The MTV Video Music Awards gave viewers heartache, hope, controversy, and complete confusion in a span of a two hours. The infamous award show which celebrates the best in music video making was broadcasted live from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Aug. 31, 2015. With a host like Miley Cyrus, the thirty first annual show was packed with A-listers, legends, and newcomers, with everyone from Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, to Tori Kelly and The Weeknd. Though not in typical VMA fashion with no wardrobe malfunctions, twerking, or interruptions of award acceptance speeches – there is plenty to discuss.
Back in July 2015, there was a feud between Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus. When the VMA nominations were announced, Minaj took to Twitter to express her dissatisfaction that the music video for her hit song, Anaconda, failed to pick up a Video of the Year nomination. It is ironic since it attracted nineteen million views the day of its release and instantly went viral over social media. Cyrus started the beef when in a recent interview with the New York Times, she said,
“But I don’t respect your statement because of the anger that came with it … What I read sounded very Nicki Minaj, which, if you know Nicki Minaj is not too kind. It’s not very polite.”
Fast forward to Sunday night, when Anaconda won its award for Best Hip Hop video, Minaj took to the stage to thank her fans and then call out Cyrus by saying,
“And now, back to this girl that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press. Miley, what’s good?”.
The camera then shows Cyrus, dumbfounded and eyes widened in disbelief. Many have speculated that the entire thing was staged but Miley’s reaction shows that it was all too real.
Sunday night was also a night of redemption for Justin Bieber. The formerly troubled, young star performed a mashup of his catchy songs ‘Where Are U Now’ and the newly released, ‘What do you Mean?’. Once Bieber had finished his set, he was met with a standing ovation from the entire audience as he broke down in tears. This performance is a comeback for Bieber, for it is his first award show appearance in two years.
The biggest winner of the night was Taylor Swift. Out of nine nominations, Swift took home the most prestigious awards of the night including Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, and Video of the Year for her song Bad Blood which she collaborated on with Rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Though the award show is called the VMA’s, it was ultimately all about Kanye West. He was honored with the pinnacle ‘Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award’ for his efforts in film and music videos since his debut in 2004. After a video montage was shown in his honor, West took to the stage in a very Kanye West like fashion. He accused MTV of lying to gain more viewers, apologized to Taylor Swift for his behavior during the 2009 VMA’s, and encouraged artists to care deeply for their work and fight for the rights of others. After an impressive twelve minute speech, West ended with an announcement that he was running for president in 2020 and gracefully walked off stage as the room roared with applause.
Since then, #Yeezy2020 has been shared over one million times across all social media platforms. Although the VMA’s is centered around music, it’s very considerate of West to encourage youth to be involved in the presidential campaign.
The VMA’s were filled with celebrity feuds, outrageous speeches, and best of all, the best current music. People hate to love the VMAS and love to hate them. It does, however, make for some pretty entertaining television for a Sunday night. Next year should be even better.
Until then, don’t start fights over Twitter and vote for Kanye West in 2020.
Top Image: MTV
