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For Your Entertainment (song)

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"For Your Entertainment" is the debut mainstream single by American recording artist and American Idol season eight runner-up Adam Lambert. It is also the title track to his debut studio album, For Your Entertainment. The song was released commercially on November 3, 2009, and was written by Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke. It was a top 10 hit in Finland, Japan, New Zealand and the US dance club chart.

"For Your Entertainment"
Single by Adam Lambert
from the album For Your Entertainment
ReleasedOctober 27, 2009
RecordedSeptember–October 2009
Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length3:35
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dr. Luke
Adam Lambert singles chronology
"Time for Miracles"
(2009) 		"For Your Entertainment"
(2009) 		"Whataya Want from Me"
(2009)
Music video
"For Your Entertainment" on YouTube

Lambert's performance of the song at the 2009 American Music Awards prompted complaints from the Parents Television Council and ABC canceled Lambert's scheduled performance on Good Morning America. A remixed version of the song was added to the set list of Lambert's first concert tour, the 2010 Glam Nation Tour as the show's opening. The actual song was only performed on the Asian and Australian legs of the tour right after the song "Voodoo".

Background

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On October 28, 2009, Lambert announced via Twitter that his lead single from his debut album would be "For Your Entertainment", a song that was produced by Dr. Luke. The following day, Lambert announced that the single would debut on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on October 30, 2009.

The song became available as a legal download in the United States on November 3, 2009, and on November 15, 2009, in the United Kingdom.

Critical reception

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The song was well received by music critics. The Huffington Post noted that this song is a "full-display" of album that "operates from a disco/glam aesthetic of escapism and liberation via dance, dress-up, and desire" and added that it "fully accomplish what the singer had in mind for the album: songs that make you want to let loose, dance, work out, have fun."[1] Allmusic called this song "cool" and "strutting" and marked it as one of highlights of album.[2] Entertainment Weekly opined that "peacocking title track" "follows duly fulfills its pledge (Entertained? Synth-ertained!)".[3] Detroit News called this song "pulsating" and praised the vocals "[singer is] somehow cramming every musical note into one banshee wail."[4]

Chicago Tribune wrote that song "promises to get rough with you".[5] Boston editor Sarah Rodman noted that this "less-than-compelling wink-wink, Britney-evoking throb-pop" track doesn't have enough time to adjust itself from opening track.[6] Rolling Stone wasn't very positive by calling it "less successful" and comparing it: "similar to Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold" that 19 Entertainment should probably keep a strong legal team on retainer."[7]

Music video

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The music video premiered on Lambert's official website on November 24, 2009. It was directed by Ray Kay. The video was filmed in a one-day shoot, on November 15 at The Alexandria, an old hotel which is now an apartment building in downtown Los Angeles.

The video opens with a nighttime street level shot in a city. As the camera pans down below the ground, Lambert is shown walking into an underground club, filled with scantily clad men and women. As he begins singing, he walks through the crowd and interacts and dances with others. Mixed with dancing are close up shots of Lambert and various dancers. Towards the end of the song, Lambert begins to play with his band and the video shows everyone in the club dancing. As the song ends, the camera pans back up to the street level where life is continuing on, completely oblivious of what is going on below the streets.

Performances

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"For Your Entertainment" made its live debut at the American Music Awards on November 22, 2009, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, which aired on ABC. The performance caused controversy due to Lambert acting too provocative on stage by aggressively grinding on his male dancers and making out with his keyboardist. The Parents Television Council[8] slammed the performance as being sexualized, and urged viewers to complain to the FCC if living in an area where the performance was shown before 10 p.m. local time.[9] However, Lambert's performance reportedly was broadcast around 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time, "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame".[10] The performance drew 1,500 complaints to ABC, many of which probably came from the PTC.[11][12] As a result, ABC announced that Lambert would not be performing on Good Morning America on November 25 as planned.[13][14] CBS subsequently invited Lambert to perform instead on The Early Show on the same date in New York City.[15]

Lambert told Rolling Stone magazine, "Female performers have been doing this for years — pushing the envelope about sexuality — and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009 — it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom."[16]

Lambert then went on a series of promotional interviews and performances to address the controversy, clear up rumors, discuss his rapid rise to fame, and promote the album. He was interviewed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show,[17] The View,[18] and The Oprah Winfrey Show.[19][20] Lambert has performed the song during We Are Glamily Tour and The Original High Tour.

Chart performance

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"For Your Entertainment" debuted at number 84 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of November 28, 2009. That same week, the song also debuted at number 33 on the Canadian Hot 100. In March, the song was also featured as a VIP Track on the UK's 4Music, prior to the album's upcoming release the end of April.[21][22] To date, the song has been the most successful in Canada and New Zealand, where it achieved Platinum and Gold status respectively (see below). The song has sold approximately 333,000 digital downloads.[23]

"For Your Entertainment" entered the UK Singles Chart on May 2, 2010, at number 39. In its second week in the chart, the single remained at number 39; in its third week, it climbed two more places to its peak, number 37.

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Starting December 22 2009, Fox began using "For Your Entertainment" as the official song highlighting their January television show line-up.[24] E! Network in February 2010 aired a commercial promoting their television line-up with a remix of "For Your Entertainment". It was also featured in an advertisement for 4music in the United Kingdom in 2010. In addition, the BBC used it in a montage of the 'best and worst of the crucible 2010'.[25]

Track listing

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Digital download
  1. "For Your Entertainment" – 3:35
Remixes (Part of Remixes album)
  • "For Your Entertainment" (Bimbo Jones Vocal Mix) - 6:29
  • "For Your Entertainment" (Brad Walsh Remix) - 4:56

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[37] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[38] Platinum 10,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[39] Gold 7,500*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format
United States October 27, 2009[40] Digital download
Belgium October 31, 2009[41] Digital download
France[42]
Luxembourg[43]
Canada[44]
Netherlands[45]
Sweden[46] November 2, 2009
United States November 3, 2009 Mainstream airplay
Spain November 3, 2009[47] Digital download
Italy November 6, 2009[48] Digital download
Finland November 9, 2009[49] Digital download
Norway[50]
Portugal[51]
Australia December 4, 2009[52] Digital download
Austria November 13, 2009[53] Digital download
United Kingdom April 23, 2010[54] Digital download
Ireland[55]

References

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  1. ^ Huffington Post album review Retrieved 25 December 2014
  2. ^ Review by Allmusic Retrieved 25 December 2014
  3. ^ Review by Entertainment Weekly Retrieved 25 December 2014
  4. ^ Review by Detroit News Archived 2014-12-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 25 December 2014
  5. ^ Review by Chicago Tribune Retrieved 25 December 2014
  6. ^ Review by boston.com Retrieved 25 December 2014
  7. ^ Review by Rolling Stone Retrieved 25 December 2014
  8. ^ Poniewozik, James (2005-03-20). "The Decency Police". Time. Archived from the original on March 24, 2005. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  9. ^ Eggerton, John (23 November 2009). "PTC Upset Over Adam Lambert AMA Performance". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  10. ^ "Adam Lambert Could Cost ABC Television Up To $500,000". Rockstar Weekly. 23 November 2009. Archived from the original on 27 November 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  11. ^ Bauder, David. "ABC: Lambert's Performance Draws 1,500 Complaints". Associated Press.
  12. ^ Kreps, Daniel (6 January 2010). "Complaints Over Adam Lambert's AMAs Performance Posted Online". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  13. ^ "ABC: Lambert's performance draws 1,500 complaints". Yahoo! Music. Associated Press. 23 November 2009. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  14. ^ "UPDATED: ABC's 'Good Morning America' Cancels Adam Lambert's Performance". Yahoo News. Yahoo.com. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  15. ^ "Adam Lambert To Perform On "Early Show"". CBS News. Cbsnews.com. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  16. ^ Kaufman, Gil (23 November 2009). "Adam Lambert Says AMA Kiss Was 'In The Moment'". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  17. ^ "Adam Lambert News - Updates, Blog, Fan Comments & More | The Official Adam Lambert Site". Adamofficial.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-25. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  18. ^ Cady, Jennifer (December 10, 2009). "ABC Still Afraid of Adam Lambert, Pretapes View Performance". E! Online. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  19. ^ "Adam Lambert Sits Down With Oprah". Billboard.com. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  20. ^ "Adam Lambert's Rise to Fame". Oprah.com. 2010-01-19.
  21. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Adam lambert for your entertainment was on 4music (UK)! | The Official Adam Lambert Site". Adamofficial.com. 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  23. ^ "Idol track sales: Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry". USA Today. 2010-08-18.
  24. ^ "F.Y.E. on F.O.X." AdamOfficial. 2009-12-22. Archived from the original on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  25. ^ "Best and worst of Crucible 2010". BBC News. 2010-05-03.
  26. ^ "Adam Lambert – For Your Entertainment". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  27. ^ "Adam Lambert Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  28. ^ "Adam Lambert: For Your Entertainment" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  29. ^ "Japan Hot 100". Billboard. 3 April 2010. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  30. ^ "Adam Lambert – For Your Entertainment". Top 40 Singles.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  32. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  33. ^ "Adam Lambert Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  34. ^ "Adam Lambert Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  35. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  36. ^ "Japan Hot 100 – Year-End 2010" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  37. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  38. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Adam Lambert – For Your Entertainment". Music Canada.
  39. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". Radioscope. 21 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-08-31.
  40. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | High quality MP3 downloads | 7digital United States". Us.7digital.com. 2009-10-27. Archived from the original on 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  41. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | MP3 downloads van hoge kwaliteit | 7digital België". Nl-be.7digital.com. 2009-10-31. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  42. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | Téléchargements MP3 de Haute Qualité | 7digital France". Fr.7digital.com. 2009-10-31. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  43. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | Téléchargements MP3 de Haute Qualité | 7digital Luxembourg". Lu.7digital.com. 2009-10-31. Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  44. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | High quality MP3 downloads | 7digital Canada". Ca.7digital.com. 2009-10-31. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  45. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | MP3 downloads van hoge kwaliteit | 7digital Nederland". Nl.7digital.com. 2009-10-31. Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  46. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | High quality MP3 downloads | 7digital Sverige". Se.7digital.com. 2009-11-02. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  47. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | Descargas de MP3 alta calidad | 7digital España". Es.7digital.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  48. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | Download di MP3 di alta qualità | 7digital Italia". It.7digital.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  49. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | High quality MP3 downloads | 7digital Suomi". Fi.7digital.com. 2009-11-09. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  50. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | High quality MP3 downloads | 7digital Norge". No.7digital.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  51. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | Downloads de MP3 de Alta Qualidade | 7digital Portugal". Pt.7digital.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  52. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert | High quality MP3 downloads | 7digital Australia". It.7digital.com.au. 2009-12-04. Archived from the original on 2016-01-29. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  53. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2009) | Adam Lambert |". 2009-11-13. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  54. ^ "For Your Entertainment: Adam Lambert: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  55. ^ "For Your Entertainment (2010) | Adam Lambert | High quality MP3 downloads | 7digital Eire". Ie.7digital.com. 2010-04-23. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
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