But at least you can still usually count on something like a Britney meltdown or Kid Rock beating somebody up. Not so this year. This year's VMAs didn't just play it safe, they also ran like such a well-oiled machine they ended about 45 minutes early. That's right, I didn't just say "on time," I actually said early.
Between awards, there were some decent performances. The best of these included the aforementioned Kid Rock doing his wonderful Skynyrd/Warren Zevon mashup "All Summer Long," and Christina Aguilera looking smoking hot in a sexy-ass, black, Catwoman sort of outfit.
There were also full performances by West, Paramore (a remote from the old Whiskey A Go-Go), The Jonas Brothers, and Lil' Wayne with Leona Lewis and T-Pain. Other performers were not so lucky, such as Katy Perry who was cut off about midway through a cover of Madonna's "Like A Virgin" to go to commercial. When they came back, she was finishing the other half of "I Kissed A Girl."
Host Russell Brand, who kind of looks like Weird Al on crack, cracked jokes about masturbation, dissed the Jonas Brothers and their wholesome lifestyle, and urged America to vote for Barack Obama, while confessing to a case of the hots for Sarah Palin. Some of it was funny. Most of it wasn't.
They also made sort of a big deal about the fact that this was the 25th anniversary of the VMAs, which I found kind of ironic on the occasion of this being hands down the tamest, and yes, the lamest, show they've ever done. Maybe it's time to just retire the damn thing and move on.
Here are your winners:
BEST MALE VIDEO
Chris Brown "With You"
BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Britney Spears "Piece of Me"
BEST DANCING IN A VIDEO
Pussycat Dolls "When I Grow Up"
BEST ROCK VIDEO
Linkin Park "Shadow of the Day"
BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Lil Wayne "Lollipop"
BEST POP VIDEO
Britney Spears "Piece of Me"
BEST NEW ARTIST
Tokio Hotel "Ready, Set, Go!"
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Britney Spears "Piece of Me"
Article comments
1 - baby girl
First off I would like to say that what in the he** went wrong last night at the VMA's. I mean that sh*t look like it was a talent show or something. Nobody was reall there. The only people that did something for that show was LiL Weezy and Kanye. The crowd looked like they was tourist or something. Not enough celebraties. I guess I don't blame them cause that there was nothing but a hot ass mess. How in the world did Brittany beat LiL Wayne. Conspiracy, I think so. All I got to say is that I can't wait for the Hip Hop Honors. Who ever put that mess together last night should be fired. The VMA's always go above and beyond. They celebrated 25 yrs like that, all I have to say is unemployment office. Maybe next year right? Russel Brand was funny in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", that's it. Jamie Foxx should have been the host, then I'm sure more celebs would have attended. To MTV that's who you need to get to host next year. Holla
2 - houstonal
The whole thing was a joke. That Russell Brand weirdo has branded himself as the most boring and annoying host on earth. I can’t believe he had the guts to tell American voters who to vote for and bitch about Bush and his 8-year presidency. How much does a monarchical Brit know about American politics and party-system? If he was picked for his accent, then I could have done a better job. It seems that Brits are now dominating American shows as if there are no good American hosts who can do the trick. Oh please!
The show should have been called Britney Spears’ MTV Awards. I understand that some of her fans are trying to lift up her spirit, but this doesn’t mean that she isn’t responsible for bad choices she made and more to come. I haven’t seen other artists given that much of a second chance. The best part was to see everyone thanking the Lord.
Last, the weirdo with the long braided hair and nasty tattoos did no justice to black fashion and rap. I wish they passed a law in Cali banning ugly people from displaying their ugly tattoos, bodies and behinds. Was that towel hanging from his pants supposed to be a tail? If yes, then that would make him a monkey. As you notice, I’m not even trying to know his name.
Oh Lord, please have mercy on America’s artists and their fans. It’s sad to see such quality when the main target is the young generations of America. I’ve never felt so damn watching TV. The worst thing is I hang there thinking that it would get better, but it just got worse.
3 - duane
They hand out awards for that stuff?
4 - Mike
The awards show might have been alright, but it didn't take me long to turn the channel, I just could not listen to the host any longer, or I was going to puke.
5 - JoeDeerTae
The whole show was a who's who of b-listers and never-have-beens. A very sad train wreck that I actually watched, hoping it would get better or at least turn into something very very bad (a la Britney 2007). Rhianna stunk, Christina lip-synched (badly) and Russel Brand was neither funny or clever. Even the pre-show sucked...did Taylor Swift have to pee? Does anyone really care what Lauren Conrad thinks? The best part about the whole event was the trivia during the commercials.
6 - xxheels0verheadxx
That was the worst waste of time I have ever seen in my life. While some of Russel Brand's jokes were well written, the delivery was horrible. He barely took a breath and it took me a second to even understand what he had just said. Not to mention he stood there like a creeper while everyone else was on stage. Did anyone else see him completely talk over that kid from Harry Potter when the group from "Twilight" was out there? He just totally spoke over his part.
I did find it hilarious that he made fun of the Bush disaster (meaning his whole term in office) and was promoting Obama. I also liked that he called out the Jonas Brothers and their bible-thumping lifestyle. I never realized how lame they really are until I watched their Sesame Street-esque acoustic performance.
I found it extraordinarily irritating that every artist started with "I'd like to thank God". That, to me, makes them lose credibility. Thank the millions of people who had a part in the success you have made, not a quite possibly nonexistent being.
Lastly, the part that made me the most irate and sad about the future of America, was the performance of Lil whatever his name is. Is this really what our children are going to grow up watching?! Look at what this says about the taste of (judging by the ratings) a large portion of America. The idiot was losing his pants the entire time. I don't care if you can't wear belts in prison (that's where the "saggy pants" bull originated from), if you think it's cool to be in jail, you should stay there and get away from the rest of us. It literally made me want to vomit thinking about how many kids were seeing this as their role model.
All in all, this year let me down SO much. X-tina and T.I. did awful lip syncing and the only good performances were Paramore, Rhianna (her first song) and Pink. Katy Perry didn't even get a chance to take the actual stage.
This is exactly why I usually have a "no MTV" ban in my household. Way to suck even more than you already do.
7 - Jorge
Gosh where the hell MTV has gone? 25 years later and they look just so lame like some bad 25 years ago award cerimony that they used to mock up and make fun out of.
That's ridiculous. Make us think where the younger generation is going up to. Certainly, MTV either should reinvent itself or just shut the damn thing down to prevent more damage to the young minds.
8 - Buffy
I wish I could have been there, to stop all of you from wasting your time. For me the LAST GOOOD MUSIC AWARDS was probably back in 2000. Of more to my taste, 1999. The appearances were exciting, the performances were more exhiliarting -exspecially the remixes and the fashions protrayed actually made sense. Therefore I did not bother watching the awards. I knew from long ago, it was going to be terrible. Obliviously, I am not part of MTV, just an individual, who like you appreciates good quality performances, those celebrities promised to give us. But for them, I would like to apologize. MTV IS SORRY FOR IT'S SELF - DESTRUCTION OF CREATIVITY OF THEIR MUSIC AWARDS. I think fans should start pushing their favorite celebrities up A GOOD NOTCH or simply tear them down. When it comes to music awards - these days MTV IS TERRIBLE.
9 - jace1012
A thug & hot fest celebrating Brit Spears sluttiness, while poking fun of those choosing to keep their virginity.
MTV..you have no class.
You're a middle-age 'has been'.
You're still attempting to manipulate pop-culture,
but it just ain't working.