Pop legends Alanis Morissette and Paula Abdul rang in the new year with performances of their classics at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, which is only fitting to close out a decade obsessed with the ‘90s. But the live broadcast of the concert only left viewers confused, for reasons that are largely not the fault of the singers themselves. Morissette’s performance of “You Oughta Know†was heavily censored, with ABC omitted certain lyrics. Some of the lyrics were bleeped in accordance with normal broadcast standards, like the f-bomb Morissette drops in the third verse, but ABC also chose to bleep the word “perverted,†to the bafflement of viewers.
Abdul, meanwhile, was accused of doing a poor job of lip syncing during her performance of “Straight Up,†recalling critiques of her set at the Billboard Music Awards earlier this year. But, as some viewers pointed out, it would take a feat of nearly superhuman strength to both dance and sing to Abdul’s famously rigorous choreography. Check out Abdul and Morissette’s performances and judge for yourself.