MTV’s annual award show brought out the most bizarre performances and proved to everyone who was still in doubt that the well-being of not only hip-hop but all music is in serious danger.
There once was a time when we tuned in to the MTV Music Awards to see a celebration of just that – music. Instead, this year’s award show was a celebration of the unusual, awkward, bizarre and gimmick-filled industry that stands before us today.
Usually, seeing weird, quirky artists is a good thing, but this wasn’t the type of weird that helps promote individuality.
It all began with the former reigning queen of weirdness, Lady Gaga, who was actually dethroned at the VMAs by Miley Cyrus.
Lady Gaga’s performance included several outfit changes and although she showed up without any makeup, she was covered by it at the end of her performance.
Despite the typical performance from Gaga that has you wondering if you watched a musical performance or a drug awareness video, the singing was actually pretty good. Lady Gaga performed “Applause” for all her Little Monsters and received more than enough applause by the time she made her way off the stage in a completely different outfit and wig.
The big talk of the night, of course, was Miley Cyrus.
If you missed the show you probably don’t understand how the former “Hannah Montana” star could have possibly dethroned Lady Gaga as the reigning weird queen, especially since the “Applause” singer arrived to the VMAs looking like Morticia from “The Addams Family.”
Miley showed up looking like a ghetto ninja and then hit the stage dressed like a stripper bear and only had her tongue inside her mouth for about 45 seconds throughout the entire performance.
The young star transitioned from her huge hit, “We Can’t Stop” (but we wish she would) and was joined on stage by Robin Thicke to help him perform his huge summer jam, “Blurred Lines.”
This is when things got extra strange and uncomfortably awkward for anyone who remembered that Miley is still merely 20-years-old.
The former Disney star began twerking on Thicke – whose wife was in the crowd – but only after she slipped out of her teddy bear bathing suit to reveal a nude-colored two-piece.
When she wasn’t twerking, she was throwing her leg up on giant teddy bears and grinding her little party-loving heart away for all her impressionable young fans.
Then there was Katy Perry, who did an entire “Rocky”-type number for a performance that ended the night. The curvy songstress was dressed in a boxer’s outfit as she prepared for her performance of “Roar” with a full-length workout – and I’m not exaggerating.
Perry jumped rope, threw air jabs and made sure she was all worked up to belt out what some believe is one of her best songs to date. Regardless of the great vocals, the performance itself wasn’t enough to close-out the show and her talent as a singer was lost in all the dramatics.
There were some good moments, however, that were just as bizarre – but in a good way.
Kanye West went through the entire night without going off on a rant. He performed his song “Blood On The Leaves,” which sounded pretty good, although he clearly thought he was more amazing than we did.
Then there was Drake, who actually hit the stage without Auto-tune as he transitioned from “Hold On We’re Going Home” to “Started From The Bottom.”
The one performance that convinced us to keep our faith in music, however, was the “president of pop” himself – Justin Timberlake.
JT’s set lasted a full 10 minutes, but surprisingly it didn’t feel that long because the performance was just that good. Timberlake reminded everyone of his pure talent as he flawlessly moved through 10 of his best hits, including “Mirrors” and “My Love.”
He also performed “Bye, Bye, Bye” after getting ’N Sync to reunite on stage, which had the crowd going nuts.
After his lengthy set, JT was awarded the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, which made him one of the only award- winners of the night that made any sense.
Unfortunately, the only thing more strange than the performances were the winners of the night, proving that the music industry certainly isn’t what it used to be.
Something just isn’t right about Macklemore winning Best Hip-Hop video while standing a few miles away from the birthplace of hip-hop, while Bruno Mars got the award for Best Male Video for “Locked Out of Heaven,” despite the uninteresting and weak visuals compared to the others in the nominated group.
The good news is now the artists have 12 months to dig deep down inside and make some real music that isn’t packaged with strange gimmicks and half-naked minors… and we have 12 months to try to forget this ever happened.
