As this is a pop culture blog, I almost feel compelled to comment on the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, which was held this past Sunday. After all, the VMA’s has been a standard in pop culture for more than three decades. However, it would probably help if I actually cared about this year’s show, which I kind of didn’t. Perhaps this is age catching up with me and I’m just not as cool as I once was…nah, this show just sucks now.
Two factors turned me off long before Sunday’s ceremony even aired – the choice of host (to say I’m not a fan is an understatement) and the list of performers (I can truly say that I had little to no desire to see Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj, etc.). That said, as this is a pop culture blog, I would be remiss to not talk about some of the biggest moments from the night. And in fairness, I did enjoy The Weeknd and Tori Kelly’s performances.
Top 5 Moments Social Media Was Talking About
Miley Cyrus’ Hosting Performance – Honestly, I don’t care. To be more accurate, I don’t care about her stupid, “desperately attention-seeking” barely there outfits, the constant “look how cool and bad-ass I am because I smoke weed and talk about it” drug references, the horrible, nasally, off-key “singing”, the horrible music…just all of it. I simply don’t care and that MTV clearly seems to think many of their viewers do, so much so that she practically dominated the show, was pathetic and embarrassing for all involved. The schtick is so old it’s moldy at this point – like go take a shower and try to find a note you can actually stay on key with.
Taylor Swift Dominates – Well of course she did. Right now the music world feels like a case of “it’s Taylor’s world and we’re all just living in it.” You know, I’ve already expounded on my love/hate feelings about Taylor. That said, while I don’t necessarily have any major issues with her wins, the one for Video of the Year in particular felt very much like voters went for the “bigger and more famous equal better” mentality. It was certainly an expensive looking video with many a famous cameo and things blowing up, elaborate machines and weapons, etc. However, it was also pretty much vintage Joseph Khan with a basic and frankly boring storyline – girl is betrayed by friend and develops her girl army to fight back. Okay and… In my opinion this award should have gone to Kendrick Lamar’s Alright. It is a powerful video for a brilliant song that in the current social climate of the US, may just be one of the most important songs of the year. Taylor Swift winning Video of the Year was the obvious and safe choice, much like Taylor herself. MTV had the chance to show that contrary to the criticisms of the last few years, they still represent an important voice in pop culture. And well let’s just say they failed.
Kanye West Has A Lot of Feelings – Okay, this is not exactly breaking news to anyone who has been paying attention to Yeezy in the last few years. He has had a lot of feelings about A LOT of things, much of it being Beyonce’s apparent greatness. But his speech, after accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award, encompassed everything that is Kanye West for the last few years. It was in parts brilliant, cringe-worthy, uncomfortable and rambly. As a viewer you were simultaneously enthralled and very confused. And then he capped it off in the only way that could possibly top everything that had gone before it – an announcement that he would run for President in 2020. I’m not sure we know for a fact if he was joking or not and something tells me he doesn’t either. But it sure made for some great memes. And hey, if people can take that walking tool Trump seriously as a Presidential candidate, why not Kanye West. #Yeezyfor2020
Nicki Minaj Squashes One Beef and Starts Another – In what was supposed to be an “epic” moment I guess, Taylor Swift joined Nicki Minaj in her opening show performance, thus effectively squashing their little twitter feud. Seriously, you must have all heard about this considering it dominated headlines. Even Time magazine got in on the action. But while Nicki was ready to squash her beef with Taylor, she was just as ready to start a new one with Miley Cyrus. The drama started when Miley made some comments in an interview about Nicki’s attitude when complaining about her lack of a Video of the Year nomination for her song Anaconda. In accepting her award for Best Hip Hop Video, Nicki called out Miley for her comments in typical Nicki fashion and immediately, social media exploded with gifs and video clips of the moment. There has since been some debate about whether the whole thing was staged or not. I for one hope it wasn’t. Listen, I am no fan of Nicki Minaj, so I’m really Team No One on this. But I have to say, I kind of liked a celebrity saying “screw it” and just addressing their issue with another celebrity head on. No pussyfooting around, no passive aggressive videos or snide comments on Twitter – just an honest reaction.
Justin Bieber Cries On Stage – So this was the first time Justin Bieber performed at the VMA’s in a while, three years to be exact. It’s also been a while since he’s truly been seen performing and doing what he became famous for in the first place. So I guess that explained why the emotions overwhelmed him so much that he broke down into tears when he was done. Okay, I’m not completely cold so I didn’t totally roll my eyes or dismiss this as a publicity ploy. That said, even if the tears were real, I couldn’t care too much because much of the turmoil of the last few years in Bieber’s life has been of his own doing. So on one hand, it’s great that he’s back doing what he loves but it’s like “eh, you kind of screwed things up for yourself.” That said, I never wish bad for anyone, so hopefully he’s gotten things together and will fully get back on track with his career. As for the performance, it was okay. Nothing particularly spectacular but serviceable.
PoPnOgR@PhY 