Adam Lambert Takes AMAs Performance Too Far

Adam Lambert certainly knows how to get people talking. His AMA performance could have just been his post-'Idol' breakout show, but instead it's become one of those "did he take it too far?" moments of awards show folklore that has everyone taking sides (Watch the Video Here!). So, with all of the buzz and chatter about his pelvis-thrust-heavy show, allow PopEater to break down the key moments of the performance, including the key turning point where things got way too hot for TV.

1. Lambert Being Lambert: Anyone who saw Adam on 'Idol' knows that he's got a knack for theatricality, showmanship and costumes. Sporting a mean-looking coiffed mohawk and shoulder spikes (if there's a fancier fashion term for them, someone please let us know), Lambert was his usual KISS-meets-Queen-meets-Liza Minelli self, but something in his eyeliner just said this was going to be one wild ride.

2. Humans As Dreidels: Walking the stage like a man on a mission, Lambert's performance was all about his interaction with his dancers and fellow musicians. Little did we know, this was going to be a lesson in bondage, crotch grabbing (both his own and his dancers') and sexual aggression. That was made clear when a female dancer was spun and gyrated by her leg, with Lambert towering over her, eventually dragging her by her ankle a few feet to the left. It wasn't the most blatant or violent action, but it was certainly the launching pad for what was to come.

3. From Dancer to Dog: Shortly after the leg incident, Lambert continued stage right to two more of his backup dancers -- these two male -- one of which was sans shirt and with patent leather suspenders. The jarring part of this portion was the fact that the two dancers were at the end of a long leash and were being controlled by Lambert, who held the business end of the leash. He lashed and whipped the crawling-like-a-labrador dancers, mixing theatricality with beastiality -- and likely marking the "I'm quite uncomfortable with this" moment for many who may have been on the fence about Lambert to begin with.

4. Head, Meet Crotch: If everything else prior to now was suggestive and risque, the moment when Lambert, with authority, grabs the head of a (male) dancer and thrust it several times into his crotch was the dividing line between a racy performance and an overtly provocative one. The thing that put the pelvic pulses over the edge of PG was the repetition of them, as Lambert pushed and carressed the dancer's head twice -- perhaps more -- before sending ABC into a tizzy and forcing them to cut the cameras to the crowd. He then made his way up the steps, and gave a female dancer a head-to-crotch thrust, just in case the first round wasn't enough.

5. The Long Kiss Goodnight: As if simulating oral sex, treating a dancer like a dog and everything else Lambert had cooked up wasn't enough to get people both intrigued and angry, he certainly sealed the deal for both factions when, after working his way up the stage risers, he plants a kiss on his keyboardist. No, "plant" and "kiss" aren't the right words. He passionately and forcefully enters into a full-on makeout session with the keyboardist (who seems to be female). It was Lambert's way of saying: I'm here to provoke, push buttons -- and likely irritate a whole lot of people.