Chloe Jiang
Body parts were flashed, a presidency was announced, hair was restyled, and feuds were destroyed, as well as created. MTV VMAs are no stranger to the outrageous, the insane, and silver moon man trophies, and this year was no exception.
Here’s a quick recap of what news stations, celebrities, fans, and haters have been buzzing about since the carpet of colored bars was rolled out on Sunday, Aug. 30.
Rocking Resolutions:
Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift let go of their Twitter fight that-shall-not-be-named when they performed a mash-up of each of their hit singles, “The Night is Still Young” and “Bad Blood”.
A Blast from the Past:
Since the 2009 VMAs incident when Kanye West infamously interrupted Taylor Swift’s award acceptance and went down in meme history, the pop princess and self-pronounced Yeezus have set aside their differences. When presenting Kanye with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, Taylor described Kanye as someone who “defines what it is to be a creative force in music, fashion, and, well, life.” And, of course, she went on to say that she’s “gonna let him finish.”
A Glimpse into the Future…and Kanye being Kanye?:
Watch out, America. Kanye announced his bid for presidency in the 2020 election during an eleven minute speech that ended with the dropping of the mike…literally.
A Hero’s Return: What Do You Mean, Bieber’s back?
Breaking news. He who coined the term “Bieber hair” no longer has “Bieber hair”. No but seriously, the Biebs took the VMA’s stage with his new single “What Do You Mean,” which ended with an emotional onstage sob session.
We can’t stop… talking about Miley:
First, Miley Cyrus took the stage as the host of the VMAs. Then, there was the flash of you-know-what (with an inevitable nip slip). Later that night, Minaj called Cyrus out on a previous interview, where Cyrus criticized the Twitter fight that again-shall-not-be-named. Cyrus was also called out online for wearing dreadlocks, which have recently been seen as cultural appropriation by social justice warriors. She also announced her support for Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election.
Amazing Artist Awards (yes, VMAs stands for Video Music Awards):
- Video of the Year: “Bad Blood” (Taylor Swift)
- Best Female Video: “Blank Space” (Taylor Swift)
- Best Male Video: “Uptown Funk” (Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars)
- Best New Artist: “Trap Queen” (Fetty Wap)
- Best Hip-Hop Video: “Anaconda” (Nicki Minaj)
- Best Pop Video: “Blank Space” (Taylor Swift)
- Best Rock Video: “Uma Thurman” (Fall Out Boy)
- Best Video with a Social Message: “One Man Can Change the World” (Big Sean ft. Kanye West and John Legend)
- Song of the Summer: “She’s Kinda Hot” (5 Seconds of Summer)
- Best Collaboration: “Bad Blood” (Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar)
- Best Visual Effects: “Where Are U Now” by Skillrex and Diplo ft. Justin Bieber (Brewer, Gloria FX and Max Chyzhevskyy)
- Best Direction: “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar (Directors: Colin Tilley and the Little Homies)
- Best Choreography: “I Won’t Let You Down” by Ok Go (Choreographers: Ok Go, air:man and Mori Harano)
- Best Editing: “7/11” by Beyonce (Beyonce, Ed Burke, Jonathan Wing)
- Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award: Kanye West
- Best Cinematography: Flying Lotus feat. Kendrick Lamar, “Never Catch Me” (Larkin Sieple)
- Best Art Direction: Snoop Dogg, “So Many Pros” (François Rousselet, Jason Fijal)
The Crowd:
And who could forget about the fans and the haters, who are made an integral part of any award show through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.
That's one theory. http://t.co/ZDDzBaXwPe #VMAs #Kanye2020 pic.twitter.com/ZBx7wbYSuU
— Tumblr🧣 (@tumblr) September 2, 2015
JUSTIN WAS SO EMOTIONAL TALKING ABOUT HIS PERFORMANCE AT THE VMAS I WAS LEGIT ABOUT TO CRY. HE WAS SO TOUCHING N SOFT SPOKEN
— jdb (@jdb_nikki) September 3, 2015
https://twitter.com/biebergrandenyc/status/639291869764190209
wait Kanye wore a T SHIRT to the vmas???
— Olivia Olson (@yo_doubleO) September 3, 2015
The #VMAs are on again, so I actually get to see what went down. It is an absolute train wreck 💥🚂
— Kae (@doritowrangler) September 3, 2015
JUSTIN WAS SO EMOTIONAL TALKING ABOUT HIS PERFORMANCE AT THE VMAS I WAS LEGIT ABOUT TO CRY. HE WAS SO TOUCHING N SOFT SPOKEN
— jdb (@jdb_nikki) September 3, 2015
