Steel Panther Had to Tone Things Down for Their Latest Performance on ‘America’s Got Talent’
If there’s one thing you could say about irreverent glam metal act Steel Panther, it’s that they’re definitely not safe for work. Yet for some reason the folks behind America’s Got Talent decided to bring them on to compete this season. And while they’re able to bring their old school style to a mass audience, I feel like the general public’s missing something.
On last night’s episode, Steel Panther took the stage and performed a… slightly modified version of “Death To All But Metal” from their 2009 debut studio album Feel The Steel. Yes, the song that starts with the line “Fuck the Goo Goo Dolls/They can suck my balls” was played during primetime on NBC. Only thing is the lyrics were obviously tweaked to make it past the network’s censors.
Take these changes for example:
Original Lyric America’s Got Talent Version Fuck the Goo Goo Dolls, they can suck my balls
They look like the dorks that hang out at the mall
Eminem can suck it, so can Dr. Dre
They can suck each other, just because they’re gayThrow the Goo Goo Dolls, off Niagara Falls
They look like the dorks that hang out at the mall
Eminem can shove it, so can Doja Cat
Every note they sing is either sharp or flat
It’s missing a certain je ne sais quoi, but I gotta give it to ’em — they managed to not only update the lyrics but also make it passable enough for national television. And they managed to keep the line about artists not being “worth the crust on my underwear,” so that’s a fun little visual for the kids at home.
Back in June, drummer Stix Zadinia told Metal Edge that they were open to altering their lyrics in order to perform on the show, since it was such a killer chance for them to take advantage of the situation.
“We’re going to do what we have to do to play within the sandbox of this situation. It’s just too good an opportunity for us to go, ‘We’re not going to do it because we don’t want to change this lyric.’ So, if there are minor changes in lyrics that we have to make, none of us have a problem with it.”
As for how they were received, the band got the crowd moving and clapping along the whole time, though who knows if that was staged or not. Then you have the judges, who all gushed about their performance. Even Simon Cowell was down for it.
“I didn’t like it; I loved it. You take yourselves seriously because you’ve done this for a long time and it shows, and you don’t take yourselves seriously which is what I like [about you]. I know we’re early on in the season. This has been my favorite live show act so far.”
The show’s still apparently in its qualifying round, so we’ll see if Steel Panther will move on. All they’ll need is enough votes from the general public to stay on the show.
