The 29th annual MTV Video Music Awards (VMAS) premiered last Thursday night and brought an array of lights, colors, and music to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, California.
Celebrities from Katy Perry to Andy Sandberg filled the seats and waited to see who would win the infamous moonman trophy and who would walk out the Staples Center empty handed.
Opening the show in a unique fashion complete with a throne cradled inside a golden snakes mouth, Rihanna’s, accompanied by ASAP Rocky and Calvin Harris, performance of “Cockiness (Love it)” and “We Found Love” started the show with a bang, bringing the crowds to their feet and overwhelming the stadium with cheering.
Comedian Kevin Hart hosted the show, announced as “The Next President of the United States” and was protected by a “small” security before reaching the stage. His opening monologue focused on “mistakes” and how people need to learn to forgive. Done in an artfully humorous way he used examples such as Snooki having a baby, Chris Brown and Drake fighting over Rihanna, and Kristen Stewart’s affair to say everyone makes mistakes.
Additional performances were completed by P!nk, who sang the introduction to “Get the Party Started” before transitioning into her new song “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” and was followed by Frank Ocean’s moving performance of “Thinking About You”. The next piece was done by One Direction who sang “One Thing” at their fist appearance at the VMAs.
Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz joined forces to preform two songs “Yuck” and “No Worries”, and Green Day, who has performed at the VMAs almost as many times as Madonna, played their new song “Let Yourself Go.” Alicia Keys featuring Nicki Minaj sang “Girl on Fire” with a special introduction/appearance made by the U.S. Gymnastics Team.
The 2012 MTV VMAs ended with an upbeat performance by teen icon Taylor Swift. Swift, sporting black shorts and a red and white striped top, captivated the audience with the first live performance of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. The crowd sang along as the show came to close, ending with a stage dive by the young country singer.
Though the show seemed to be planned out down to the last second, the two-hour program beginning at 8 p.m. at moments looked extremely rushed, only announcing six of the 16 awards. The rest of the awards were announced online. This could be attributed to the Award show sharing a time slot with the third day of the Democratic Convention.
The MTV VMAs began in 1984 as a video alternative to the Grammy’s. The Man on the Moon statue was designed as an early representation of the MTV television icon. Artists such as Madonna, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga are examples of performers and winners in VMA history.
“Out of all of the performances, I’m actually tied between Taylor Swift’s performance and the combined performance of Alicia Keys and Nicki Minaj. Their energy is very clear and I honestly didn’t expect to see Gabby Douglas in the performance,” said junior media communications major Tamara Bonet. “Since Taylor was the closing, the energy she put out was very touching and whoever put her performance together did an amazing job by keeping things simple.”
At the end of the night British boy band One Direction walked away with the most awards winning in the category of Best New Artist, Best Pop Video, and Most Share-Worthy Video. After One Direction, M.I.A and Chris Brown both received two awards, and Katy Perry and Rihanna both won one Moonman each.
For more information about the 2012 MTV VMAs, the complete list of winners, or to watch any of the live performances visit www.vma.mtv.com.