Adam Lambert Sings With School Kids

All it took was one too-racy-for-ABC performance on the American Music Awards, and suddenly Adam Lambert was being cast as every parent’s worst nightmare. Though some viewed Adam as a “deviant influence” at the time, it appears that parents (and schoolteachers) still welcome him as a role model. The Idol alum visited the Belvedere middle school in Los Angeles to donate supplies to its music program, and stayed to accompany the students in a recorder-led version of his hit “Whataya Want From Me.” It was adorable. Watch it below.

Surprisingly, Adam has more difficulties with the song than the kids! “I don’t know what key I’m starting in!” he exclaims, before finally getting in tune. For those keeping score, this wasn’t the first time in the last week he’s had to wrestle with the beginning of this song. But even when he’s off, he’s still charming.

Adam teamed up with Donorschoose.org, and with the help of his fans, he was able to donate $300,000 to the middle school’s music program. The school was able to afford guitars, strings, batteries for keyboards and other supplies to keep their arts programs running. “We’ve raised an insane amount of money,” Adam told the LA Times. “Music classes, drama classes, art classes … these are the programs I really wanted to focus on because, as a kid, I was fortunate enough to have great funding in my district. That’s not always the case for people, so this is really important and great.”

Adam’s only mistake: perhaps he should have changed the lyric “I didn’t give a damn” since he was singing in front of a bunch of pre-teens. But that’s more tame than simulating oral sex, correct?