Singer won't tone down
Springfield says he'll do his usual show for Orem

Rick Springfield's national tour stops at the Orem's SCERA next Friday and the former bubble-gum pop star has refused to tone down his new style of music for the Utah County audience.

Springfield, 53, plans to play all of his songs from his new album, "shock/denial/ anger/acceptance," despite the fact that some lyrics are laced with sexual innuendo and obscenities.

"My show is what my show is," he said Thursday in an interview with The Deseret Morning News. "We have a great time. The audiences love us."

SCERA program director Dana Robinson said he grew concerned when he heard about Bible Belt audiences who objected to Springfield's use of profanity on stage. He said Springfield has signed a contract limiting both the foul language and the sound levels for his concert at the outdoor shell theater.

For his part, Springfield said he will do exactly the same show that he's doing all through his tour — no changes for the Orem crowd.

"Absolutely, we'll be playing all of the songs on the new CD," Springfield said. "They're all about human emotions, nothing that anybody doesn't know about or feel."

Springfield was best known as a pretty face who starred on "General Hospital" and sang hits like "Jessie's Girl" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" in the 1980s.

But the Grammy award-winning singer says he has always done music about the dark side of love and that his latest work just pushes the envelope a little bit more." 'Jessie's Girl' is about not getting what I wanted," he said.

Springfield will include old favorites like "Jessie's Girl" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" — two of 17 Springfield hits that became top 40 singles — on the concert's play list.

"If I didn't, I'd be strung up and lynched," he said.

He'll also perform a song inspired by the abduction and disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, "Angels of the Disappeared."

Springfield said he wrote the song based on news stories he read about Smart and included a "Welcome Home" chorus before he knew she had been found.

"The premise is, when kids disappear, there are angels watching over them," Springfield said. He said his latest songs "were written to clear the demons in my head" and "all the lyrics come from a real place, a very dark place in me."

Springfield's publicists describe the album as "challenging, ambitious, disturbing yet ultimately rewarding."

Springfield isn't apologetic about the music or his in-your-face attitude about his contract. He also doesn't worry much about offending the audience who — in the tradition of the SCERA — will mostly be families and senior citizens.

"I love challenges," he said. "Remember, I was the kid that got kicked out of school."