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Apr. 26-May 1: Melissa Etheridge Criticizes ‘Miss California’ Same-Sex Marriage Ban
Posted Sat May 1, 2010 1:34am PDT by Billy Johnson, Jr. in That's Really Week
Melissa Etheridge has been performing her song "Miss California" in live shows, but the record that attacks the state's controversial measure Proposition 8 is now available for purchase as a track on Etheridge's new album, Fearless Love.
Etheridge condemns the measure for only recognizing marriage between a man and a woman. The singer recently ended a 9 year same-sex relationship with Tammy Etheridge.
Etheridge opens her rock-driven, angst-fueled song with the lyric, "Miss California what did I do wrong?" She complains, "You try to shove me in your closet" and argues "I can be who I am." She adds, "Your propositions make me feel so cold."
Etheridge told Rolling Stone that she was shocked by the state's ban on gay marriage. "I thought California was so forward-thinking," she told the magazine. "Proposition 8 was a reality call."
In an interview with website WatermarkOnline, Etheridge said she wanted the song to be confrontational. "I tried to be just short of knocking you over the head with it," she said.
Etheridge wasn't the only musician making political statements this week. Both Shakira and Ricky Martin spoke out against the controversial anti-immigration measure Arizona Senate Bill 1070.
The bill deems it a misdemeanor crime for an undocumented alien to be in Arizona and is believed to encourage racial profiling. Shakira traveled to Phoenix Thursday to convey her concerns with the measure with the city's police chief and mayor.
"I heard about it on the news and I thought, ‘Wow,'" Shakira told The Associated Press. "It is unjust and it's inhuman, and it violates the civil and human rights of the Latino community."
Thursday night, Martin addressed the law during his appearance at the Billboard Latin Music Awards. Martin said, "Put a stop to discrimination. Put a stop to hate. Put a stop to racism."
American Idol favorite Crystal Bowersox may not have any political gripes this week, but she has every right to be upset with an opportunistic dentist, who offered her free dental work, and sent out a press release championing the questionable good deed.
THIS WEEK'S TOP 5 MUSIC STORIES
1) Survivor - Bret Michaels expected to make a full recovery.
2) What's Going On? - Shakira and Ricky Martin challenge Arizona immigration law.
3) S.O.S. - Justin Bieber concert canceled; 8 fans hospitalized.
4) Free Your Mind - M.I.A. releases controversial video.
5) Say Ah - American Idol Crystal Bowersox solicited by dentist.
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