Adam Bites The Apple: The New Madonna?

I acknowledge the talent of Adam Lambert. He is one of the most gifted emerging male vocalists. Adam has spoken about the events leading to the cancellation of his appearance on Good Morning America, both defended himself and at the same time expressed a veiled apology. I believe him when he says that the things he did were not rehearsed. It was nothing like the infamous Britney/Christina kiss Madonna performed at the 2003 VMA's, though I cannot overlook the fact that it had the same shock element. He did repeat just about all the tricks in the Madonna guidebook, but it didn't come off as calculated. A confessed Madonna fan himself, I am sure he doesn't mind the comparison. However, his talk about "freedom of speech and artistic expression" brought nothing less than Madonna, Rome, Vatican and Blond Ambition tour to mind. No points for that one.

As a gay person myself, I don't feel insulted by Adam's behavior on stage while at the same time I have to admit his stunt was not necessary - he has the talent Madonna never had so he doesn't need to do these things in order to make an impact. On the other hand I understand his point of view, the song is very sexual and strong and he wanted to live it out.

I do not understand the uproar his performance has caused. Madonna, the biggest slut in the show business has been on Good Morning America. It didn't seem to matter then that she had masturbated on stage, simulated orgies with both men and women, posed in a fantasy book where she even depicts sex with a dog. I mean, the only thing that would shock us at this point would be her moving into porn business and producing a fake vagina with an M-letter on it. What Adam now has under her belt is nothing in comparison - even if we cut out 15 years of her doings.

Other stars at the AMA show performed explicitly too, presenting us daring artistic expressions. Lady Gaga wore a costume where she came off naked, then smashed mirrors and vodka bottles while playing a burning piano. Rihanna performed in a costume that revealed as much as it hid (which wasn't much) as she welcomed people into her mad house - and the performance was literally mad and full of aggression. Eninem talked about rape. Janet Jackson grabbed a male dancer's crotch during her Medley performance. So Adam certainly was not the only one playing the sex game.

So what is this big splash about, then? Well, the obvious of course: Adam kissed a boy instead of a girl. Adam rubbed a dancer's face against his crotch and touched himself. He did it all while performing a song that includes lines like "can you handle what I'm about to do?". In the context of the song, his performance was appropriate and daring yet not as racy as it could have been nor racy enough to cause such opposition. Being gay is not something you can catch while watching tv - it's not contagious. It is either within you or it isn't.

I have to agree Adam's performance presented a very stereotypical - and the most controversial - image of being gay, and that really isn't the right way to educate people or young children about the issue. But I also believe that it is parents' job to educate their children on this matter and teach them to accept gays as part of the community, it should come naturally by now - they've had a lot of time to learn and understand instead of digging deeper into their own prejudice. If parents simply transfer their own fears and ideas (not necessarily valid ones) onto their children their off-spring will grow up to be nothing less than homophobic discriminating adults. We all need to co-exist in this world.

Though defending Adam against unjust treatment over the AMA incident, I truly hope Adam won't follow in Madonna's footsteps. One queen of sleaze is enough. Plus - like expressed earlier - Adam is too talented to resort to her ways of "communication". He has a brilliant voice, he's a great energetic performer. He can be and should be out & proud gay man - but unless he wants to end up like Madonna he should find a more productive way of showing what gay is to the obviously ignorant public. Shock value isn't the way. ~Madpie, co-editor of Madonna Revelations

Sounds Of Fright!

Madonna performing on her Crappy & Crappier tour... Feast on Madonna's real live sound. Perhaps whoever still wants to pay for her concert tickets should demand playback. After this garbage, there's only one question to ask: Did the cat die or what?

Madonna: Desperately Seeking Past Success

Since Madonna launched herself to the orbit of fame and stardom, she has done just about anything to stir up rumours and create connections to the biggest names in showbusiness. She started with one of the greatest icons of all time, declaring herself as the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe - while highlighting the beauty mark on her upper lip as if it was some kind of physical proof we needed to believe her. She proceeded by replicating Marilyn's sensual poses and acting out her famous movie scenes, drawing in desired commentary and comparisons.

It didn't take long before Madonna came up with a connection to the King of Rock'n'Roll, Elvis Presley, as well. Coincidentally Madonna was born the exact same day as Elvis died (though 19 years earlier). Juicy fact she didn't fail to mention. Instead, she openly confessed that the spirit of Elvis had manifested in her being! Before she began recording "True Blue", according to her, she embodied two of the greatest icons. Whether anyone believed her was irrelevant.

Throughout the years, she kept projecting numerous film actresses, singers, iconic photography and the best of the world's cinema. Her ways of clinging to iconic figures was undoubtedly a brilliant marketing plan. People started unconsciously linking the two together and most importantly, never seized to talk about her. She needed a distraction from her lackings and the superficial connections and outrageous statements gave it to her.

After the infamous "SEX", notorious "Erotica" and controversial "Body of Evidence", most were convinced she would never be able to restore her career. While Madonna's self-indulgent exhibitionism was one of the things people loved, many felt burned by her sexual crusades. Within two years she had fallen out of grace with the public, the media and even her fans. She turned from pop goddess into a joke - and people weren't laughing with her, they were laughing at her.

When Madonna returned with "Ray of Light" no one laughed anymore. Instead she received praise. But no matter how famous, Madonna never passed a chance to ride on the waves of others. Around her album release Princess of Wales, Diana, died in car accident in Paris, while being chased by the paparazzi. Madonna took the opportunity to compare her life with Diana's. A tragic ending for someone else - but a triumph of survival for Madonna. Some accused her of milking the shock factor of Diana's death by choosing a paparazzi concept for her music video "Drowned World/Substitute for Love". Whether this was actually true, remains a mystery. Taken into account what she has done to get attention, it certainly wouldn't surprise us. Despite of the success of "Ray of Light", it didn't carry her that far. When "Music" was released her sales were on decline again and fast-forward to 2003 and "American Life" was already tanking.

Madonna was losing relevance. To give a boost to her album sales - or just to remain in the headlines - Madonna performed at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards accompanied by Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Madonna was overshadowed by her rival's vocal abilities but she made sure the focus would be on her by dressing the younger rivals as her brides. She herself wore the more dominating male-fashioned black tux. The performance's high (or low) point came when she french kissed both singers. The buzz was guaranteed.

Britney had already been on the list to inherit Madonna's throne and she was doing extremely well on the charts. Recognizing the possibilities, Madonna embraced the opportunity to team up with her and put the saying "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" into full practice. She promoted Spears by wearing t-shirts with her name on the chest, proceeded to record a duet ("Me Against The Music") and unofficially took on a role of some kind of a mentor. Madonna couldn't stop repeating in interviews how much Britney reminded of her young self.

Madonna repackaged songs from her poorly selling "American Life" and released an EP "Remixed and Revisited" including a collaboration with Missy Elliott - and naturally, featuring the much talked about VMA performance with Britney and Christina. The interesting thing about all of this is that after Madonna pulled her stunt, Britney's life and career fell into a state of chaos. Was it a game of divide and conquer? Madonna didn't mince words while talking to the reporters. By giving public advice to the pop princess, she took the upper hand, kept her name in the headlines and got Britney just where she wanted her: below her. She wanted all the benefits that Britney could provide her but she wasn't going to be upstaged by anyone.

For "Hard Candy" Madonna teamed up with Justin Timberlake, no other than Britney's ex-boyfriend and one of the most successful male acts of the recent time. She repeated her provocative stage acts with him, pressing Justin against the wall and grinding herself against him. Justin (and Timbaland) made "4 Minutes" a hit single with their following. Madonna's unsurprising choice for the second single was no other than a Pharrell Williams collaboration - needless to say Pharrell made a cameo in her music video. Madonna's third single "Miles Away" had no supporting acts: it became the lowest charting single of her entire career. When Madonna launched her Sticky & Sweet World tour, she called Britney and Justin for support.

Then came the day when Michael Jackson died. Madonna reacted immediately through public statement saying she "cannot stop crying". It was a perfectly banal confession, since the two stars had fallen out of touch almost two decades earlier. More opportunistic behavior followed when Madonna announced she was going to do a tribute in Jackson's honour on her world tour. The look-alike segment stayed in the show for the whole duration of the tour, being the biggest crowd pleaser in the entire show. In 2009 Madonna released "Celebration" single from her greatest hits package and again, Jackson look-alike made an appearance. She was really milking the idea.

Shortly after Jackson's passing, MTV Video Music Awards celebrated him. No other than Madonna was chosen to make a memorial speech in his honour - or should we say in her honour? After all very little of that speech was about Michael. Mostly it was about Madonna telling us how she is very much alive and kicking. She started by comparing their childhood. Michael, ME, Michael, ME, Michael, ME. She said Michael got "the shorter end of the stick" and that Madonna was better off losing a mother that him losing a childhood. It didn't exactly sound empathetic or proper cos in other words she was saying that he had a crappy life. Madonna also suffered a remarkable memory loss as she continued "then for one reason or another we fell out of touch..." The real reason they fell out of touch was that she spoke of him in a very condescending way in numerous interviews: about wanting to cut his hair, about getting rid of his trademark wardrobe, about his unwillingness to be provocative, making him look like a wimp. Then she reminded everyone of the child abuse allegations which ruined Jackson's career - most likely the one subject everyone hoped she would not touch under any circumstances. After putting the blame on everyone for abandoning Michael, she shed her knowledge on how it feels to be condemned by the media and the public. She also repeated, two times, that though Michael was a king (and she is a queen), he was (she is) also human. And the end of the day, Madonna's memorial speech was pure self-promotion, an open invitation to her fan camp.

Back in the 80s when Madonna visited David Letterman show with Sandra Bernhard they were funny together. When Madonna talked about spanking with Arsenio Hall, she was a blast. Even when Madonna talked about peeing in the shower and said "f**k you" about a zillion times, she seemed rebellious in a charming immature way. But when Madonna appeared on SNL skit with Lady Gaga this year, it was just plain boring. I guess it was supposed to be funny, but it wasn't. Standing next to Gaga didn't just make Madonna look old, it also proved just how joyless and humorless she has become. But do pay attention in the months and years to come. To Madonna, Lady Gaga is just another new fresh talent to attach her fading act on. She is already declaring in interviews how Lady Gaga reminds her young self. Ring a bell?

What started as tongue-in-cheek statements to the press has now progressed into new levels of absurdity. Today Madonna is ready to cling to every star that can give her career a boost. She has even lowered to pimping her own daughter Lourdes in order to make us remember who she used to be. Madonna will undoubtedly always be a pop icon - after the career she has had, how could she not - but the sooner she learns to let go and embraces the power of good-bye, the better. She is starting to come off pathetic and sadly grotesk. Madonna - unlike any other star in the world - has build her career on things that cannot be sustained. She should step out of the ring while she still has some dignity left. But the odds are, she will be doing the exact opposite. She doesn't know how to bow out gracefully. Perhaps she will do a duet with Lady Gaga? Or perhaps we will see her screetching on Gaga's "Monster Ball" tour? At least the theme would be fitting.

Note: No matter what anyone thinks of Lady Gaga, I think we can agree on one thing: she is probably the only star out right now who is as visual and provocative as Madonna has been. You might find it interesting that "Pokerface" starts with a sample taken from Boney M's "Mama Baker" (Ma ma ma ma!). Let's hope she won't be the new Madonna of sampling!

Rip Her To Shreds

"I am not ready to adjust physically, just to be marketable. My sell-by date will run out eventually. Unlike Madonna, I wouldn't be willing to do Pilates round the clock, just to slow down the deterioration of my body. I prefer to sit in the kitchen, drink tea and eat biscuits." ~Nelly Furtado, 30, on Madonna's reluctance to age naturally

Bettie Page: "She's Not Me - She's A Copy Machine"

Bettie Page is known for posing in numerous pin-up shots as well as lingerie shots. She also posed in bondage photographs. Between Madonna's infamous SEX book, released in 1992, you could find a little "humorous" attachment based on Bettie Page's bondage photos. This sexually charged photographic comic was also one of the reasons why the book's binding fell apart, the way it had been stuffed in the same binding made it hard to turn the pages.

The photos have more in common than just the theme. Madonna's pictures have been shot in a very similar set than what appears in Bettie's images, down to the similar carpeting and furniture.

There are also similarities between the girl on girl action, the struggle/fighting between women, the way she is tied to a chair, positioned on the floor, even the wardrobe is similar.

While the photos are not direct replicas, they are very similar. One more additional indication that the source indeed is Bettie Page comes from the fact that one of the characters in the pictures looks like Bettie Page.

There is no doubt in our minds that there is a link between these works and not least because of the other material in Madonna's SEX book that already rips Bettie off.

Interesting note on the truthfulness of SEX: When Madonna's plans to do a book about sex fantasies leaked out, when her book was still called "Madonna's fantasies" and not "Sex", she defended her idea to a reporter, saying: "These are my fantasies, this is what I fantasize about, so why should I be ashamed?". Yet, true to her double-standard behavior in the opening lines of SEX book she says the opposite: "Nothing in this book is true, I made it all up." So did she fool anyone? Not that many. We knew they were her fantasies, her idea of sex - and it was not in any way alluring one.

*Bettie Page's pictures courtesy of pettypage.com

Ray of Fright!

Madonna's natural reaction to suggestions that she write her own songs and compose the melodies for her upcoming album. *same reaction was given later that night when also told she could not "sample" anything from the Elvis Presley catalogue

Madge-isms

" When I was writing it, I was sitting in a fourth-floor walk-up on Avenue B, and there was this gorgeous Puerto Rican boy sitting across from me that I wanted to go out on a date with, and I just wanted to get it over with." ~ Madonna, on writing her retarded hit "Into the Groove". . . note that when she says she wanted to get it over with she is referring to writing the song, NOT her date for the night

William Orbit- Bubble Universe

If you like the song "Liquid Love", you'll love it in it's original form called "Bubble Universe" available on William Orbit's Hello Waveforms album. Orbit never ceases to amaze listeners with his floaty trance-like melodies and dreamy lyrics.

The Vagina Diaries

Hey you, Granma needs some powder on her cheeks! Ah, allora! She's just so vibrantly pale, enthusiastically narcissistic, compulsively ready, frighteningly willing... not to mention devastatingly eager to show her best a-*-*-ets. Such a class act, isn't she? This is how we pictured 51-year old woman posing for the camera too! We always knew she wasn't much of a lady but this is just one of those things that make you go... eeeeewwwww!

Ray Of Fright!

Taken during the recent "Hard Candy" era, we find this a true gem of fright! Madonna does indeed look very hard in it - and by that we mean she seems stiff like a corpse. We're sure she didn't mean to look like a vampire victim sucked out of blood & dropped into a silky coffin, but oh well, that's what she looks like anyways. Bring in the shovels, please!

Words: They Cut Like A Knife

"Hindus are urging Madonna to... do substantially more than just donating a used pair of shoes for the Roma charity."

Rajan Zed, the president of Universal Society of Hinduism

*OUCH! =)

NON-ALBUM TRACK: Let Me Free

Madonna hasn't changed her act much. When coming up with tracks for her "Hard Candy" album, Madonna decided to rip off someone again. This time she did it on a demo called "Let Me Free". The song was never released on the final album, perhaps because it's not that good. Definitely not hit material.

Even so, the demo of "Let Me Free" rips off a song released in 1981. The original creator was Michel Sardou and the song "Les lacs du Connemara". Regarding this particular case, we find the Madonna diehard excuses unbelievably ridiculous. One of the blind fans claimed that Madonna did not rip off this song because it is "a different type of song", as if the style has anything to do with it. The point is that she used someone's creation within her own. But then this fan let the real frog out of his/her mouth, and said that "there even isn't any hits outside of United States."

Let us inform every ignorant person out there that infact all countries outside of United States have their own charts and their own hits. While we agree that these hits might not be worldwide phenomenons like Madonna's pop tunes have been, they are still hits - perhaps not in the United States but there are other places in the world, believe it or not. And as a matter a fact, even this argument is shot to hell after we tell you the next fact. "Les lacs du Connemara" was an international hit.

Noteworthy is that Michel Sardou is French. All fans know how Madonna feels towards the French. If they do not, then they have been unconscious while watching most interviews and ceremonies where her love for the French culture, music, people, designers and so forth has been openly expressed. It's not at all impossible for her to rip off Michel Sardou because she has all the resources to do it. Interestingly enough, in many cases her friends have pointed her to some new talent they've heard about. And then Madonna, whoops, happens to either collaborate with that person or she rips off that person in one of her many projects.

So to conclude: yes, she did rip off Michel Sardou on this unreleased track from the HC sessions. The evidence is there - you just got to be open enough to hear it.