This year's Video Music Awards was definitely the most memorable in years, but mostly for the wrong reasons.
The night began with a surprisingly candid and powerful Michael Jackson tribute from Madonna, dressed respectfully in a black suit. After Madonna's intro came a dance medley featuring some of the King of Pop's most iconic music video moments, ending with a brief performance from Janet Jackson. Classy all the way around and enjoyable to watch.
But unfortunately, it was pretty much downhill from there. Russell Brand made his entrance and gave us a glimpse of what was to come: crude jokes, foul language, and just plain "unfunny" segues between performances. I'm just not sure how he keeps getting this hosting gig, but surely I'm not the only one who is wondering.
Then it was time for the first Moon-man of the night in the category, "Best Female Video." Sweet Taylor Swift gets the win and makes her way to the stage seemingly in shock. A few seconds into her humble acceptance speech, Kanye West storms the stage, takes the mic, and declares Beyonce's "Single Ladies" as the rightful winner.
Apparently I am not the only one who thought, "Seriously, Kanye. You're going to take the mic and the moment...again." The VMA crowd promptly booed him and continued to do so throughout the night when his name was mentioned. Media backlash has echoed the crowd's sentiments over the last few days, and the general public just seems tired of these shenanigans as well. Not classy all the way around and painful to watch.
Other interesting behavior throughout the night included Jack Black leading the audience in a prayer to the devil, Pink doing her best Cirque de Soleil impression wearing something I am sure no Cirque de Soleil'r would, and Lady Gaga declaring between curse words that her Moon-man win was for "God and the gays."
One of the only redeeming moments of the night was Beyonce's gracious win for "Video of the Year," when she invited Taylor Swift to come back on stage and finish her Kanye-wrecked speech.
All in all, it was a crazy few hours of television, and a sad and scary glimpse into today's entertainment.
Questions:
- What did you think of the VMA's this year?
- How would you have reacted if you were in Taylor's shoes?
- What do you think about Kanye's apologies to Taylor after the fact?