By AARON KREIN
Contributing Writer
Expletives, revealing outfits, and “unexpected” show-stopping moments… all were ingredients for last Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, better known by its acronym, the VMAs. The show was broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, for the third non-consecutive time. The show was hosted by Miley Cyrus, who became the third solo female to moderate the telecast in history, after Roseanne Barr and Chelsea Handler. She is also the first non-comedian to host since Sean “Diddy” Combs back in 2005.
All promotion for the show included Cyrus hyping up the fact that anything she does will be crazy, alluding to her twerk-fest of a performance two years ago, so people who tuned in to the show were mostly wondering what Cyrus was going to do next. Cyrus wore ten different outfits, the majority revealing large amounts of skin.
Throughout the night, Cyrus was unfiltered, using terms like “congratu-f***ing-lations” and discussing her pot usage while onstage. Her unannounced, show-closing performance was of her new single, “Dooo It!” followed by an announcement that her fifth studio album was available to stream online. The performance included several drag queen dancers, as well as the chorus about smoking pot, liking peace, and not being a hippie. All 23 tracks of “Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz” are currently available to stream on Soundcloud.
Taylor Swift was the big winner of the night, garnering four awards, including Best Female Video for “Blank Space” and Video of the Year for “Bad Blood.” Britney Spears made a rare appearance to present Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars with the Moonman for Best Male Video for their smash hit, “Uptown Funk.”
Nicki Minaj accepted Best Hip-Hop Video for “Anaconda” and took the moment to call out Cyrus for bashing her in the press just a few days before. The reportedly non-staged verbal argument spun a new phrase, “Miley, what’s good?” which has been used on social media networks like Instagram and Tumblr continuously since its live airing.
Other winners included Fall Out Boy, Fetty Wap, Big Sean, and 5 Seconds of Summer.
Kanye West was honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for his unparalleled videography throughout the years. Taylor Swift presented him with the award, which turned many heads since we all remember when West interrupted her speech back in 2009. West’s 10-minute speech consisted of him talking off the cuff about that incident, his confusion about awards shows, his belief that artists should be allowed to have an opinion, and announced that he will supposedly run for president in 2020. During the speech, West admitted that he smoked weed before the evening’s festivities. It was perhaps the only shocking moment of the night that was not obviously staged.
Nicki Minaj opened the show with her latest single, “Trini Dem Girls” and summer-favorite “The Night is Still Young.” Minaj was dressed in a fiery red outfit and was later joined by Taylor Swift for a small sample of the chorus from “Bad Blood.”
This follows the spat between the two pop stars last month on Twitter that resulted from Minaj being upset she was snubbed for a Video of the Year nomination for “Anaconda.” As a show opener, it was fine but the performance could’ve easily been placed anywhere in the show.
During the show, MTV would cut a couple times to downtown Los Angeles outside the prestigious Orpheum Theatre for three Pepsi-sponsored performances. The first was from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis who performed their brand-new single “Downtown,” featuring Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, and Grandmaster Caz. The set consisted of a pretty close replica of the music video of the song that was released the same day. The 80s nostalgia and eye-catching dancing made it one of the night’s highlights.
The second outside performance came to us from Demi Lovato, who performed her latest smash, “Cool for the Summer.” The beach-themed set included male dancers in bathing suits and two big cherries. Iggy Azalea popped up from a toaster to deliver her guest verse on the remix, even though I don’t think she was needed for this performance. Towards the end, Lovato jumped into an inflatable raft being carried by fans while beach balls and confetti dispersed in the air. It was a fun performance but everything about it just reminded me of what Katy Perry has done in the past. Lovato’s fifth studio album, “Confident,” will be released October 16.
Pharrell Williams was the last to hit the Pepsi stage with his new single, “Freedom.” The song was notably released last June as the first exclusive through Apple Music. The rhythmic and snap-heavy performance involved lots of dancing and ended with fireworks shooting up in the background. It was a solid showcase, but was difficult to follow Kanye’s speech.
The Weeknd performed the current number-one hit single in the country, “Can’t Feel My Face,” on a bare stage with only dimmed red and blue lights. Toward the end, he sang the chorus completely surrounded by fire. The camera crew that night was fortunate enough to spot many celebrities dancing to this specific performance, such as Kanye West, Selena Gomez, and John Legend. The Weeknd’s latest album, “Beauty Behind the Madness,” was released earlier last week.
Justin Bieber made his first major awards show performance since his behavioral troubles the past year with his new single, “What Do You Mean?” After performing a snippet of his Skrillex and Diplo collaboration “Where Are Ü Now,” Bieber went into a choreography-driven routine and sang live, opposed to his usual lip-syncing.
The performance ended with Bieber being carried up in the air with a harness and dancing with the lights dimmed. Bieber was visibly emotional at the end of the performance, reminiscent of Chris Brown’s 2010 BET Awards comeback set when he did the same thing after his altercation with Rihanna. Bieber’s next album is scheduled to be released this November.
One of the most critically acclaimed artists of the year by far, pop songstress Tori Kelly, took the stage with her second single “Should’ve Been Us.” Kelly performed with an electric guitar for most of the piece until tossing it into the audience to reach powerhouse vocals at the end. Kelly was, vocally, the best of the night and her underrated album “Unbreakable Smile” is certainly a must-listen.
Alternative rockers Twenty One Pilots joined forces with rapper A$AP Rocky for an electrifying melody of “HeavyDirtySoul, “M$,” “Message Man,” “Lane Boy,” and “LSD.” The stage chemistry was apparent between Rocky and front man Tyler Joseph. Put together with an amazing light show, the two joining forces was a terrific move on MTV’s part.
Besides having a controversial host tapped for the show to draw in viewers, this year’s VMA’s had the lowest audience in its 32-year history, according to Nielson. The show only garnered 5.03 million viewers, beating out 1996, which had 5.07 million. Overall, the show had entertaining moments but was weak in comparison to previous years. However, as always, I look forward to what MTV will serve us next year.
Congratulations, Aaron!