Monday, September 14, 2009

VMA 2009 Post Coverage

Another September, another MTV Video Music Awards broadcast. I'm sure MTV execs long for the days when an audience can be shocked by a pop star in a wedding dress writhing on the floor making sexually suggestive moves. Or even for the days when that same pop star can wow audiences by kissing two women. Alas, those days are gone. Our generation is perpetually unimpressed. But, here's what might have caught your attention this year.





Of course, no award show could have ignored the biggest thing to happen to pop culture this year: Michael Jackson's death. The tribute to the King of pop was thorough and momentous including a grand speech by Madonna, choreography to some of Michael's greatest hits including Thriller and Bad, and, an icon in her own right, Janet Jackson performing Scream alongside Michael. Say whatever you will, and much has been said, but there will never be another.


The night took a negative turn shortly thereafter when Taylor Swift was awarded Best Female Video. Kanye West took Taylor's win over fellow nominee Beyoncé as a personal affront and took it upon himself to interrupt her acceptance speech, grab the mike from her hands and proclaim that Beyoncé had one of the greatest videos of all time. While what he said was 100% right, how he went about it was 100% wrong: it was incredibly disrespectful to everyone involved, but especially to 19-year-old Taylor. Kanye is an insufferable piece of shit.


Beyoncé later went on to win Video of the Year for Single Ladies and allowed Taylor another shot at her acceptance speech. Leave it to Kanye to make me feel sympathetic towards Taylor Swift (I really don't like that little girl very much).


The Twilight cast (who all looked absolutely miserable) was in attendance to premiere the extended trailer for their impending sequel, New Moon. Not gonna lie, it looks great. Can't wait to see the scenes with the Volturi. And, dear me, did you SEE Edward with his shirt off?! Good heavens.


Finally, Lady GaGa's performance, even after all the hype, was absolutely incredible.
Her vocals were the best I've ever heard them, the set was amazing, the concept brilliantly executed. Awesome, awesome. It's crazy to think that this is her first VMAs and she's only been in the spotlight for a year's time. She's so ahead of the game.

That's pretty much it for this year. Not the worst, not the best. Kinda meh. Below is a list of winners.

Video of the Year: Beyonce Knowles – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Best New Artist: Lady Gaga – Poker Face
Best Hip-Hop Video: Eminem – We Made You
Best Male Video: T.I. ft Rihanna – Live Your Life
Best Pop Video: Britney Spears – Womanizer
Best Rock Video: Green Day – 21 Guns
Best Female Video: Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
Best Video (That Should Have Won A Moonman): Beastie Boys – Sabotage
Breakthrough Video: Matt And Kim – Lessons Learned
Best Art Direction: Lady Gaga – Paparazzi
Best Choreography: Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Best Cinematography: Green Day – 21 Guns
Best Direction: Green Day – 21 Guns
Best Editing: Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
Best Special Effects: Lady Gaga – Paparazzi


1 comment:

Sarah said...

See, I thought that Lady Gaga's performance was really weak. I hate how she feels the need to perform her songs differently every time, to the point that its no longer even the same song. I thought her on stage performance was not only trying way too hard, but was ultimately kind of boring. The video for that song was so brilliant, this performance really paled in comparison, and, I think, didn't really break any new ground. I feel like she's starting to go more for flash than substance, and I didn't really like the vocals. She also felt like she was lacking some of her usual energy and just seemed to be concentrating really hard.