's not a hard concept to understand.

[strawberries]

Jan 18, 2010 18:05:38 GMT -5 tinawina said:

I don't know. While I am certainly open to the idea that Adam's sexuality could possibly affect his career, I'm not buying this line of logic that blames his sexuality for everything. When you do that, you are pretty much creating a logic system where nothing is ever his (or the song's) fault. If he succeeds, its because he's just so amazing, if he fails (or just does okay), its because he's being discriminated against. Where is the room for the possibility that his songs just might not connect to the point that you thought they would? WWFM still might shoot up the charts, but you mean to tell me if it doesn't the ONLY possible excuse could be homophobia? What would y'all need to hear to believe that is NOT the case? I don't get it.

[foxxden]

Jan 18, 2010 16:47:20 GMT -5 Ragin said:

Jan 18, 2010 16:42:13 GMT -5 grey said:

Nobody will ever convince me that PD's are sitting around saying "I won't add WWFM because Adam is gay".

Really? I wasn't aware of a block of stations that didn't play Elton John. Culture Club, or Erasure.

Right...and when was the last time Elton John, Culture Club, or Erasure had a hit song on pop radio? Your references are very outdated. Welcome to 2010 where gay people still do not have equal rights in America.

Look, If you honestly believe that openly gay artists have an equal shot at scoring a radio hit as everyone else then you are being quite naive.

Obviously, there are people out there who just don't like Adam or this song for rational reasons and that's fine. But "Whataya Want From Me" fits perfectly into the pop music landscape of the moment. If Pink, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, or heck even Rob Thomas sang this song it would be a guaranteed smash.

There are so many more roadblocks and obstacles that Adam has to overcome just b/c he is gay...and no one will make me believe otherwise because I live in the real world not the fantasy of a chart obsessed message board lol.

[StarSprinkles]

In my state, Adam can't even legally adopt a child, as voted on by our own people. If you think gay people are thought of as "equal" by people, then I can tell you that is not the case.

[Rurry]

Jan 18, 2010 18:05:38 GMT -5 tinawina said:

I don't know. While I am certainly open to the idea that Adam's sexuality could possibly affect his career, I'm not buying this line of logic that blames his sexuality for everything. When you do that, you are pretty much creating a logic system where nothing is ever his (or the song's) fault. If he succeeds, its because he's just so amazing, if he fails (or just does okay), its because he's being discriminated against. Where is the room for the possibility that his songs just might not connect to the point that you thought they would? WWFM still might shoot up the charts, but you mean to tell me if it doesn't the ONLY possible excuse could be homophobia? What would y'all need to hear to believe that is NOT the case? I don't get it.

Exactly.

[sunpeach]

Yeah, I like "down the rabbit hole" though he was doing this unintentional Charles Nelson Riley imitation the entire time he sang it New Year's Eve.

[tinawina]

Jan 18, 2010 19:12:43 GMT -5 foxxden said:

Obviously, there are people out there who just don't like Adam or this song for rational reasons and that's fine. But "Whataya Want From Me" fits perfectly into the pop music landscape of the moment. If Pink, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, or heck even Rob Thomas sang this song it would be a guaranteed smash.

Here's the problem with that logic:

1. WWFM fitting "perfectly" into the pop landscape to the degree of being a "guaranteed smash" is all your opinion, not really a certified fact.

2. This board is overflowing with people who think any given song from their favorite is a guaranteed smash that "should" shoot up the charts. Sometimes critics even agree with them. And they often turn out to be wrong. So what makes them different from you? It has to be more than just Adam is gay. The same thing can, and often does, happen to straight artists. Even ones with previous hit songs.

Discrimination certainly exists in the world outside of the pop charts, in a very tangible way. And homophobia can be insidious, in that it can work in ways that are not very obvious. That said, it does not exists to the same degree everywhere. The level of homophobia in, say, the world of theater is not the same as in football. Just because America as a whole is homophobic does NOT mean it works the to the exact same degree on the pop charts. It could be, but to argue for its existence, you have to show more than just the song acting like any other song that does not catch on crazy fast. At least to me.

[Rurry]

WWFM does not sound like a #1 smash to me. It sounds like a top 20, maybe top 10 hit, no matter who it's coming from. If Pink's Sober and Please Don't Leave Me were not able to make it to #1 on CHR which have similar sounds to this (except more radio-friendly, IMO), I don't see why this would.

[radicaltheory]

I'd say this sounds like a top 10 guaranteed, irregardless of the singer also.

[foxxden]

Jan 18, 2010 20:52:07 GMT -5 tinawina said:

Jan 18, 2010 19:12:43 GMT -5 foxxden said:

Obviously, there are people out there who just don't like Adam or this song for rational reasons and that's fine. But "Whataya Want From Me" fits perfectly into the pop music landscape of the moment. If Pink, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, or heck even Rob Thomas sang this song it would be a guaranteed smash.

Just because America as a whole is homophobic does NOT mean it works the to the exact same degree on the pop charts. It could be, but to argue for its existence, you have to show more than just the song acting like any other song that does not catch on crazy fast. At least to me.

The last time an openly gay artist had a hit song at pop radio was something like 15 years ago...I say that the proof is in the pudding.

Oh and for the record, not once did I ever say this should be a guaranteed #1 hit...but I do think it sounds like a hit song.

[tinawina]

Jan 18, 2010 21:27:30 GMT -5 foxxden said:

The last time an openly gay artist had a hit song at pop radio was something like 15 years ago...I say that the proof is in the pudding.

True, but that could have more to do with labels not signing and promoting openly gay artists to the pop charts than with pop radio, or its audience, itself. Perhaps it was true way back when, but now not so much, only the labels have been scared to try? Or maybe the very few that have come out didn't have hot songs. Who knows?

The bottom line is Adam is making the kind of music that seems designed to appeal to fans of dance pop, electronica, and Pink-style pop/rock. While I do agree there is likely SOME degree of homophobic reactions present, we have no idea how much of that exists within his target audience and in PDs for pop radio, which would be the 2 populations he has to worry about. Again, I am not saying it is NOT a huge factor, just that there isn't strong evidence just yet that it is at play significantly for THIS artist and THIS song. It has been getting adds and spins at a pretty healthy rate until lately. And the audience we are talking about is known to be one of the more open minded blocks of people. I mean, he is a male, and not many males (gay or straight) are attempting this type of music... so whose to say his maleness is not more of a factor than his gayness? Or his age for that matter? Or maybe the song just isn't catching on? How can you confidently rule out any of the alternative explanations?

[Ragin]

Jan 18, 2010 19:12:43 GMT -5 foxxden said:

Jan 18, 2010 16:47:20 GMT -5 Ragin said:

Really? I wasn't aware of a block of stations that didn't play Elton John. Culture Club, or Erasure.

Right...and when was the last time Elton John, Culture Club, or Erasure had a hit song on pop radio? Your references are very outdated. Welcome to 2010 where gay people still do not have equal rights in America.

Look, If you honestly believe that openly gay artists have an equal shot at scoring a radio hit as everyone else then you are being quite naive.

Obviously, there are people out there who just don't like Adam or this song for rational reasons and that's fine. But "Whataya Want From Me" fits perfectly into the pop music landscape of the moment. If Pink, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, or heck even Rob Thomas sang this song it would be a guaranteed smash.

There are so many more roadblocks and obstacles that Adam has to overcome just b/c he is gay...and no one will make me believe otherwise because I live in the real world not the fantasy of a chart obsessed message board lol.

Here is what I'll tell you. The music industry, especially pop, is ruled by the almighty dollar. If it will sell, they will push it, it is that simple. There is no stigma with being gay in pop music, not anymore. My references were dated, because that's the last time anyone cared.

Now, if you are talking about someone insisting on trumpeting their sexuality all over their videos and every interview, that is a diffferent story. Until the population of the United States is markedly different it is a bit much to ask people to celebrate an artist being gay. They don't relate.

[rellybois]

Jan 18, 2010 18:29:19 GMT -5 Rumors said:

Jan 18, 2010 14:44:45 GMT -5 brb said:

That's not true, just because there are PDs that are smart enough to recognize the quality of this song and spin it and add this as they should, doesn't mean there aren't other PDs out there that won't add this song even when it enters the top 20 only due to his sexuality. Adam is the first openly gay artist and I think the radio still doesn't know how to accept that and still hasn't given him the chance he desevers, but hopefully this will change soon.

I don't believe this at all. Now, if Adam were trying to break through on country radio I might agree but we are talking about pop radio where pretty much anything goes.

How can you say anything goes at pop radio when I can count on one hand the number of openly gay males who have ever had a major hit and there has never in history been a hit pop artist who began their career out of the closet? I think it's a little silly to say "anything goes" on pop radio when it literally has never happened before.

[MOWE]

Jan 18, 2010 17:08:58 GMT -5 StarSprinkles said:

It'll be interesting to watch Melissa Etheridge's climb on the charts with her new song out "Fearless Love", and compare it to that of Adam's chart rise. I'm actually looking forward to that. Hers was the last big radio hit any openly gay artist has had, and that was 14 years ago now. WWFM and Fearless Love are both charting right now on HAC.

Melissa will be held back by her age way more than her sexuality in today's market, IMO.

[foxxden]

Jan 18, 2010 21:45:51 GMT -5 tinawina said:

Jan 18, 2010 21:27:30 GMT -5 foxxden said:

The last time an openly gay artist had a hit song at pop radio was something like 15 years ago...I say that the proof is in the pudding.

True, but that could have more to do with labels not signing and promoting openly gay artists to the pop charts than with pop radio, or its audience, itself. Perhaps it was true way back when, but now not so much, only the labels have been scared to try? Or maybe the very few that have come out didn't have hot songs. Who knows?

The bottom line is Adam is making the kind of music that seems designed to appeal to fans of dance pop, electronica, and Pink-style pop/rock. While I do agree there is likely SOME degree of homophobic reactions present, we have no idea how much of that exists within his target audience and in PDs for pop radio, which would be the 2 populations he has to worry about. Again, I am not saying it is NOT a huge factor, just that there isn't strong evidence just yet that it is at play significantly for THIS artist and THIS song. It has been getting adds and spins at a pretty healthy rate until lately. And the audience we are talking about is known to be one of the more open minded blocks of people. I mean, he is a male, and not many males (gay or straight) are attempting this type of music... so whose to say his maleness is not more of a factor than his gayness? Or his age for that matter? Or maybe the song just isn't catching on? How can you confidently rule out any of the alternative explanations?

I'm sorry but I really don't know what you want me to say.

Unless every single radio programmer in the country states why they are not putting "WWFM" into power rotation none of us will ever know for sure. None of us on the board (sans the few industry insiders who randomly post here) really know the whole story about anything...so we state our opinion.

You give ageism as a possibility as to why this song is not exploding yet. Well Adam is upper 20's I believe...plenty of artists older than in recent times that have had hits...even number one hits...so there is more evidence against that being true. But the fact is there has been a huge drought of hits from openly gay artists in the past 15 years...and that is a fact. So there is more evidence to support my theory than yours...but obviously no one will ever know for sure.

Jan 18, 2010 22:30:42 GMT -5 Ragin said:

Jan 18, 2010 19:12:43 GMT -5 foxxden said:

Right...and when was the last time Elton John, Culture Club, or Erasure had a hit song on pop radio? Your references are very outdated. Welcome to 2010 where gay people still do not have equal rights in America.

Look, If you honestly believe that openly gay artists have an equal shot at scoring a radio hit as everyone else then you are being quite naive.

Obviously, there are people out there who just don't like Adam or this song for rational reasons and that's fine. But "Whataya Want From Me" fits perfectly into the pop music landscape of the moment. If Pink, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, or heck even Rob Thomas sang this song it would be a guaranteed smash.

There are so many more roadblocks and obstacles that Adam has to overcome just b/c he is gay...and no one will make me believe otherwise because I live in the real world not the fantasy of a chart obsessed message board lol.

Here is what I'll tell you. The music industry, especially pop, is ruled by the almighty dollar. If it will sell, they will push it, it is that simple. There is no stigma with being gay in pop music, not anymore. My references were dated, because that's the last time anyone cared.

Now, if you are talking about someone insisting on trumpeting their sexuality all over their videos and every interview, that is a diffferent story. Until the population of the United States is markedly different it is a bit much to ask people to celebrate an artist being gay. They don't relate.

No need to lecture me on how money makes the world go round. But there are numerous examples in the history of the music industry in which there have been discrepancies in what radio plays and the consumer buys. And besides, Adam's music IS selling. His album is about go gold which puts him in spitting distance of veteran artists such as Kelly Clarkson and his single has shot up iTunes each time he performed it on itunes which means people are responding once they hear the song.

But I do think you are being naive to say there is no stigma with gay artists in the music industry when the reality is radio hasn't played music by a gay person in over a decade.

Ok, that is all I really want to say about the subject b/c there really is no changing my mind. I know homophobia exists in the music industry and if people wanna turn a blind eye on it then so be it.

[tinawina]

Jan 18, 2010 23:33:24 GMT -5 foxxden said:

I'm sorry but I really don't know what you want me to say.

Unless every single radio programmer in the country states why they are not putting "WWFM" into power rotation none of us will ever know for sure. None of us on the board (sans the few industry insiders who randomly post here) really know the whole story about anything...so we state our opinion.

You give ageism as a possibility as to why this song is not exploding yet. Well Adam is upper 20's I believe...plenty of artists older than in recent times that have had hits...even number one hits...so there is more evidence against that being true. But the fact is there has been a huge drought of hits from openly gay artists in the past 15 years...and that is a fact. So there is more evidence to support my theory than yours...but obviously no one will ever know for sure.

As for the bolded part: That's not my theory. I don't have one. I am not objecting to your theory as much as the certainty you are expressing without any real evidence. All I am saying is that your main 2 points: 1. the recent history of gay people on the pop charts and 2. the song's stalling/not sailing up the charts both have multiple alternative explanations. And I have made the same argument to people who assert that his being gay is definitely NOT a factor as well.

As for the part in a different font: THAT is my point. What you are saying is not a given. We don't know what the deal is with Adam.

And now, I'm done with the topic as well.

[foxxden]

^Ah, I see...just playing Devil's Advocate then. Gotcha.

[Kii]

I'm not sure it's so clear cut on whether his sexuality has an influence on his success or not.. I think most people including the radio programmers know that it should be about the music though and not an artists orientation. That should also be the same for Adam, though.

There's no real measure in telling how something like someones orientation affects the success of something like their music on radio though. It's also likely that the "novelty" of it could be helping him and garnering him more attention. Many songs that have blatantly included bisexual themes have done well and been embraced on radio in recent times which leads me to believe they're not that uptight about things like orientation. This song isn't something radio would just eat up anyways which makes it even harder to tell, maybe if this was an upbeat infectious anthem, then we could see a bit more clearly if some chunks of radio are shying away from him, but it doesn't look that way right now.

I'm very impartial about his success and this situation but just thought I'd offer my opinion.

[desertfloods]

Jan 18, 2010 18:05:38 GMT -5 tinawina said:

I don't know. While I am certainly open to the idea that Adam's sexuality could possibly affect his career, I'm not buying this line of logic that blames his sexuality for everything. When you do that, you are pretty much creating a logic system where nothing is ever his (or the song's) fault. If he succeeds, its because he's just so amazing, if he fails (or just does okay), its because he's being discriminated against. Where is the room for the possibility that his songs just might not connect to the point that you thought they would? WWFM still might shoot up the charts, but you mean to tell me if it doesn't the ONLY possible excuse could be homophobia? What would y'all need to hear to believe that is NOT the case? I don't get it.

THIS.

And there's also no room for the possibility that some people just don't find the tone of his voice "OHMYGAWD AMAZING!!11!" despite his crazy range and technical vocal ability.

[StarSprinkles]

Many songs that have blatantly included bisexual themes have done well and been embraced on radio in recent times which leads me to believe they're not that uptight about things like orientation.

But they're all sung by women. Not by men. Girl on girl feigned lesbianism is "hot" to heterosexual males and will sell. A man who loves other men and sings using male pronouns? Them's some uncharted waters. At least on mainstream pop radio.

People keep saying "Fever" would do well as a single, but I personally hope RCA is not that stupid. It'd be a great song for any other artist besides Adam to release, but the fact that he's gay and uses male pronouns in that song make it a horrid single choice, IMO, which is sad.

Topic?

Um, I got nothin'.

This is a cool video, if you haven't seen it. It's Adam performing "Whole Lotta Love" on NYE, but it's shot by his stage manager, so you can see the performance as if you were backstage watching it. I've never seen another tour video like it by any artist. It's a must-watch:



Tommy (the bassist) is a little Energizer Bunny. It's cute to watch from this angle.

[Rumors]

Some interesting points being made here. Here's the bottom line for me...most pop listeners (lets just assume they are younger and more accepting of "being gay") don't care that Adam is gay and male. BUT (maybe here's the difference), there's saying you are gay but keeping it private and not making it an issue and then you have what Adam did right off the bat and going on primetime TV and being racy. He made the choice to present himself to the world in that light. I didn't really get a kick out of it myself. I thought it was in poor taste and I said at the time I thought it was a dumb tactic to use right at the start of his career. Some people might say that I'm discriminating against Adam because he is gay. I just see it as something that was done in poor taste. There's a lot of stuff on these award shows that is done in poor taste and I'm not out there supporting those artists either even though they are straight. So to me its not a "gay" thing as much as a decency thing. The performance was just to illustrate the point that I think he got off to a bad start and really has been trying to recover since then.

Let me just add that Adam is free to be and act any way he wants. More power to him. The rest of us are also free to choose to be a fan or not. I liked some of his performances on AI and think he has quite a bit of vocal talent. I'm just here to see what he does with all of this. LOL! Does he make it over time or was there just really too much hype...more hype than talent at the end of the day.

Now, back to THIS song. I think it will be a nice hit for Adam before its all said and done but there's no way this is a #1 song on pop. Top 5 or top 10 possibly if downloads start picking up indicating that the song is connecting with listeners.

[Kworb]

All this talk about "if he fails" yet it's still chugging along

POP:
34 31 ADAM LAMBERT Whataya Want From Me 1905 1761 144 14.042
+35 Spins
+12 Bullet
+0.203 AI

HAC:
40 37 ADAM LAMBERT Whataya Want From Me 430 330 100 1.703
+15 Spins
+17 Bullet
+0.051 AI

[P!nkch TheO™]

fails? again, this is going to be a #1 hit.

[saga]

So, mayne WWFM will pass Nickelback tomorrow? I don't know about We The Kings though, do you think he can pass that song this week? Seems that track switches between positive and negative updates on a daily basis...

[mostlyharmless]

Jan 19, 2010 8:14:24 GMT -5 Kworb said:

All this talk about "if he fails" yet it's still chugging along

POP:
34 31 ADAM LAMBERT Whataya Want From Me 1905 1761 144 14.042
+35 Spins
+12 Bullet
+0.203 AI

HAC:
40 37 ADAM LAMBERT Whataya Want From Me 430 330 100 1.703
+15 Spins
+17 Bullet
+0.051 AI

Its all talk and speculation.