Class Acts & Class Clowns At The MTV Video Music Awards
Posted by meredith on 09-17-2009
Today’s Ypulse Youth Advisory Board post comes from our resident TV guru Alyx Steadman who like 8.97 million other viewers tuned into the MTV Video Music Awards. As always, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment below.
Class Acts & Class Clowns At The MTV Video Music Awards
Every year the MTV Video Music Awards promise us two things: great performances and drama. This year we nearly got the best of both worlds with one of the most jaw-dropping award shows of the year.
Hits
The performances this year were amazing. Sometimes you see music award shows that only appeal to the older generation with music younger teens and kids have never heard of before. Other times all the performers seem to originate from the Disney channel (example: Teen Choice Awards). I felt the VMAs offered a wonderful mix of both this year, appealing to all ages. Huge stars rocked on at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The singers stepped up to make a unique experience for everyone to watch. The pieces were choreographed and stylized in amazing ways that sometimes made me forget what I was watching. When Pink did some trapeze stunts during her song (while still singing I might add), I completely thought I was watching a Cirque du Soleil show. Beyonce showed the world just how big of star she was by shaking her thing during her “Single Ladies” song (which also won Video of the Year). Taylor Swift showed her carefree fun side while performing on a subway (how cool is that?!).
For those people who aren’t as much into the girls’ songs there was Muse, Jay-Z, and Green Day to even the score of hot acts. The always amazing Lady GaGa did a Broadway worthy performance of her new single “Paparazzi” that shocked and astonished. That was my favorite performance of the night because it wasn’t what people were expecting. Everyone knew Lady GaGa was special, but they had no idea how special. I actually went online and watched a couple of the performances a second time because they were just that good!
The heartwarming tribute to Michael Jackson. There was some love shown, and Michael was definitely splashed throughout the show. First, Madonna made a six minute speech about his true character, the side of him that the public didn’t know. I started tearing up. Her words were from the heart, and it showed the world how great he really was. Now we all feel guilty for judging him. We put him on a pedestal, when in the end he was only human. His sister, Janet Jackson, did an homage to him by recreating some of his most famous dances. That was a very nice touch and entertaining as well. Later in the show the trailer for Michael Jackson’s movie “This Is It” was aired for the first time. I love how after all the criticism people had for him, he is now being painted in a much more positive light. Too bad this is all happening after his death.
Misses
Drama is one of MTV’s specialties, but this year it wasn’t always the good kind. Usually I love the award show drama, but this year it was supposed to be toned down in the spirit of remembering Michael Jackson. Unfortunately, all of that was overshadowed by two jackasses, who I wouldn’t care if I saw ever again. First, there was Kanye ruining Taylor Swift’s moment. I think she deserved the award for Best Female Video of the Year for her cute song “You Belong With Me.” Obviously, Kanye West disagreed with me because he had to come up on stage and say how Beyonce had the best video of the year. This totally dissed Taylor and seemed to crush her onstage. Beyonce looked just as shocked as everyone else did, making Kanye look like a complete fool. He was booed off the stage, and forced to leave the show. Now, all of America seems to be anti-Kanye (as they should be). Thankfully, Beyonce is a goddess and gave Taylor Swift her spotlight back even though Beyonce’s video “Single Ladies” won the video of the year award. It just goes to show you that she is a beautiful woman inside and out.
I could do without Russell Brand as host. Let me just start by saying, I never liked him. I was highly disappointed in his job as a host last year for the VMAs and I was beyond surprised to see him back. To say the least, he didn’t make me like him any more this year than last. He was still rude, crude, and overall a very negative guy. All his jokes seemed to be making fun of someone in a negative light. Never once did he make me smile. Get a host next year that actually has a personality, please!
I look forward to the VMAs every year because they tend to not disappoint. This year gave us some heart, some spectacle, and a lot of joy. People are still talking about the acts, the drama, and the love that went down Sunday night. There was a perfect mixture of everything (ok, maybe a splash too much Kanye) and it hit all the right notes for me to really enjoy watching it. Of course, next year might be a completely different story. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Side note: I watched the VMAs online and so everything was split up into sections. In between all of the sections were the same commercials repeating, and it got really annoying.
About Alyx
Alyx Steadman is a freshman in high school in Montana, and loves every minute of it. He loves reading, writing, acting, singing, and being a social butterfly. In the past people have accused him of being a YouTube addict and a pop culture junkie (and sadly Alyx cannot deny these accusations). His love for teen culture has led him to many hours slaving on the computer soaking up every piece of drama Hollywood has to offer. In the future he hopes to pursue a writing career as some type of journalist. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover how he’s feeling to be in the Ypulse Advisory Board. “Today the world changes so quickly that in growing up we take leave not just of youth but of the world we were young in.”
Categorized under: Movies & Music, TV