Another epic night, another round of the craziest spectacle in music for the books: last night's 2012 MTV Video Music Awards razzled and dazzled the Staples Center in Los Angeles and it's safe to say that no music fan was disappointed. While One Direction dominated the quest for Moonmen with three silver trophies to call their own (including the coveted honor of Best New Artist), Chris Brown and M.I.A. nabbed a pair each, and there were still enough awards to go around for Nicki Minaj, Drake, Demi Lovato, Calvin Harris, and Video of the Year winner Rihanna. We take a look at the highs and lows of the big show:
BEST: The Staples Center While the Video Music Awards are notorious for their jaw-dropping performances, not many people take notice that it's often all about the incredible sets that go with them, and a massively malleable stage that looked like a futuristic wilderness was easy to transition from each eye-popping performance to the next: Pink flew from stage to stage, Green Day rocked out in the middle of the crowd, 2 Chainz descended from great heights, and Rihanna tore the stage open from the get-go with a spicy rendition of "Cockiness" leading into summer hit "We Found Love."
WORST: No surprises Where the VMAs promote their wacky unpredictability to no end, this year's shindig was surprisingly low on shock value. High on entertainment, sure, but the celebrity drama—and the lack thereof—will surely be all anyone is talking about tomorrow. MTV actually pulling off a decent show without something insane happening? Imagine that!
BEST: New artists! This year's VMAs were crucial for two buzzy new acts—R&B crooner Frank Ocean and British boy band One Direction—and it should come as no surprise that each of them knocked it out of the park. 1D unsurprisingly brought home a pair of awards (Best Pop and Best New Artist) while bringing down the house with a hyper performance of "One Thing", while Frank Ocean nearly moved the crowd to tears with an emotional rendition of his hit song "Thinking About You," dramatically set in a fiery plain.
WORST: The winners While many of the stars gifted with Moonmen are well-deserved victors (we're in full support of Rihanna for Video of the Year), there were quite a few interesting trophy choices. Nicki Minaj for Best Female over Beyoncé? Drake and Weezy over Jay and Yeezy for Best Hip-Hop? While they’re certainly fan favorites, we can't help but feel like some of the biggest acts in the world were snubbed by the power of the tween vote.
BEST: Kevin Hart Unlike Russell Brand, who was often reduced to the beginning and end bumpers during the awards, Kevin Hart was all over this year's show, and didn't let his loyal fans down in bringing the funny. Not every joke landed, but the shots he took at Drake, Chris Brown, Snooki, and Kristen Stewart were simply priceless. It's a shame that his sketch with 2 Chainz was the only pre-recorded gag of the night.
WORST: Nicki Minaj Maybe we're over the leader of the Barbz, but not once were we moved by Miss Minaj. Her outfit was as strange as ever, her gasp-filled surprise at her Best Female Video win wasn't fooling anyone, and her contribution to Alicia Keys' performance was quickly shown up by the spectacular gymnastic talents of gold medalist Gabby Douglas. We can't decide if we wanted more or less of her, but what we got tonight just didn't cut it.
BEST: Taylor Swift If the VMAs are a graph of Taylor Swift's growth, her closing performance—a live debut of "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"—showed a proper evolution of the once coy superstar. Swift is now bold, sassy, and sporting a brand new attitude for brand new album Red, and her VMA moment tonight all but proved that.
WORST: Rihanna Was it the fact that she nailed her opening performance of "Cockiness" and "We Found Love," or that she took home the night's top award? Nope, it was what you didn't see on TV: one of MTV's online cams caught Rihanna and ex-boyfriend Chris Brown kissing and embracing shortly after her win, and unfortunately, that will eclipse an otherwise stellar night, as the only thing that will be crossing anyone's mind after the show.
What were your favorite VMA moments? Let us know in the comments.
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Follow on Ology: Terron R. Moore | TVOlogy
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