Los Angeles was buzzing Sunday night with celebrities rolling into town for the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Host Chelsea Handler wasted no time taking jabs at Lady Gaga with an over-the-top tiny house for a hat.
Eminem opened the show with Rihanna, performing the hit “Love the Way You Lie.” Took off for a concert in New York with Jay-Z soon after, but his night wasn’t over. Em took home Best Male and Hip Hop Videos for “Not Afraid.”
Before the show got underway, Nicki Minaj dazzled the crowd in another one of her eccentric get-ups. Complete with a wig that looked like strawberry ice cream, she did a medley of her hits “Your Love” and “Check It Out” with Will.I.Am.
Although Usher didn’t pick up any awards, he proved he’s still got it when he broke down “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” and “OMG.” The lighting and female dancers accented the performance.
But perhaps the biggest story of the night was Lady Gaga and her meat dress. Well, more than the dress was her eight awards, including the illustrious Video of the Year for “Bad Romance.” As she accepted that award, she gave her fans one more treat; a snippet of her brand new song, “Born This Way.” Gaga was more humble accepting her other awards, though her outfits remained artfully outlandish nonetheless.
The VMAs wouldn’t be complete this year without a little Bieber Fever. The baby-faced Justin Bieber put on a show for the ages with a medley of “U Smile,” “Baby” and “Somebody to Love,” even adding his own drum solo to the end. The teen heartthrob’s fans came through as well as their votes won him the Best New Artist award. Kid’s got skills!
Linkin Park also graced us with their presence, celebrating the release of their brand new album A Thousand Suns with a thrilling performance of “The Catalyst” from atop the Griffith Observatory. They brought down the house, showing everyone that Linkin Park is back in effect and ready to rock the world again. Too bad they weren’t nominated for anything this time!
No one could forget the fiasco that ensued last year during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for the Best Female Video. Both she and Kanye West have gone through a lot since then, but each debuted a new song at this year’s show pertaining to that night. Swift’s ballad was called “Innocent” and it flowed softly, speaking to her vulnerability and being new to the industry.
Kanye’s performance of “Runaway” was saved for last. Some called it an apology song, but Kanye has said enough about what he did. No, what this should’ve been was a reconciliation and laying the issue to rest. It’s about time we let it go.
We can’t forget about the smaller awards. Best Rock Video went to 30 Seconds to Mars for “Kings and Queens,” and usually we go through each artist that won the others but most went to Lady Gaga or Eminem. Best Female, Pop, and Dance Videos all went to “Bad Romance,” and Best Collaboration went to “Telephone” which Gaga shared with Beyoncé.
The few deviations were Best Art Direction, which Florence + the Machine took home for “Dog Days Are Over,” Breakthrough Video which went to The Black Keys for “Tighten Up,” and Best Cinematography which Jay-Z and Alicia Keys picked up for “Empire State of Mind.” Muse also got some love, taking home Best Special Effects for “Uprising.”
It was refreshing to watch an award show with little to no controversy. Sure, Chelsea Handler threw out a few eyebrow-raisers, but what do you expect from a talk show host trying to up the ante. This year’s VMAs proved you don’t need the drama to rake in viewers. A perfectly normal raw meat dress will do the trick.
The LG Blog 