On Aug. 24, the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards aired on television live from Inglewood, California, as millions of viewers tuned in to see who would come out on top. Going into the night, Iggy Azalea and Beyoncé led the nominations with eight, each followed by Eminem who fell slightly behind with seven. This year’s awards show was hosted by Jay Pharoah and included performances by Fifth Harmony, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Maroon 5, to name a few.
The big talk of the night was the opening performance by Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J. Grande opened with her new hit “Break Free,” and at its conclusion Minaj appeared on stage to perform her latest hit “Anaconda.”
Minaj took the stage by storm after an incident during the practice rehearsal with one of her back-up dancers and a boa constrictor, which ultimately prevented the full effect of the performance from being shown. According to a spokesperson for Minaj, the boa constrictor that was around Minaj’s neck before the show bit one of the back-up dancers resulting in a trip to the hospital.
That wasn’t all that had people talking about her performance. Minaj showed off her twerking skills and even had a wardrobe malfunction. After this sizzling performance, singer Jessie J joined Grande and Minaj to sing their latest hit “Bang Bang.”
Interspersed between musical performances were the presentations of the awards for each section. The big winner of the night was, with no surprise for many, Beyoncé. She won four awards: Best Cinematography, Best Video with a Social Message, Best Collaboration and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. No other artist received more than one award, if any.
Video of the Year went to Miley Cyrus for her “swinging” performance in her hit “Wrecking Ball,” followed by Best Male Video going to British star Ed Sheeran for “Sing.” Katy Perry took home the win for Best Female Video for her hit “Dark Horse,” and the group Fifth Harmony came out on top as the Artist to Watch, beating out the boy band 5 Seconds of Summer, and Sam Smith. Other mentionable wins included Best Pop Video for Ariana Grande’s hit “Problem,” Best Choreography for Sia’s “Chandelier” and Best Editing for rapper Eminem’s “Rap God.”
There was a huge difference noted by one of the pop stars as Miley Cyrus was not seen twerking on Robin Thicke, but she was all the talk as she let someone else accept her award for Video of the Year.
Cyrus brought 22-year-old Jesse Helt to the VMA’s in order to raise awareness on homeless youth, yet little did we know Helt had an outstanding warrant in his home state of Oregon. Three days later, Helt turned himself into the Oregon police.
This year’s VMA’s thrilled the audience with excellent performances and heartfelt acceptance speeches, and even after all was said and done it was the talk of the news for days. I’m sure I am not alone when I say I cannot wait until next year to see what will happen.
