day 2.285

the vmas!

mtv's big night - and the only night they really turn their focus to music - the video music awards went down with just a few hitches last night. the show was preceded by a "very special episode" of jersey shore and a pre-show that was really just a long-form commercial for thursdays' episode of jersey shore. after every interview or performance they cut to a clip of snooki taking off her earrings and threatening to hurt angelina. anyway, nicki minaj was the first act to perform when she took the stage during the pre-show.
the sound was almost off (it's been fixed in the version mtv posted). will.i.am was in some bizarre blackface make-up. overall, it could have been so much better. nicki marked the beginning of the night's trend: lip-syncing. the majority of the artists who performed either lip-synced...or should have lip-synced.

eminem opened the show with a mash-up of "not afraid" and "love the way you lie," with a surprise appearance by rihanna, who was supposedly stuck filming her film debut, battleship. it was a good performance but it could have been bigger. i feel like mtv was playing it safe with the performances this year. it felt more like we were watching a concert performance instead of an award show.

chelsea handler's opening sketch and monologue set the right tone for the night and helped introduce the comedian to those who didn't know who she was.

chelsea then made her stage debut dressed as a bootleg lady gaga. it was the easy thing to do, but i also think it was the right thing to do. the dove flying out of her koslopus? not the right thing. but you win some, you lose some.

now to all the night's other performances...

i'll start with my favorite of the night, florence + the machine doing "dog days are over." it was a song that most people probably don't know, or only recognize from commercials, but it was the only song that was done specifically for the award show and couldn't have been done in concert.

justin bieber took the stage with a "u smile/baby/somebody to love" mash-up. i'd say he was the audience favorite.

the bieb's mentor usher took the stage later and, well, you can watch it here. mtv won't let me embed it, which is fine because it could have been so much more.

the best performance idea, and worst executed, of the night was the b.o.b./bruno mars/hailey williams/paramore mash-up. it could have been so much better had the stage been used. they were just standing around singing. that's fine for a concert, but this needs to be theatrical for tv.

and then there was taylor swift. oh, taylor swift. for as talented an artist she it, the girl is not a strong live performer. she's always a little all over the place and never sounds like her records. taylor performed "innocent," a song she wrote about the kanye west incident from last year. had they not played the clip from last year's show, no one would have known what the song was about. it sounds like all her other ballads (see: "fifteen"). taylor really needs to take some time away and reevaluate what kind of music she wants to make. she's no longer a teenager and, therefore, probably shouldn't be singing about being one. step back and make like carrie underwood - an edgier country-rock-pop sound could really work for swifty.

the only other highlight of the night was kanye's closing performance. he sang "runaway," which also seemed to be a nod to last year's incident. it's a little crass and i'm not the biggest fan of the song, but the performance is worth watching.

if you want to see drake's or another performance from the night, click here.

ok, now for the winners. the two names you need to know: lady gaga and eminem.

• video of the year - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best new artist - justin bieber, "baby"
• best hip-hop video - eminem, "not afraid"
• best pop video - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best male video - eminem, "not afraid"
• best rock video - 30 seconds to mars, "kings and queens"
• best female video - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best collaboration - lady gaga featuring beyonce, "telephone"
• best dance video - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best art direction - florence + the machine, "dog days are over"
• best choreography - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best cinematography - jay z featuring alicia keys, "empire state of mind"
• best direction - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best editing - lady gaga, "bad romance"
• best special effects - muse, "uprising"
• breakthrough video - the black keys, "tighten up"

you can watch the whole show on-demand at mtv.com.