Alright. So time for some real content.
Sunday night was the MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards, for you non-cultured folk). Each year, MTV honors those in the production of Music Videos and Music in general. Although MTV has long shed the word "Music" from the original channel acronym, the awards show has been kept as a ratings booster for the past 30 years.
There was plenty to talk about after last night's show. Some good. Some Bad
HITS
1. LADY GAGA
The show opened with Lady Gaga's first live performance of "Applause", the first single off of her new album "ARTPOP", which releases later this fall. Gaga's performance was full of costume changes, at one moment wearing a large white box on her face, to the next donning a bright blue dress and blonde wig. Lots of pizzazz. A good opening from a talent that has not been on the music scene for the past two years due to injury.
2. BRUNO MARS
Bruno Mars came on with a performance of his new single "Gorilla", which released the following day. The soft rock performance was very well done, lots of visual effects. Mars himself is one of those few artists that sounds just as amazing live as they do in person. Many critics called it the best performance of the night, and that it brought a nice tame piece to the show. Billboard's Brad Wete said "...Mars never moved more than three steps in any direction during his performance... but boy did he sing!" No surprises here, as Bruno Mars is slowly cementing himself as a legend in the music community.
3. MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS
M&RL had one of the most moving performances of the night, with their hit "Same Love", the anthem of equality. In a time where the nation is finally starting to accept the new reality of same-sex relationships, this performance touched many people personally, and even brought some to tears. The true climax of this performance had to be when Jennifer Hudson came on to the stage to join the duo (already accompanied by Mary Lambert). The performance was truly moving and carried a lot of weight with many people.
4. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
This performance was by far the highlight of the entire night. Timberlake, who was being honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award for his contributions to the art of Music Videos. The entire 15 minute performance contained nearly every hit from Timberlake's career. The captivating moment had to be though when his former bandmates from NSYNC joined him onstage for a highly rumored reunion, the first time they had performed on television since 2003. Even some of the most high profile celebrities (namely Taylor Swift) were almost brought to tears at the reunion of the turn-of-the-century boy band. After Timberlake's performance, he credited a lot of his honor to his NSYNC bandmates, saying he won half of his Moonman statues with them. The reunion was truly a moving moment for everyone, audience and performers alike.
MISSES
1. MILEY CYRUS
Miley. Miley, Miley, Miley. What happened to the sweet Hannah Montana? Miley hit the stage out of a giant teddy bear, with her tongue 5 feet out of her mouth, and it remained that way for a majority of the performance. After about 2 minutes of awkward sexual gestures and very little actual singing, she ripped off her clothes, leaving only a bra and panties. While anyone will agree that there is something to be said about sexual appeal, this wasn't it. She was awkward, obscure, and just downright nasty. Not exactly anything worth watching. Unfortunately, this is what the night will largely be remembered for.
2. ROBIN THICKE
While Robin Thicke's performance certainly wasn't the worst of the night, it was a close second. The real shame was that it wasn't actually all his fault. Tied with Miley's train wreck of a performance, nobody was focused on him. Miley stole his entire performance of Blurred Lines with her off-key singing and provocative dancing, and stayed up on stage to distract the viewers even after she was done singing. Sticking a foam finger out between her legs lost its appeal before she even started. Again, awkward sexual "dancing", and weird faces. Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz were great, but Thicke was lacking a certain edge. He seemed very boring, almost like he was reading his lines.
FINAL OPINIONS
I personally really enjoyed the 2013 VMAs. The whole night seemed very alive and it felt like everyone was having a good time. Could I have dealt without the camera cuts to Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, and One Direction every 5 seconds? Probably, but that was very overlook-able. I encourage anyone who has not gotten a chance to see the VMAs to watch it, even though we are well after the fact. Lots of fun moments and stellar performances.
And I think some awards were given out.
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