MTV’s 2009 Video Music Awards brought heaps of celebrity drama and heated confrontations, making it one of the most-watched events out of the awards’ 26 year history. The infamous Kanye West freak out, where he rudely interrupts Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video, exclaiming, “I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time,” along with Lady Gaga’s controversial performance and insane outfit changes, were just some of the hype that people were still talking about leading up to this year’s awards. Although not as entertaining as 2009, this year’s VMAs – which aired this past Sunday from Nokia Theater in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. – brought some amazing performances and rather impromptu appearances, including a rather rowdy onstage-takeover by the cast of Jackass.
Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, opened the show with an emotional rendition of his new hit single “Not Afraid.” Eminem stepped out onto a futuristic stage clad in white pillars with retro lighting and interactive background drops. Rihanna made a surprise appearance on the song “Love the Way You Lie” to close the act.
VMA host, comedian and infamous celebrity-insulter Chelsea Handler, bombarded the crowd with a parody dance sequence from Lady Gaga’s epic “Bad Romance” video and a rant of insults aimed at prime, young artists of the night, including Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. Handler did not fail to shock with comments about her “getting high with Snoop Dogg backstage” and that “everyone from New Jersey who stays there eventually gets herpes.”
The first VMA of the night, Best Female Video, was rightly awarded to Lady Gaga for her video “Bad Romance.” She accepted the award clad in one of her insane costumes, finished with a gold mohawk head piece, and thanked the number of soldiers affected by the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy sitting in the audience who accompanied her to the show.
One of the more anticipated acts of the night, Justin Bieber, took the outside stage surrounded by a herd of rowdy young teenage girls and fans. For a first-time VMA performer, Bieber succeeded with strong vocals and an impressive dance sequence, along with a great closing drum solo. Veteran performer Usher led a seductive set following Bieber, featuring an intense laser light show along to his summer hit, “OMG.”
Making their American debut, Florence + the Machine executed one of the most impressive acts of the night, with Florence Welch’s awesome vocals on “Dog Days are Over.” A combined act with Bruno Mars, B.O.B, and Paramore also proved to be a top performance of the night.
Taylor Swift drew on last year’s Kanye fiasco in her acoustic performance, but unfortunately no on-stage take over occurred to make the scene more exciting.
Some of the bigger awards of the night included: Best Male and Hip Hop Video to Eminem for “Not Afraid,” Best Pop Video to Lady Gaga for “Bad Romance,” and Best New Artist to Justin Bieber.
One of the highlights of the night included when Handler jumped in a hot tub with the crew from MTV’s Jersey Shore, and came out with a new baby bump, joking that the Jersey Shore kids must not clean out the hot tub very often.
Cher, with her big hair and leather jacket, announced the last award of the night, Video of the Year, to Lady Gaga for her video “Bad Romance.” Gaga closed the award ceremony with a teary-eyed salute to her fans.
One of the most anticipated performers of the night, Kanye West, led a rather ironic closing set, singing, “Let’s have a toast for the douchebags… let’s have a toast for the scum bags.” No matter how pompous or conceited, Kanye’s talent and influence can never be denied, even if he happens to be stealing the limelight from a 19-year-old girl.
This year’s VMAs seemed to cater more towards live acts and performances over the actual handing out of awards and acknowledgments. Could it be that MTV did not want another dramatic encounter similar to that of the Kanye and Swift debacle? Although the 2010 Video Music Awards made for a good time to learn about new artists and enjoy the sounds of old-time favorites, the show could have proved more entertaining with less strategic planning and more random surprises and appearances.
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