Seems like every year of the MTV Video Music Awards is the worst one ever, but this year’s, on Thursday, may have actually been.
With a terribly, forcefully unfunny host in Kevin Hart, musical trends that went from dance floor mush to boy band cuteness, and an audience so bored Lil Wayne for one never took off his oversized headphones, it seemed a more uncomfortable evening than the political conventions with which it was directly competing (such are the network’s Rock the Vote ambitions these days).
What’s more important to talk about – the overblown performances or the forgettable trophy presentations? Neither will be remembered for long.
One Direction won the most awards, if you must know. The British boy band won three including best new artist; Chris Brown and M.I.A. each won two, though the M.IA. awards weren’t given on screen.
Of all the big performances, most had done the gig before – Rihanna, who opened, and Taylor Swift who closed, Pink, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Pink and Green Day. The staging used a lot of the Staples Center floor, with acts doing a lot of venturing into the crowd or merely surfing them, in an exuberant salute to the 90s.
Winners list follows:
- VIDEO OF THE YEAR Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris , “We Found Love”
- BEST NEW ARTIST One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
- BEST MALE VIDEO Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
- BEST FEMALE VIDEO Nicki Minaj , “Starships”
- BEST HIP HOP VIDEO Drake featuring Lil Wayne, “HYFR”
- BEST POP VIDEO One Direction , “What Makes You Beautiful”
- BEST ROCK VIDEO Coldplay , “Paradise”
- BEST ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC VIDEO Calvin Harris, “Feel So Close”
- BEST VIDEO WITH A MESSAGE Demi Lovato, “Skyscraper”
- MOST SHARE-WORTHY VIDEO One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
- BEST CHOREOGRAPHY Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
- BEST EDITING Beyonce , “Countdown,” editing by Alexander Hammer & Jeremiah Shuff
- BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Skrillex , “First of the Year (Equinox)” visual effects by Deka Bros & Tony T. Datis
- BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY M.I.A. , “Bad Girls, cinematography by André Chemetoff
- BEST ART DIRECTION Katy Perry, “Wide Awake,” art-direction by Benji Bamps
- BEST DIRECTION M.I.A. , “Bad Girl,s”direction by Romain Gavras