The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The VMAs Go Gaga

The MTV Video Music Awards broadcasted live from the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles this past Sunday. The white carpet was rolled out for this year’s most prominent musicians and artists, who made sure to wear their trendiest and most extravagant looks.

It comes as no surprise that the new Queen of Pop, Lady Gaga, dominated the night.  She arrived in a breathtaking gown from the late Alexander McQueen’s last collection. The Inferno‘s predictions proved to be right after Lady Gaga took home eight moon men,

including Video of the Year for “Bad Romance.” The award was presented by legendary singer Cher, who said she used to be the one to raise eyebrows back when Lady Gaga was just “Baby Gaga.”

Rapper Eminem and singer Rihanna opened up the show with their hit “Love the Way You Lie.” The lackluster performance was nothing special except for the fiery background displays and Rihanna’s new bright red hairdo.

Eminem did not leave empty-handed either, winning the awards for Best Hip-Hop and Male video for “Not Afraid.” He was not present to accept either award because he had already left for New York for his concert with rapper Jay-Z, the following night.

The two most controversial performances of the night came courtesy of 20-year-old country singer Taylor Swift and the king of controversy, Kanye West. The country-pop singer performed a song she wrote that was inspired by last year’s VMA incident when the rapper humiliated Swift during her acceptance speech for Best Female Video, claiming it should have gone to Beyonce instead.

The song titled “Innocent,” carried a strong message of peace for West, “Every one of us has messed up, too/ I hope you remember today is never too late to be brand new.”

As if it were staged, West closed the showed with a song based on the Swift situation as well. In his performance, he acknowledges his mistakes by saying, “You’ve been putting up with my (explicit) for too long,” followed by an inappropriate chorus asking for a toast for his wrong doings. “Let’s have a toast for the scumbags,” he sang.

Usher’s performance resembled Black Eyed Peas’ past performances more than his own, but he did not cease to awe the viewers with his incredible dancing skills. Other artists who hit the stage were Best New Artist winner Justin Bieber, rapper B.O.B, rock groups Paramore, Florence and the Machine, and rapper Drake who performed with hip-hop producer Swizz Beats and R&B songstress Mary J. Blige.

Best Rock Video went to 30 Seconds to Mars for their single, “Kings and Queens,” while Best Collaboration went to Beyonce and Lady Gaga for their

single “Telephone.”

Comedian Chelsea Handler tried her best to fulfill her duties as host by poking fun at the celebrities and making crude jokes that often did not sit well with the crowd. Her opening video clip featured starlet Lindsay Lohan, who was recently released from rehab. 

“Have you been drinking?” Lohan questioned Handler. “Do you think anyone wants to work with a drunk? Take it from me! They don’t!” she joked.

Handler tried to liven up the crowd by imploring them to make bad choices and encouraging them to be on their worst behavior so the night could be another usual VMA night.

Social networking sites like Twitter were inundated by VMA-related tweets, with MTV keeping tabs on celebrities that were trending throughout the night.

Overall, the event was a bit toned down from the VMAs of previous years; there were no controversial kisses or risqué performances that would have viewers talking for weeks to come. However, the network was able to score 11.4 million viewers, the best delivery for any MTV telecast since the 2002 VMAs.

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