Thoughts on the GLAAD Nominees

Yesterday, the nominees for the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards were announced and I was very pleased with several of their choices.

In the film categories (there's one for Wide Release and one for Limited Release), I've only actually seen one of the ten nominated films (I Love You, Man; I've had a thing for Paul Rudd since I saw him in The Object of My Affection!) so I don't really have an informed opinion. However, based simply on the fact that I loved the book so much and can't wait to see the film, I'm hoping A Single Man wins in the Wide Release category.

For Outstanding Drama Series, they've nominated Brothers & Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, Mad Men, Skins, and True Blood. I've never seen Mad Men or True Blood, so I can't speak to either of those shows.

I loved the first two series of Skins, even though gay character Maxxie wasn't really given a leading story in the first series. Still, his brief hook up with lead (and otherwise completely straight) character Tony during their trip to Russia was a pretty cool direction for the show to take, demonstrating the fluidity of sexuality and being something you'd never see happen on an American show. In the second series, Maxxie did have more to do, but he still never got a serious onscreen romance.

I believe the GLAAD nomination is for the third series, though (I've never watched the show on BBC America, but I think that's what they're currently showing), and I was only able to endure the first episode of that before tuning out forever. The nearly complete change in cast was just too jarring and I couldn't connect with any of the new characters.

Grey's Anatomy? I watched the first season on DVD and about half of the second season in real time, and that was about half a season too much in my view. As a rule, I avoid cop shows and medical shows, since they're always so predictable and depressing. I broke my rule for Grey's Anatomy because I'd heard so many good things about it, but it quickly became everything I hate about such shows.

There weren't any LGBT characters when I was watching and I haven't followed any developments since, so I'm not sure exactly what it has been nominated for.

Which brings us to Brothers & Sisters, a show that I have followed since the beginning. I love Kevin & especially Scotty, so I guess they would be my choice to win, though even Brothers & Sisters is feeling pretty tired and almost too depressing to watch these days.

Maybe I really do need to start watching True Blood like I've been told I should!

For Outstanding Comedy Series, GLAAD has nominated three shows that I love against one another: Glee, Greek, and The United States of Tara. Modern Family and Beautiful People, neither of which I've seen yet, round out the list.

Looking just at their LGBT representation, it's hard to pick between the three shows. The United States of Tara has gay teen Marshall, who is completely accepted by his family and who had a love interest in a confused minister's son (who ended up making out with one of Marshall's mom's other personalities).

Glee has Kurt, of course, who came out to his friend Mercedes and to his father and was accepted by both. I especially love the relationship between Kurt and his dad.

Greek has gay frat brother Calvin, who has been out since the first season and who faced some difficulties in the beginning with his brothers over his sexuality. Most recently Calvin has started a relationship with Grant, his closeted roommate in the frat.

The show also features Calvin's ex, Heath, who is a brother in a rival frat and who is also out to his brothers. Heath was completely accepted from the moment he came out, but other than his on again, off again relationship with Calvin, he hasn't had much of an onscreen love life.

This past season it also featured sorority girl Rebeca questioning her own sexuality after a kiss with a visiting sorority alum.

It's really hard to pick which show is the most deserving of recognition. I'd be happy with any of them winning.

GLAAD also nominates individual episodes that deal with LGBT issues on shows without regular gay or lesbian characters. Supernatural, one of my favorites shows, was nominated this year for their episode entitled 'The Real Ghostbusters' and I really would like to see them win for this.

The episode was very meta in that lead characters Sam & Dean went to a Supernatural fan convention. On the show, their adventures have been published in book form by a character who turned out to be a prophet. These books, which no one realizes are based on a real Sam & Dean, have a cult following.

The episode was a way for the show to deal with its own fans in a tongue in cheek way and it was very funny. The LGBT element came in the form of Barnes and Damien, two of the geeky Supernatural fans who attend the convention, role playing as Sam and Dean.

They quickly realized that there were very real ghosts threatening the lives of their fellow convention attendees and ended up stepping up and helping to save the day, because it was 'what Sam and Dean would do'.

At the end of the episode, when Dean was saying his goodbyes to the characters and asked how they knew each other, they revealed that they were partners, which made an earlier moment when Damien turned back to save Barnes instead of running off to save his own life, and the encouragement they gave each other during the fight, stand out all the more.

I've never seen any of the other nominees in this category (two episodes of Private Practice, an episode of The Listener, and an episode of Parks & Recreation), but Supernatural is a show that has always playfully acknowledged their gay fans (as well as their female fans who write endless slash fiction stories about Sam and Dean, or Jared and Jensen) and this episode gave us gay characters who were not only different from most gay characters we see on TV, but also ended up risking their lives and heroically saving the day.

For Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-series, I don' think there can be any real competition. Prayers for Bobby should win, hands down. Pedro wasn't a bad film, but Prayers for Bobby was better. I haven't seen the Torchwood mini-series or An Englishman in New York.

Outstanding Daytime Drama: need you ask? One Life to Live is far superior (not only as a show overall, but in their gay storyline, which is what the award is for) to the other three nominees: As the World Turns, Guiding Light, and All My Children. In fact, if there was an overall category to award the best LGBT Media Representation in all of film and Television, Kish should win for their love scene on New Year's Eve alone.

Adam Lambert was nominated for Outstanding Music Artist for his album For Your Entertainment. He's nominated against Lady Gaga, Gossip, Otep, and Brandi Carlile, and in my admittedly biased mind, he's the clear choice.

AfterElton was nominated for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article for Bret Hartinger's excellent "Why Can’t You Just Butch Up? Gay Men, Effeminacy, and Our War with Ourselves".

There are several other categories, as well, so check out all the nominees.

Special Guest Star

There was a rumor flying around the Internet that Adam Lambert was going to be guest starring on Glee as a mentor character for Kurt. Lambert and Glee being two of my favorite things in the world, that would pretty much have made my day.

Adam himself dispelled the rumor on Twitter, though, and went on to say that he'd love to guest star on True Blood (which I haven't yet seen, though co-workers assure me that I must!), Weeds (never seen it), or Gossip Girl (of which I'm not a fan, unless Ed Westwick is kissing another guy).

These tweets lead to Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly coming up with his own dream guest starring role for Adam on Ugly Betty:

I’d cast Adam as a Trevor de l’Abdul, contestant on a Project Runway-esque show for aspiring fashion designers — where Vanessa L. Williams’ formidable editrix Wilhelmina Slater just so happens to be a judge/mentor. Things get complicated when Trevor hooks up with Willie’s gay-in-waiting Marc (Michael Urie) during a Mode-sponsored cocktail party for the contestants. The morning after, Marc can’t figure out if Trevor is just using him to court favor with Willie, while Willie herself gets fearful that if the Marc-Trevor dalliance goes public (thanks to that relentless dish-hound Suzuki St. Pierre!), she could get painted as a less-than-impartial judge. And it’s up to Betty to investigate whether the dashing young designer truly has the hots for her frenemy, or if he’s simply using every angle possible to take home first prize.

I have to say, I can't quite picture Adam on Glee, as much as I'd love to see him there, but Slezak's idea sounds really good to me! The de l’Abdul really made me laugh, and I could easily see this as an actual story on the show. I think Adam would be great in the role, camping it up and being fierce, and how cool would it be to see him working with Vanessa Williams and Michael Urie?

Michael has already tweeted that he'd be on board with the story, so all we need now is Adam. And, you know, the producers and writers of the show.

Ugly Betty is a show that I loved in its first season but have inexplicably only watched sporadically since. I never really made a decision to stop following the series, I just somehow lost track of it along the way. I have always meant to catch up with it on DVD and I'm sure I will at some point.

Slezak challenged the Adam fans to come up with their own dream guest roles for Lambert and I've been trying to imagine him on the various shows that I watch: a glampire on Supernatural, maybe, or a spoiled rock star who is a new client for Ella and Amanda's firm on Melrose Place. I even tried to fit him into How I Met Your Mother as a date of Robin's who turns out to be bisexual and interested in her ex/roommate Ted.

Nothing seemed as good as Slezak's idea, though. Unless, of course, Adam wants to commit to a recurring role on One Life to Live, where he can play Nick's new love interest, a singer that Rex has hired to perform at Ultra Violet on the occasional night when major recording artists aren't stopping by.

Or maybe things could get really interesting when a jilted Rex, dumped by Gigi and with no interest in Stacy, decides to explore his bisexual side, creating a steamy love triangle when Gigi decides she wants Rex back.

Now I'm suddenly picturing a Dynasty-esque catfight between Adam and Gigi in a lily pond on the Buchanan estate! How hot would that be?!

The Men Who Made 2009

At the end of 2008, I made a list of some of the hottest guys that I'd become aware of during those twelve months. I can't quite believe an entire year has gone by since then, but it's time once again to ponder which hunks caught my attention the most this year. These are guys who I became aware of either for the first time in 2009 or who began to appeal to me in a whole new way.

If you've been following my blog at all this year, I don't think there will be many surprises in store for you with this list. So, in no particular order, let's take a look at my top five 'new' hunks of 2009! (Many of the pics are borrowed from Superherofan)

Last year, I opened with an actor from One Life to Live (Mark Lawson, who made this year pretty damn hot, too!) so I guess I should continue that tradition. The first guy who came to my attention in a major way this past year is Scott Evans, the openly gay actor who plays the newly out cop Oliver Fish on the show. I have to say that while the Evans boys are both incredibly hot, I'd pick Scott over his brother Chris any day of the week. Here's a look at why:

Not surprisingly, my second pick is also from One Life to Live and happens to be the other half of Kish. Brett Claywell wasn't even on my radar at this time last year, but he's completely won me over with his portrayal of shades of gray Kyle and his onscreen chemistry with Scott.
Moving away from daytime, there was one guy who really came out of nowhere and made me pay a lot of attention this year. In fact, he got me to do something I'd never have believed I'd do: watch almost an entire season of American Idol! It's odd to think that at this time last year I'd never even heard the name Adam Lambert. Today he's one of my favorite singers and definitely a trailblazer as an openly gay musical artist.
My next pick is someone else associated with music and with the Fox network: Glee's Mark Salling. I already thought Matthew Morrison was incredibly sexy before I ever saw the show but the true surprise out of the cast was Mark, who had me drooling over his bad boy character Puck week after week.
Finally, a guy who I was well aware of before this year, but who I came to appreciate in a new way in 2009: Michael Rady. I first saw him towards the end of last year when he began his run on Greek and while I found him to be completely adorkable on that show and really liked him, it wasn't until this fall, when I saw him on the new Melrose Place, that I came to appreciate just how hot he truly is! The last picture isn't from Melrose, sadly, but from Sleeper Cell, where he played a gay character.
There we have it, the men who made 2009. Bring on the men of 2010!

Looking Back

It's getting to be the time of year again when we all start looking back on the last 12 months and become reflective.

AfterElton has published their 2009 Visibility Awards and topping the list as Men of the Year are the four guys who've helped create the Kish storyline: actors Scott Evans, Brett Claywell, and Nicholas Rodriguez and One Life to Live Headwriter Ron Carlivati.

I'm sure that you won't be at all surprised to read that I am in full agreement with their selection!

I also applaud their choice of The United States of Tara as Best Drama, Glee as Best Musical, Prayers for Bobby as TV Event of the Year and Adam Lambert as Musician of the Year.

I have to confess that I love reading all the Best Of lists for the year that is coming to an end and that I also love making my own. Look for those throughout the next week.

Homophobic Much, ABC?

ABC is continuing its ridiculous blacklisting of Adam Lambert following his performance on the AMAs. After canceling his performance on Good Morning America last week, they've now removed him from their New Year's Rockin' Eve lineup and from an upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The double standard behind all this is increasingly evident, especially since AfterElton has uncovered a picture of Pink doing the EXACT same thing (shoving a male dancer's face in her crotch) at the Billboard Music Awards in 2004, which aired on Fox.

There was no backlash then, no outrage, no removing of Pink from scheduled performances. Yet five years later, a gay man does the same thing and the way ABC reacts you'd think Adam had actually received oral sex onstage.

ABC, your homophobia is showing.

Let's Talk

I don't usually watch talk shows. When I was younger, I'd tune in for at least part of The Rosie O'Donnell Show nearly every day after school, but other than that I've never been a big fan of the genre. I usually will watch a show only if there's a guest on that I specifically want to see. These days, that means recording it on the Tivo and fast forwarding through everything but the interview in question.

Over the last two days there have been three interviews I really liked, so I thought I'd mention them.

The first was Adam Lambert's appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday. If there was a talk show I'd watch with any regularity, it would definitely be Ellen's. Not only do I think she's just an amazing person, period, but she's just so funny and yet still someone that seems like she could put anyone at ease instantly.

I had no intention of watching American Idol again this season, since I know there could never be another Adam Lambert and I think anything else will pale in comparison, but with her replacing Paula Abdul as the fourth judge, I might check it out.

Anyway, Adam and Ellen talked about the controversy over the AMAs and Adam again said he felt like there was nothing to apologize for but that he hadn't wanted to offend anyone. Ellen pointed out that if someone was going to be offended by a display of sexuality, they should be offended by all such displays. In other words, if you're not going to be offended by a man and a woman doing something risque, or two women, then you can't cry foul just because it's two men.

Adam: "I think, too, that... people aren't used to seeing gay men portrayed that way on TV. I mean, the gay male image in the media tends to be very cliche and safe. And I think I got up there and had a little bit more energy..."

This is a very good point. I'm so sick of hearing homophobes say that they're fine with gays as long as they don't 'have to see it'. They apparently don't realize how bombarded we all are by heterosexuality everywhere we look. It's time they got over it and realized that them not wanting to see it is their issue, not ours, and we're not sacrificing our equality because they have issues.

After their chat, Adam performed Whataya Want From Me, the song that I am currently obsessed with and listening to several times a day. There are some other songs on his CD that I really love, but that particular one is definitely the best.

The next talk show appearance was by the person whose song was my obsession for the last few weeks, Chris Colfer. I don't even know how many times I've listened to his version of Defying Gravity from Glee since I bought it. Of course, I listen to all of the songs from Glee quite a bit, but something about Colfer's version of that song just gets to me.

Anyway, he was on The Tonight Show last night and I was very surprised by how relaxed and funny he was. I say this because I saw him a few weeks back on The Bonnie Hunt Show and he just seemed so nervous then! Last night, he seemed completely at ease and he was incredibly funny, cracking Conan up with his impression of the kid from The Omen and just generally being quick witted.

Colfer has really blown me away with his portrayal of Kurt. The scenes between Kurt and his father in the episodes 'Preggers' and 'Wheels' were amazing, and Chris impressed me even more with the scenes between Kurt and Finn in 'Ballad' where they bond over the fact that they've both lost a parent. Even beyond those episodes in which he played a big role in the week's story, there are several small scenes in other episodes that seem to stand out more than they would in the hands of a less capable actor.

It's funny, I expected to love Glee for the humor and the music, and I expected to drool over Matthew Morrison (and Mark Salling, aka Puck, was an added bonus in that department!), and I certainly do. I didn't expect, though, that there'd be this completely unknown actor who'd impress me this much and make the character of Kurt truly mean something to me.

Finally, rounding out the trifecta of talk, I recorded this morning's The View to see Kristin Chenoweth. There are certain personalities on that show that really get under my skin, so I have to really like someone to watch them when they visit that particular talk show!

Kirstin was there to promote her new Lifetime Christmas movie, Twelve Men of Christmas, which looks pretty cute and has a bunch of hot, shirtless guys in it! That, plus Cheno, what more could you ask for? Well, maybe a song or two, but even without that, I'll be tuning in.

They talked about her Emmy win for Pushing Daisies and how she asked for work during her acceptance speech. I still can't believe that no one has given this woman the lead in her own show now that she's free!

She briefly mentioned her upcoming return to Broadway in Promises, Promises, but they changed the subject before she could really say anything more about it. That was annoying, especially since they gave far more attention to the fact that she'll be a guest judge on American Idol this season.

The best news is that she'll also be returning to Glee as April Rhodes, which should be pretty fantastic.

Lambert Rocks The Early Show

Adam Lambert was on The Early Show on CBS today. He was scheduled to appear on Good Morning America, but after his AMA performance last Sunday, that show rather idiotically decided to cancel his concert.

I guess Good Morning America doesn't really care much for ratings. They had the perfect chance to have Adam discuss the controversy on camera for the first time, and instead they caved into pressure from the morality police.

Luckily, CBS jumped at the chance to have the most talked about person of the week, not to mention an artist whose debut CD is selling very well, on their show instead.

Adam gave a great interview in which he discussed the fact that the song he was performing is a sexual song to begin with, but admitted getting carried away in the moment. He pointed out that he's not a babysitter, though, and parents should be monitoring what their children watch if they're concerned.

He also mentioned the several potentially 'offensive' moments in earlier performances that night, from Lady Gaga's performance to Janet Jackson fondling a male dancer, and of course Eminem rapping about having a certain number of rapes under his belt, and noted that none of those moments have received the slightest bit of the outraged attention that he got.

They discussed the double standard that Adam mentioned immediately after the AMAs and Adam said that the fact that he's gay and male was the main reason behind the outcry. The interviewer tried to downplay the sexuality angle, noting that most people seemed upset by where he'd done this, rather than the fact that he'd done it at all, but ironically enough the double standard she seemed to want to deny was very much present in The Early Show's own coverage.

They blurred out the 'simulated oral sex' and the kiss between Adam and the other man, but then showed a clip of Madonna kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera from 2003, with no blurring whatsoever! That's exactly what Adam was talking about!

At any rate, Adam gave a great interview in which he remained unapologetic (as well he should, in my view, since he had nothing to apologize for) but did say that in the future, he'll try and stick to how he did things in rehearsal rather than improvising in the moment.

Then, he performed two songs that happen to be my two favorites on his new CD, Whataya Want From Me and Music Again. They're both really great songs, the two that stood out for me the most as I listened to his album for the first time. Adam sounds really great on each song and I thought his performances this morning on the The Early Show served to remind everyone that while Adam can deliver with a great over the top performance like he did last Sunday, he's even better when it's just him singing with that hauntingly beautiful voice of his, without any frills or theatrics.

I hope the idiots at Good Morning America have been kicking themselves all day long.

For My Entertainment

I just finished watching Adam Lambert's performance at the American Music Awards. Six months had passed since the last time I saw an Adam Lambert performance and as much as I remember loving every single one of his songs on American Idol, I'd somehow forgotten just how exciting he is when he's performing.

I have to confess that I haven't yet watched the rest of the show. I recorded it mostly just for Adam and he's all I've watched so far. I'll probably check the rest out tomorrow. Going by in fast forward mode, it looked like there were some interesting performances.

Adam certainly didn't disappoint! I hadn't realized that he was going to be the grand finale of the evening, but he definitely ended things on a high note. I really like his first single, the title track from For Your Entertainment, and the performance was deliciously Adam: sexy, theatrical, and with an S&M edge to it. All of it, of course, revolving around that amazing voice of his.

No doubt Aaron Hicklin will disapprove of the fact that Adam danced with and fondled female dancers during the performance, but he also lead a couple of half naked men around on leashes, danced with male dancers, and gave a full on, open mouthed kiss to a keyboard player who I think was male, though it was a bit hard to tell.

In other words, there was nothing safe or low key about it. Adam doesn't have to tone it down or worry about a voting audience any more. He is most definitely here for our entertainment, and I hope he continues to push the envelope and deliver performances like this for a long time to come.

His first CD comes out tomorrow, by the way. I can't wait!

UPDATE:

I live on the West Coast and the moment in the performance where Adam shoved a male dancer's face in his crotch, simulating oral sex, was edited out. We got a shot of the drums at that moment instead!

So, I had no idea until today, the day after, about that moment. It seems to be garnering a lot of attention, along with the (confirmed) male/male kiss. Just reading the gay blogs and the comments on them this morning, things seem to be about half and half, with one side loving Adam for pushing the envelope and the other finding it everything from 'tacky' to 'a setback' for the image of gays.

I find that completely ridiculous, by the way. First of all, the kiss Adam gave his male keyboardist is a stunt along the same lines as the Madonna/Britney kiss a few years ago, and Adam himself noted that there is a double standard when it comes to what two women are allowed to do as opposed to two men:

"I do feel like there's a bit of a double standard in the entertainment community, on television, on radio. I feel like women performers have been pushing the envelope, especially, for the past 20 years. And all of the sudden a male does it and everybody goes 'Oh, we can't show that on TV.' For me, that's a form of discrimination and a double standard. And that's too bad."

Adam is helping to break down that double standard, you have to admit that at least! I also think the fact that Adam is openly gay lends to the homophobia behind the reactions. When two straight female pop stars do something like this, it's titillating. If a straight male pop star had done it, there would still be a backlash, but I doubt it would be as extreme. Homophobes know Adam likes to kiss boys in real life, so they feel especially insulted that he did so on TV.

As for the 'simulated oral sex', I think it fit the tone of the performance. I think we Americans in general are far too prudish about such things. It's not like it aired during the dinner hour, either, it was nearly 11 p.m.

Adam certainly knows how to get people's attention. Even during American Idol he seemed to be someone that people either loved or hated, and that will obviously be the way it is throughout his career.

Can't Adam Just be Adam?

I really hadn't paid much attention to the controversy surrounding Adam Lambert's recent cover story in Details Magazine, at least not until today. I certainly saw the pictures, which included Adam touching tongues with and caressing the naked breast of a female model, and which were the cause of a mild uproar in the gay community, where some felt like he was trying to head back into the closet.

They were attractive, artistic photos and Adam is an openly gay man. I didn't and don't see what the fuss was all about. Get back to me when Adam starts actually dating women instead of just doing photoshoots with them, and I'll be outraged then.

Adam doesn't seem to have the best of luck with magazine cover stories in general. He's included on the cover of the new issue of Out Magazine, for the annual Out 100 issue, and the Editor in Chief of the magazine, Aaron Hicklin, used the opportunity to write an open letter to Adam, chastising him for the way 'his people' are handling him.

"We’re curious whether you know that we made cover offers for you before American Idol was even halfway through its run. Apparently, Out was too gay, even for you. There was the issue of what it would do to your record sales, we were told. Imagine! A gay musician on the cover of a gay magazine. What might the parents think! It’s only because this cover is a group shot that includes a straight woman that your team would allow you to be photographed at all -- albeit with the caveat that we must avoid making you look “too gay.” (Is that a medical term? Just curious)."

I can easily believe that Adam's management team may want to minimize the whole 'gay thing'. There has never been a star of Adam's magnitude who was openly gay at the beginning of his career, so it's completely new territory. The people handling him are no doubt used to keeping their gay stars deeply closeted.

Adam himself, however, doesn't seem to be avoiding anything. If he'd wanted to downplay his sexuality, he could easily have used the old 'I don't discuss my private life' card and never officially come out. He chose to be honest about who he was, though, and that is a pretty amazing thing.

Hicklin's letter goes on to say:

"You’re a pioneer, an out gay pop idol at the start of his career. Someone has to be first, and we’re all counting on you not to mess this up. You have to find your own path and then others can follow. We just hope it’s a path that’s honest and true and that you choose to surround yourself with people who celebrate your individuality."

Adam certainly is a pioneer, but he doesn't owe the world, or the gay community, anything but the music he chooses to make. It really bothers me to have someone like Hicklin tell Adam that 'we're all counting on you not to mess this up', as if the Editor in Chief of Out Magazine speaks for the gay community as a whole. It's also interesting to see him write about celebrating Adam's individuality while chiding him for appearing on the cover of Details with a naked woman. Isn't that part of Adam's individuality, too?

We all bemoan the fact that more gay celebrities don't come out of the closet, but it would seem that they're not only up against a system designed to reward them for being- or seeming to be- straight, but also a gay community waiting to put pressure on them to conform to some crusading gay ideal the minute they do come out. Adam has already paved the path for others to follow him, simply by coming out. Whatever he does next is about being Adam Lambert, not about being gay and out.

The most amazing thing about the gay community is its diversity, since LGBT people come from all walks of life. There's no right or wrong way to live your life- or run your career- as an openly gay person. Yes, we should all be supportive of each other and of our community. I'm sorry that Adam (or, more likely, his people) didn't agree to do a solo cover story for Out, but he's clearly not avoiding the gay press since he did give the magazine an interview and posed for the cover in the group shot. Let's also not forget that he's at a stage in his career when he needs to reach as large an audience as possible, gay and straight, or there will be no career for Out Magazine or anyone to follow.

I guess what bothered me the most about the letter was the sniping about the Details cover, as if a gay man is letting down the community by posing in such a way with a woman. If Hicklin had left that out, I would have been more sympathetic to his overall point, which is that openly gay celebrities seem to have less to do with the gay press than straight celebrities looking for an edge do. That's certainly not the way it should be.

Oh, on a final note, Joe Vogel has a very funny take on this whole matter at The Huffington Post that's worth checking out.

A Bit of Music

I've been suffering from Glee withdrawal and have taken to my sickbed these past few days. Well, at least that's what I'm choosing to blame being sick on!

Luckily, the first volume of the soundtrack was released this past week and it included a few songs that haven't been performed on the show yet, so that helped bridge the gap a bit. For the record, I love Kevin McHale's Dancing With Myself and especially Chris Colfer & Lea Michele's take on Defying Gravity. I can't wait to see them on the show! The latter song is clearly going to be related to a big moment for Kurt.

Speaking of music, AfterElton has a look at Adam Lambert's first music video. It's not for the first single from his upcoming album, but rather for Time for Miracles, a song he did on the soundtrack of the new movie 2012. Honestly, this particular song doesn't impress me all that much, but having loved every one of Adam's performances on American Idol, I'm very excited for his album (which is called For Your Entertainment) to be released in two weeks. I think his own album will be more... well, Adamesque than this particular song is.

He looks and sounds great in the video, though, even if it is more about promoting the movie than anything else.

On His Way to the Top

You may remember that a few months back, I had a little crush on this guy who was on a some sort of a singing competition TV show. I'd never watched the show before, but after catching this guy's audition completely by chance I was an instant fan, and it only got better with each passing week.

I'm talking, of course, about Adam Lambert, the runner up on this year's season of American Idol. I haven't mentioned Adam here on the blog since he 'came out' (or, more accurately, confirmed that he was never in) via a cover story in Rolling Stone magazine right after the end of the show, but I've spent the months since anticipating the release of his first album.

Apparently, I'm not the only one. Even though it won't be released until November 24, the advanced purchases have already placed it at number two on Amazon.com sales charts. This happened without any kind of press release or pre-sale push from his record company, either!

Pretty amazing stuff, but then Adam is incredibly talented, as he proved week after week on live TV, and it earned him a lot of fans. I can't wait to hear what he's done for the album and I'm hoping I'll get the chance to see him in concert at some point in the near future, since I avoided the Idol tour.
The above is a recent picture of Adam and his boyfriend, Drake Labry, after attending a Pink concert. Just imagine how amazing is it going to be when Adam is topping the charts as an openly gay artist!

"I'm proud of my sexuality."

"I'm proud of my sexuality. I embrace it. It's just another part of me."

That's part of what Adam Lambert has to say in the next issue of Rolling Stone, where he confirms the fact that he is gay. He also adds:

"I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear I'm gay. I've been living in Los Angeles for eight years as a gay man."

The issue hasn't hit the stands yet, but Adam has been quoted from it in several other places and I pretty much find myself thinking he's even more awesome than I already did! He's completely upfront and holds nothing back.

What he says about his finding his sense of self worth really moved me, especially because it fits in so perfectly with the Adam who seemed so fearless while performing and so humble as soon as the song was done :

“I finally checked into my self-worth for the first time in my life, and the fact that it coincided with Idol is so sweet. I mean, I still have moments where I think, ‘Oh, my skin is terrible, and I’m a little fat — I should really go to the gym more.’ But for the most part, when I look in the mirror now, I finally see somebody who can do something cool"

I also enjoyed what he said about rooming with Kris Allen during the show:

"Oh, s--t, they put me with the cute guy. Distracting! He's the one guy I found attractive in the whole group on the show: nice, nonchalant, pretty and totally my type — except that he has a wife. I mean he's open-minded and liberal, but he's definitely 100% straight."

All during Idol, I thought that Adam had an incredibly cool family, and what he says about how his parents dealt with him being gay confirms it:

Speaking openly about this subject matter hasn't always come easy for Lambert. He says that during school, he was "so scared" of his sexuality. He never even confirmed the news to his parents, who found out in shocking fashion.

Adam's father Eber caught his 13-year-old son looking at gay pornography on the family computer, and turned to his wife and said 'It's official.'

Later, Lambert's mother asked if he had a girlfriend. He said no. She asked if he had a boyfriend. He said no. Then she asked if he wanted a boyfriend, to which Lambert replied "Yes, that would be nice."

"Suddenly, it was like a wall dropped, and we started gabbing like crazy," Lambert says.

The issue will be out this Friday. I can't wait to read the full article, but that hot cover alone would make me buy it! (The image above is from Just Jared)

Come Out From Where?

It has been a few weeks since American Idol's finale and in that time period, many reporters have danced around the subject of Adam Lambert's sexuality without actually directly asking him if he's gay. Adam remains playfully coy when the subject comes up, but has also made cracks about the elephant in the room being pink and has joked that he 'likes the top' when asked about bunk beds on the idol tour bus.

The latter comment immediately had Adam and Idol winner Kris Allen dissolving in laughter as Adam added "That was inappropriate", making it clear that this was indeed a joke about being a top, sexually speaking.

So, it's not like Adam is pretending for a second that he's straight, but even so some bloggers have been upset with Lambert for not coming out immediately after American Idol wrapped up. I wonder, though, if someone who was never in the closet to begin with really needs to actually say "Yes, I'm gay."

It's true that during the show, I wanted him to be more out than he seemed able to be. For instance, I would have loved to see his boyfriend identified as such in the audience instead of just as a friend. I was looking forward to the show ending so that he could say the words, but in the weeks since, I've realized that the words are unneccesary when someone has never tried to hide to begin with.

Don't get me wrong, we do need more people in public life to officially come out, whether it's in the entertainment industry or in politics. People who have been hiding their sexual orientation from the public, that is. Adam never did that. Before the show began, he could easily have deleted the pictures of him and his ex boyfriend Brad kissing from his social networking accounts, but he didn't. When they surfaced, he never attempted for a second to deny his sexuality, he just said that he was who he was.

Why, then, do we need to hear the words? As long as Adam keeps living his life openly, why are so many people obsessed with verbal confirmation?

Last night, Adam went to a club in West Hollywood with Drake LaBry, a man who was frequently seen in the audience with Adam's family during his Idol performances and whom some bloggers have recently identified as his boyfriend. The two men openly held hands as they departed the club, looking very much a couple.
Clearly, Adam is living his life as an openly gay man. There isn't a closet in sight, so why all the fuss about getting him to say what has always been clear? If he were going out on the town with women and trying to pretend to be straight, I'd be the first to be outraged.

I'd also be upset if he was saying nothing one way or another while keeping his relationships under wrap. That's called the glass closet and is almost as bad as actually pretending to be straight at a time when we need all the out and proud people we can get in public life.

Adam is not in the closet, glass or otherwise, though. He's making jokes and openly dating another man right in public view, all with a sexy smile on his face. I don't need him to say the words, and no one else should either.

It's refreshing, really. Adam is one of the first major American celebrities to be so out and open right from the beginning of his career. Why treat him the same way that those trying to live in glass closets have been treated? If other celebrities or politicians would just follow Adam's example and live their lives openly, no one would ever need to come out officially. They'd just be out and it would be taken in stride. Hopefully, in that sense, Adam is a harbinger of a new sort of gay celebrity.

At any rate, the rumor is that Adam will finally put all the media speculation to rest in an upcoming Rolling Stone cover story. I think that's great, but I don't think it should be treated as a Coming Out story, like that of Lance Bass or Clay Aiken, for example, since Adam was never in the closet to begin with. The media and a few obsessive bloggers seemed to need this more than anyone else did.

Personally, I'm just looking forward to Adam's first album (and hopefully to the tour that will come along with it!) and to seeing him continue to be the incredibly talented, honest, and open guy he's been since day one.

Idol Finale

Well, as you've no doubt heard by now, Adam Lambert came in second tonight on American Idol. I'm a little disappointed that the chance to have an openly gay Idol winner slipped through our fingers (and the fact that some bigots, such as Bill O'Reilly, were stirring up homophobia in an effort to make sure Adam didn't win makes it worse), but I have to say that I honestly wasn't that upset at all to see Kris win. I'll probably even buy his CD.

If it had been Danny Gokey standing there with confetti falling all over him, I wouldn't have been able to stand it. But Kris is such a nice guy and a really good singer, and I honestly felt like just having him and Adam both make it to the finale was the real victory. In fact, Kris & Adam's duet tonight, Queen's We Are The Champions, really sort of summed it all up perfectly.

My first thought when Kris was announced as the winner was actually a positive one: Adam doesn't have to be tied to an Idol contract or that God awful single Kara wrote; he can truly be himself and make his own music. I can't wait to see what he does! I will be buying his album the day it comes out and will be at the first Adam Lambert concert that is within three states of me.

The finale itself was really excellent. Until the other day, when I saw some of the names of the musicians expected to appear on the show, I had no idea that the finale was such an all out event. I really enjoyed it a lot.

Seeing Adam perform with KISS was wild and so much fun. Kris's duet with Keith Urban was really enjoyable, and I completely loved Allison Iraheta's duet with Cyndi Lauper on Time after Time! I adore Cyndi and Alison was my second favorite singer of the season, so I was pretty much in heaven.

Having the whole Top 13 back was interesting and even though the group sings were never my favorite part of this season, I still liked seeing them all doing Pink's So What. I also really enjoyed all the guys doing If You Think I'm Sexy, though I wish they'd had more close ups during the number! Adam's face is always so expressive and I would have loved to see it during that song. I'm sure he had his sexiest snarl on.

I'm a total loser for even admitting this next part, but the final Ford commercial, which was an homage to the other 11 members of the Top 13 and all the commercials they'd done, set to Adam & Kris singing I Will Remember You, actually made me feel kind of emotional!

I think I had more fun watching the finale than I did during most of the rest of the season, not counting Adam's performances. It almost made me want to tune in next year all over again, though I don't think I could sit through an Idol episode without Adam.

What a strange ride this has been! After seven seasons of resolutely ignoring this show, I watched every episode from Hollywood Week on, and all because I happened to turn on the television during Adam's audition! Had I been a few minutes earlier or later, I could probably have gone to my grave one day still proudly proclaiming that I'd never seen an episode of the show.

And yet, having experienced it, I have to say I found it kind of endearing in its own way. I'm certainly grateful to the show for having given Adam Lambert the platform upon which he became a star. I've become a lifelong fan of his and I know countless others have as well.

As I watched Kris embracing his wife in the final moments of the season, I thought about how nice it would have been if it were Adam embracing a boyfriend on live television. Still, I think he's blown the door wide open for future LGBT contestants on Idol and perhaps changed even more than just this one show.

This was just the warm up. The best of Adam is yet to come.

Glee/Idol

I just finished watching the sneak preview of next season's best new show: Fox's Glee. Seeing all the promos during American Idol these past weeks had made me wild with anticipation, so much so that I wondered if the actual show itself would fail to live up to the hype.

As it turned out, the show was everything I'd hoped for and more. I loved it so much. Matthew Morrison was already someone I liked from his brief stint on As the World Turns, but now I kind of love him! He brought so much to the role of Will Schuester, the Spanish teacher taking over the worst Glee Club in America, and I'm not just talking about his yummy hairy chest! Though, to be honest, after waiting in vain to see a little skin during his daytime stint, it was nice to see it up front this time!

The rest of the cast is equally talented, especially the always incredible Jane Lynch as the diabolical cheerleading coach, and includes gay characters (albeit rather stereotypical ones thus far). The musical numbers were awesome, and it's no surprise to see that this is all the creation of Ryan Murphy, who once created another show set in high school, a short lived gem of a show called Popular. Oh, and some other show called Nip/Tuck.

We're in for quite a ride with this show, and I'm going to love every minute of it. I just wish I didn't have to wait until the fall season to see the next episode! It may help that I've already downloaded the cast version of Don't Stop Believin' from iTunes and will no doubt listen to it a million times before the next episode airs.

I actually enjoyed Glee much more then I did American Idol's last performance night of the season. Idol just seemed kind of anti-climatic tonight. First of all, they had Adam & Kris each choose a song they'd done earlier in the season to perform and even though they both chose my personal favorites from all their songs (Adam's Mad World and Kris's Ain't No Sunshine), it felt pretty repetitive. Adam did change up his performance, entering in a long coat and with billowing fog all over the stage, and I enjoyed that. Both guys sounded great, I guess just wanted something new song wise.

The next songs were chosen for them by the creator of the show: Adam did A Change is Gonna Come, which was the best performance of the night, and Kris did What's Going On. Two solid performances and I especially liked Adam's voice on his song and the emotional way he performed it. It felt very much like he could be singing about a time when a gay man could win the most watched television competition in America, in fact. Or about the many Civil Rights issues facing LGBT people at the moment, from same sex marriage to being allowed to serve openly in the military.

That middle portion of the show was definitely the highlight of the night. The last two performances were of the same song, something that Kara co-wrote, and I felt really sorry for both guys having to end their run on this show with that song. They did their best, but it just wasn't a good song. Simon rightly made fun of it, in fact, though not nearly as much as I would have liked him to! The rest of the judges ended up imploring the audience to vote on the whole season and not just that last performance, which really said all that needed to be said about the song.

It sounds like there will be a lot of interesting performances on the finale tomorrow night and I'm really looking forward to that. I'd like the show to end on a high note, and tonight definitely wasn't it.

If this truly is just a singing competition, there is no question who should win and there hasn't been since the start of the semi-finals. Adam Lambert has been consistently the best singer and performer on this show. Kris is cute, likable and talented, and may well win tomorrow night, but Adam will be the bigger star no matter what happens.

The Results Are In- And I Love Them!

There's nothing quite as silly as a grown man jumping up and down in his living room, shouting with joy over a television show. Yet, that's the scene that would have been on view to anyone peeking in my window a little awhile ago as I watched this week's American Idol results show.

The finale that I've spent the last week hoping fervently for is actually going to become a reality! Tonight, Danny Gokey was sent packing while Adam Lambert & Kris Allen became the Top 2. They definitely deserved the top spots based on last night's performances. Adam did a beautiful version U2's One (a judge's pick by Simon) and closed on a rock note, with Aerosmith's Cryin'. Kris did a decent version of One Republic's Apologize (a pick by Randy & Kara) and then absolutely killed with his version of Kanye West's Heartless.

Honestly, if Kris Allen is the winner next week, I'd be okay with that. As I've said before, I don't think Adam needs to win. He'll clearly have a career no matter what happens next week. Kris, whom I originally noted as having a decent voice and providing eye candy, has increasingly impressed me as the weeks have gone by. I clearly undervalued his talent at the start. What's more, he's also universally acknowledged as a nice guy and obviously has no issues about being close friends with a gay man, as evidenced by his & Adam's friendship. There's nothing not to love about this guy.

I'm still rooting, and voting, for Adam of course! We're so incredibly close to having the first openly gay American Idol winner, and Adam truly does deserve to win the show based on talent alone. If, however, he comes in second to Kris, I won't be devastated. It would have irritated me to no end to see him come in second to Danny Gokey, however, and I'm glad that's no longer even a possibility.

It's funny, I only started watching this show because of catching Adam's audition by chance. I told myself that I'd only watch for as long as he was on, not thinking for a moment that it would mean months of faithful viewing, and now he's made it all the way to the finale! What I'll do with myself in the post-Idol void remains a mystery to me. I've become quite accustomed to my weekly Lambert fix.

AfterElton's Hot 100

AfterElton's Hot 100 has finally been revealed! I've been anticipating this ever since I submitted my own choices for this year's list and now that I've seen the full list, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. A lot of my favorite guys made the list this year, far too many to mention all of them here, in fact. But I will call out a few that I was particularly happy about.

First of all, of course, is Adam Lambert. I think out of everyone I voted for, I was most interested to see if/where he'd place on the list. As it turned out, he did very well, coming in at number 16! An excellent showing for a guy who not very many people had even heard of just a few months ago. Cutie Kris Allen was the only other American Idol contestant to make the list, at number 98.

Another guy I was interested in was Van Hansis. Last year, he was number 7 on the list, but this year he fell to number 20! I blame the As the World Turns writers for this, mostly because I think they're responsible for all the world's ills. Still, no other American soap star made it any higher on the list. In fact, the only other American soap star on the list at all was Van's costar Jake Silbermann, who came in at number 22.

The German soaps stars, hottie Thore Scholermann and his adorable costar Jo Weil from Verboten Liebe, did better than their American counterparts, coming in at numbers 19 and 17 respectively.

Back in December, I made a list of my own, highlighting my picks for Top Five Out Hotties. I must have good taste, because all five made the AfterElton list: My pick for number five, Randy Harrison, came in at 33; My number four, Chad Allen, came in at 25; Luke MacFarlane, my number 3, came in at... number 3! Cheyenne Jackson, my number 2, was at 7; and my number one pick, Neil Patrick Harris, knocked Jake Gyllenhaal out of his two year reign at the top and came in at number one in this year's AfterElton Hot 100!

Check out the whole list, if for no other reason than to see 100 hot pictures of some very good looking men!

Obviously there are a lot of hot guys who were left off this year, but the most glaring absence for me is Ed Westwick from Gossip Girl. I truly think he's one of the hottest guys out there, especially with his British accent. His costar and roommate Chace Crawford made the list, but there apparently just wasn't enough love for Ed, even though he practically snogged a guy court side at a basketball game this year. What more does the man have to do?! Maybe a sex tape would help.

I'll be back later tonight for a look at today's Nuke scenes on As the World Turns.

Idol Follow Up

Well, last night's American Idol dashed my hopes for an Adam/Allison finale and my dream top three after Allison was sent home and Danny Gokey joined Adam and Kris in moving on to another week.

I think Allison Iraheta will go far in her career, though, because she's got such an amazing voice. Her farewell performance last night was really great, too, and just highlighted how wrong it was for her to be leaving the show in fourth place.

Kris Allen's reaction to being in the Top Three melted my heart completely. I already really liked the guy, but now I kind of love him! He clearly thought he was going home last night and his surprise and joy were so genuine. He truly seems like the real deal, a very nice, humble guy. Simon is all over him to stop being humble, in fact, but Cowell doesn't know what the heck he's talking about in this case! There are enough people out there with Danny Gokey like attitudes, which is why a guy like Kris seems like such a breath of fresh air.

I'm putting all my hopes in an Adam/Kris finale now! If Allison's fans just rally behind Adam and/or Kris, they might be able to edge Danny Gokey out of the competition in spite of his fan base.

As for Adam, I just read that he'll be on the cover of the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly. Take a look:

I love the asterisk. Of course they have to say 'Might Be Gay' because the show hasn't let Adam actually confirm it. All of this makes it even more ridiculous that the show wouldn't just let him say the word gay. Clearly, they're the only ones who care!

Still, it might also make it that much easier for the next group of gay contestants to be out, since the show has to see now how open people actually are to having a gay Idol winner. Maybe next season, someones same sex partner or spouse will be identified as such in the audience after a performance, or in the biographical video packages they show before someone sings.

It took someone as fearless and confident as Adam to be on the show without even pretending to step towards the closet, and that has broken down a lot of barriers, even if a few, like the show allowing the actual use of the word gay, remain in place.

Topic Round Up

I had a busy day on Tuesday, so I'm going to do a post that's sort of a jumble to cover what would otherwise have been individual posts.

First off, I saw this anti-hate YouTube collab on Towleroad and am now completely obsessed with Lily Allen's song Fuck You. I've never really listened to Lily Allen before, but I think I'll be buying her CD soon. The collab is great, too, and one of the guys in it is Michael from the 5 Awesome Gays, which is my own personal favorite collab channel on YouTube. All five of the guys on that channel are so hilarious.

All right, Tuesday was a Nuke day on As The World Turns and it provided a few of really sweet scenes for the guys as a couple.

The guys started out relaxing on Holden & Lily's patio, with Luke telling Noah that the shoe was now on the other foot and that he'd be taking care of him. The dialogue was playful and slightly suggestive and the guys are always adorable when they're being a bit naughty (or as naughty as you can be as a gay character on daytime TV!). The conversation turned to them getting their own place soon and how much they're looking forward to that.

Holden, meanwhile, wanted to take the two of them to a Cubs game in Chicago if Noah felt up to it, and there was some painfully awkward dialogue about how Holden is friends with the ticket agent and can get tickets to any Chicago based sporting event.

As it turned out, the Cubs were playing the Mets in New York, but Holden suggested they just borrow Lucinda's private jet and go to the game in New York. The guys loved the idea and off they went.

Lily ran into Damian at the Foundation office and he mentioned that he had a meeting with a friend in New York who runs a well know and respected philanthropic foundation that might be interested in partnering with Luke's foundation. Lily agreed to go along for the meeting.

All of which, of course, just set it up so Holden could run into Damian & Lily in New York together, in a ridiculous scene where Holden & Lily were talking on the phone with each other while sitting back to back in a restaurant in a typically clueless manner.

After the game (which must have been pretty short, since they were able to fly to NYC on a whim, see the game, and still have it be the middle of the day when it was all over) Luke & Noah went off on their own to explore the city a bit and Noah was very enthusiastic about how much he loved the place and could see himself living there. In fact, he suggested that he & Luke get a place there together and finish school in New York.

Luke couldn't see himself living so far away from his family (though, clearly, it's only ten minutes away by Lucinda's magic jet), but said maybe they could do it in ten years or so. Noah was rather giddy at the fact that Luke sees them as still being together in ten years and they laughed about their role reversal, how Noah is now Mr. Spontaneous and Luke is Captain Cautious.

They went to join Holden for lunch and Luke was up in arms when he saw Damian & Lily there as well, but once they'd explained the exciting new partnership they'd arranged for the foundation he was all smiles and Noah basically said "You've got the best two dads in the world, Luke!"

Holden invited Damian to come back on Lucinda's jet with the rest of them, but he said he wouldn't intrude on them any further. After they left, he place a shady phone call to someone saying that his part in their business must not come to light.

Maybe he's working with Jean Passanante and Chris Goutman, plotting to bring an end to Luke & Noah once and for all by killing As the World Turns?

Meanwhile, Rafe was present on The Young and The Restless on Tuesday for the first time since coming out, but he only had a few scenes in his capacity as Adam's lawyer. A slow build is one thing, but we're barely seeing the guy! I hope that changes soon.

Okay, on to American Idol. This was Rock Week, a week seemingly made for Adam Lambert, and he did not disappoint! I've loved him every week, as you know, but he was really in his element this time doing Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. The guy is a rock star, there is just no question about it!

On Tuesday, the four remaining contestants each did their usual solo songs and then they were paired up for duets, which I thought was a good chance to see something a bit different.

Adam & Allison closed the show with their duet of Foghat's Slow Ride, which I completely loved! My hope all along has been for an Adam/Allison finale (with Kris coming in third) and this song just exemplified why I want that. They're the best two singers on the show and they sound incredible together.

I also just love the vibe they have going on with each other. Adam said after the end of the song that Allison was like his little sister, and that totally comes across. I also loved when Simon said that Adam may have just made it possible for Allison to move on to the Top Three and Adam mouthed "I hope so!"

I only wish Adam could also have done a duet with Kris, who was stuck with the egotistical black hole that is Danny Gokey. I'm sorry, I've tried not to be negative about any of the contestants, but Gokey drives me crazy with his smug smirk each week and his clear belief that he's God's gift to music.

The thing is, Gokey does have a great voice. He just isn't a performer, he's boring and basically does karaoke with a lot of pointing. Yet, the judges seem to love him most of the time. I honestly don't get why, when they're telling Allison again and again that she doesn't have enough personality, they're letting him slide. Maybe they're confusing self importance with personality?

Kris was paired up with Danny for the most awkward duet I've ever seen. In spite of Kris's efforts to sing with Danny, it was clear that Danny doesn't really share well. As a result, it came across as two guys who happened to be singing next to each other, more than anything else. Poor Kris looked seriously miserable by the end.

It wasn't as bad as Danny's solo, though. As I said, the guy has a good voice, but his painful performance of Aerosmith's Dream On, complete with a god awful scream at the end that Simon rightly said was like someone in a horror film, was the worst thing I've seen on this show since I started watching.

Many feel, though, that the show has been pushing for a Danny/Adam finale since the beginning, and instead of Simon telling Danny that he could be in trouble (as he's told other contestants who've done badly), Simon told him he'd probably move on to another week. That may be less Simon trying to sway things, though, than just his simple recognition that Danny seems to have a strong fan base who are going to put him through no matter what.

I voted like crazy for Adam after last week's inexplicable Bottom Two showing and the line was busy quite a bit, so that's probably a good sign. My hope is that Allison and Kris will both move on with him into the top three.