Lambert's Loss

I caught the very end of the American Music Awards last night, and was completely repulsed by Adam Lambert’s performance. I woke up this morning to a mess of people claiming that his performance perpetuated gay stereotypes and was a setback for the gay community. Lately, we have been under so much scrutiny; the last thing we needed was to see a crazily flamboyant (and self-proclaimed “bisexual”) lunatic grab his pianist’s face and explore it with his tongue.
I understand where these people are coming from, but I think we should feel more offended for the integrity of the music industry. Time and time again, rising artists with raw talent are ignored— it pains me to think of Adam Lambert getting attention because he does a barrel role on stage with a perfectly manicured faux-hawk.
Where is the talent going in the music industry? I don’t know anything about financing an image, but I would think it would be cheaper to invest in someone with a genuine talent who could carry their own weight. The birth of Auto-Tune brought the death of talent. Until we can start recognizing it, I guess we’ll have to settle for stars like Adam Lambert.