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MTV Video Music Awards - General Discussion

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AgentRXS
AgentRXS

Why doesnt Madonna recognize that she is a legend and carry herself as such? She tries too hard to be cool and just being Madonna is cool enough. Prince and MJ never needed to try so hard and she does

WendyCR72
WendyCR72

I know the joke is tired as hell, but it really isn't a joke: MTV barely shows music videos anymore, so I'm at a complete loss as to how the VMAs are still a thing. I think it stopped being a rea

childeroland
childeroland

Can't be much worse than Trump.

aradia22

aradia22

I was not a fan of Taylor Swift when Teardrops on My Guitar was on the radio all the time. I don't know when I decided to give her music a shot. I think it was sometime before Love Story was released as a single. Since then I've been a fan. I think her singing has greatly improved and she shows a lot of promise as a songwriter. That promise stalled a bit with Red. It's not that I dislike her taking the pop route. I like pop music and to be honest, her music was never that country to begin with. It was more singer songwriter. But like another artist I like who keeps trying new things, Ingrid Michaelson, it doesn't really feel like she's being true to herself and I think the lack of lyrical complexity (and the fact that other people are writing a lot of the music) shows that. She doesn't have as much to say anymore. Or, if she does, she suppresses it so no one will get offended. As much as Shake It Off is supposedly about not caring what the haters think, that's my biggest problem with it. It's toothless. The video looks like a Gap commercial. The part where she's a cheerleader seems like a vague echo of You Belong With Me but with all of the problematic venom taken out. The hip hop/video vixen/fly girl section that was problematic when Lily Allen or Miley Cyrus did it seems so watered down at this point that any think pieces complaining about it seem misguided and behind the times. 

 

Her performance at the VMAs was a slight improvement just because it was a live performance and there's a certain level of authenticity to that but the slickness of it made me think of something else. I've never been one of those people to think "oh, X rom-com actress needs to be attractive to men but relatable to women and she can't be too attractive or she won't be relatable." But there's something about watching Taylor perform now... maybe it's the way she sold herself initially but it's hard to get past how gorgeous she looks. She's tall, thin, blond, and Caucasian. She looks like a model. And that doesn't really go with her songs. I guess it's like the complaint some people have about Glee now. She doesn't feel like an underdog. 

 

Anyway, I'm still a fan. I'm just conflicted over some of her recent choices.

aradia22

aradia22

Am I the only one who doesn't really get Black Widow? It doesn't sound intense and dramatic and intimidating. The lyrics are kind of meh and there's no "wow" moment where the music really soars or anything. Also, the costumes and staging looked like they were doing a production of Spiderman Turn Off the Dark. But also, damn, Iggy Azalea has an amazing figure.

aradia22

aradia22

(edited)

I'm just going to go ahead and say it. Miley Cyrus was one of the best dressed if no the best dressed attendee. That is very sad. There were no awkward slits. No unfortunate cutouts. No dresses and playsuits so short they were basically one piece bathing suits. Yeah, she managed to put on something flattering, sexy, and tasteful. Kathryn Prescott of Finding Carter looked very cute as well. Jamie Chung's dress was a little boxy but compared to everyone else, A+ lady. Darren Criss did casual menswear in an occasion appropriate way.

 

Almost everyone else? No. Why? Stop. STOP.


Is Ariana Grande trying to hide her Broadway roots by never enunciating? I seriously cannot understand most of the lyrics when she sings live. I have yet to listen to her album.

 

Jessie J does not have the best songs (though she has some good singles) but she has a killer voice. I don't get why she isn't more popular.

Edited by aradia22
  • Love 2
aradia22

aradia22

Oh, and I don't know why I didn't see it immediately but Taylor's performance was so Roxie Hart in Chicago circa the 2001 movie. The sparkly silver dress, short blond hair, red lipstick, male dancers in tuxes. I actually enjoyed the guys. They didn't get to do that much but I liked the throwback of that kind of group choreography.

Indigo Luna

Indigo Luna

You know I like Lorde and all but how the hell is she rock? It was so random that she was in that category.

Chelsea handler had no reason to be there and she seemed drunk as hell when she announced that award. It was so awkward to watch.

Jay Pharaoh was great and it was fun to see which celebrities "got" what he was doing with his impressions. Though he could've gone with out the ALS comment.

I can't believe Katy Perry won for her Dark Horse video.

Hanahope

Hanahope

I only watched a little over an hour last night, old me had to get to bed, so DVR'd the rest and will watch later tonight. I have to force myself to sit through most of this because otherwise, I 'll have no clue who my daughters are talking about.  Thoughts so far:

 

Does no one sing alone anymore?  More than half of the award nominees were X featuring Y.

 

Some of the announcers, just no:  Kim/Kanyay (yes, both of them -still don't understand why she is famous), Jeff Daniels/Jim Carrey (thank god for DVR fast forward), were the worst, but most of the rest weren't that great either.

 

Did Nicki Minaj get butt implants?  Because seriously, her butt is bigger than mine and I'm overweight.

 

Taylor Swift was actually kindof cute in her performance.

 

Katy Perry almost looked normal. 

 

How did Lorde and up in the Rock Video category?

 

Going out on a limb here and say its because there aren't enough real rock videos anymore.  I guess Foo Fighters didn't release a video this year, because those are usually quite good.  Almost surprised me that this was even still a category.  So few real rock bands/singers anymore.  /sigh  And whatever that was Lorde was wearing looked awful.

Misslindsey

Misslindsey

 

Is Ariana Grande trying to hide her Broadway roots by never enunciating? I seriously cannot understand most of the lyrics when she sings live. I have yet to listen to her album.

I am not an Ariana Grande fan anyway, but I never know what she is saying in most of her songs, since she never enunciates. Live or radio version, for me, it always sounds like a continuous high pitch wail.

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fliptopbox

fliptopbox

Also, while it's nice of Miley Cyrus to step up on behalf of the homeless....I read that all she did for that guy was get him a nice suit and 2 nights in a swanky hotel. Sure, that's nice....but then what? The money she spent for those two nights probably could have rented him an apartment for 3 months. I'd be kinda pissed if I were homeless and being paraded around to raise awareness just to get booted back to the street 2 days later.

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aradia22

aradia22

 

 

How did Lorde and up in the Rock Video category?

Going out on a limb here and say its because there aren't enough real rock videos anymore.  I guess Foo Fighters didn't release a video this year, because those are usually quite good.  Almost surprised me that this was even still a category.  So few real rock bands/singers anymore.  /sigh  And whatever that was Lorde was wearing looked awful.

Seriously. It's like the Best Latin Jazz category at the Grammy's. Even if you can scrounge up some names, most people won't know who they are.

 

So Nikki's "broken zipper"... News sources are saying that LBD never did zip up on her in any rehearsals, it was always too small.  Did she plan that for her own little Janet/Miley news flurry?

I thought it was a wardrobe malfunction and I was impressed that she handled it so well. Then again, I really enjoyed Bang Bang because I like Jessie J and Ariana was sort of enunciating and it's the only song I knew (other than Taylor's which I don't like very much) going into this awards show.

Hanahope

Hanahope

(edited)
So Nikki's "broken zipper"... News sources are saying that LBD never did zip up on her in any rehearsals, it was always too small.  Did she plan that for her own little Janet/Miley news flurry?

 

Oh, is that why she looked to be holding her top/dress/whateverthatwas together between her breasts?  I was wondering what was going on.

 

I'm convinced Ariana Grande just can't speak proper English at all. Have you ever seen her acting skills? It's horrifying.

 

To be fair, the character she plays is a moron, so of course she 'acts' like an idiot.

 

So, I get that sex sells and all the women have to wear next to nothing, or at least look like it (or in some cases, actually nothing - Miley).  But why can't the men do the same???

Edited by Hanahope
aradia22

aradia22

Beyonce's performance was so incredibly boring. Not to be the Broadway producer in Merrily We Roll Along but whatever happened to having a melody? At least she started really singing during the Drunk in Love portion. Remember Destiny's Child? Or when she was singing ballads? As mindless as Check Up On It was at least it had some energy. Love On Top was fantastic. What is this? Why did it last for sixteen minutes? I guess she was saving up her energy for the Bow Down portion but at that point it just seemed like she was going through the motions. On the plus side, Blue Ivy sort of dancing along during Flawless was adorable. The Blue portion at the end was cute as well. She finished strong but it still wasn't a big moment because I don't think she has those big moment songs anymore. I would have traded all of those sixteen minutes for Love on Top again.

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iwasish

iwasish

Also, while it's nice of Miley Cyrus to step up on behalf of the homeless....I read that all she did for that guy was get him a nice suit and 2 nights in a swanky hotel. Sure, that's nice....but then what? The money she spent for those two nights probably could have rented him an apartment for 3 months. I'd be kinda pissed if I were homeless and being paraded around to raise awareness just to get booted back to the street 2 days later.

I'd be worried he was some mentally ill homeless guy who got obsessed and started stalking me. Besides didn't the Kardashians already do the save a homeless guy thing? They got their guy teeth, and a haircut and clothing I think,  and he got a good long gander at Kim's titties, even though I think he had a hankering for Kourtney.

fliptopbox

fliptopbox

I'd be worried he was some mentally ill homeless guy who got obsessed and started stalking me. Besides didn't the Kardashians already do the save a homeless guy thing? They got their guy teeth, and a haircut and clothing I think,  and he got a good long gander at Kim's titties, even though I think he had a hankering for Kourtney.

I have no idea. I try to pretend the Kardashians don't exist. I mean, they do what, exactly?

lion10

lion10

I have many thoughts but I will say Jessie J had the best vocals of the night and I don't at all get the tongue bath Beyonce is getting for that mumbly, winded mess of a performance. Also, I think Beyonce and Jay-Z have maybe eighteen months to play with before they split.

So what is going on with them? Did he cheat? Did she cheat? Is this connected to Solange?

27bored

27bored

So what is going on with them? Did he cheat? Did she cheat? Is this connected to Solange?

I'd go with (D) All of the Above.

I think something happened which is why she's so turned up on these songs lately. She's talking about surf boarding and making Monica Lewinsky references and saying "I just wanna be the girl you like, the type of girl you like". I think she wants Jay more than he wants her.

BTW, Nicki Minaj looked like Madonna in the "Justify My Love" video when she was clutching her dress.

vibeology

vibeology

What does Ariana Grande have against the right (?) side of her face? The way she whipped around after Jeff Daniels handed her that award and the way she kept her left side to the camera during her performance made for a few strange moments. Is it just that she's a Mariah clone and Mariah always hid one side of her face or what? It's very strange.

Hanahope

Hanahope

Watched the rest of this last night while storing up the Emmys so I could FF through those commercials.  Agree that Beyonce's performance was just "meh" to me, tho her bejeweled leotard was pretty.  5 Seconds of Summer seems to have some potential, but I certainly wasn't terribly excited by them.  If Green Day and Blink 182 were their inspirations, they need to work on getting inspired a bit more.  I'm not a big Maroon 5 fan either.  We need real rock bands, not psuedo rawk.

 

Still can't believe Miley's video was considered the best.  It was literal and exploitive.

GreatKazu

GreatKazu

Beyoncé - that church window she was wearing was more interesting than the performance.

 

Jessie J - wish I could sing like her. Incredible!! Love that song, play it all the damn time.

 

I hate how Minaj appeared so much on my screen. The VMAs had so many artists to perform back in the days, but now it seems they need to recycle performers throughout the show.

 

Meh to the rest of the show.

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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

The VMAs had so many artists to perform back in the days

 

Yes, but the thing is, the VMAs also used to be about ALL music (well, minus country and classical, LOL!). Now MTV is just about pop or rap, which hey, great. But MTV used to promote different genres which helped some to go wide.

 

Rock - real rock - is all but dead on MTV. Can you picture Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora (feud notwithstanding!) doing the acoustic set they did at the VMAs in '89? (And helped launch Unplugged!) A few years later, you had the advent of grunge with Pearl Jam and Nirvana appearing. And these acts co-existed with the likes of Madonna and artists more rap/pop oriented.

 

The point is, there were more artists because more than pop was represented. But now MTV seems to want to play it safe rather than help forge trails. Just my take.

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GreatKazu

GreatKazu

(edited)

It just seems since MTV is no longer a music channel, the fact they still have this awards show, they could at least find more performers for the show. They aren't airing videos except very early in the morning (who the hell is watching at that hour?) , so it isn't as if they are promoting anything really other than unwed and pregnant girls with deadbeat guys.

 

BTW, the homeless guy who spoke about the homeless problem? He is wanted by the police in Oregon. He violated probation and has been on the run. There is a warrant out for his arrest.

Edited by GreatKazu
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WendyCR72

WendyCR72

Oh, lord. Oh, Taylor, honey, no. http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/taylor-swifts-vmas-performance-with-her-vocals-isolate-1626334694 

 

In case you were wondering what Taylor's singing would sound like with all the backup singers and other trappings taken away.

 

That...doesn't shock me. I recall there was sort of duets deal on a talk show, forget which one, with Stevie Nicks and Taylor Swift singing a duet. It was AWFUL from BOTH women as poor Stevie kept trying to change register to compensate for Taylor's...um...lack of harmony, shall we say?

 

And she did the most MONOTONE remake of Wham's "Last Christmas" that I ever had the misfortune of hearing.

 

Which is why I'm stunned she is so popular and has so many awards but, hey, we all like what we like, as I always say... Others obviously enjoy her, so I'm glad they do.

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27bored

27bored

I'm kind of baffled by Taylor's success too, to an extent, but I will say I enjoyed her New Years Eve/Roxie Hart performance. It was fun. Not great by technical standards, and the song I can take or leave, but it was fun.

 

For fun, listen to Jessie J turn "I Knew You Were Trouble" into a slow-burning, tortured serenade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TklXlHFpnlM

I'm falling more in love with Jessie J, y'all. I think she has more voice than she knows what to do with, but she has that sort of rare gift that made Whitney so special: stunning technical skill mixed with a toughness and confidence you can't really teach or replicate. Some singers just have it. Blu Cantrell has it. Etta James had it. Christina kinda has it. Conversely, people like Ariana Grande don't have it and likely wont ever have it.

 

BTW, I've realized Ariana Grande sings and acts like English isn't her first language. She even looks kind of like she's some kind of a Spanish /Family Guy. Like maybe she was born here but her parents weren't. I think she needs to learn to connect with her songs. I remember watching an old video of her singing "Hurt" and it was like the most boring rendition. She hit all the notes right, and she didn't have a big grin on her face, but there wasn't a morsel of emotion in her voice. Her next album needs to be called "ESLove"

 

Not sure who the Faux-nas Bros were who were inspired by Green Day or whoever, but they were pretty forgettable. And while I like Sam Smith, that wasn't his best performance.

aradia22

aradia22

 

I'm falling more in love with Jessie J, y'all. I think she has more voice than she knows what to do with, but she has that sort of rare gift that made Whitney so special: stunning technical skill mixed with a toughness and confidence you can't really teach or replicate. Some singers just have it.

I have listened to her first album a lot. They refuse to release her second album on Spotify and I don't have iTunes anymore so I might just have to spring for it via some other medium because I'm super interested in what she's up to right now. If you aren't already a fan Mamma Knows Best, Domino, and Who You Are are my picks from the first album. Also, like Whitney she can pretty much sing anything but sometimes she just doesn't get good songs. I've been expecting her to hit big for a while now but I think before the VMA's most people would have considered her the weakest selling point of Bang Bang. Not me, but people.

27bored

27bored

From what I heard, Nikki's dress was always "very very tight" in rehersals, and then for the final performance, the zipper split. Too much T&A. That's what you get (or intend) when you order clothes two sizes too small.

Exactly. I'm not even sure why she had to wear that dress. It could've been cute as a club dress, but it didn't seem like the type of dress you'd want to perform in.

WhitneyWhit

WhitneyWhit

(edited)

What does Ariana Grande have against the right (?) side of her face? The way she whipped around after Jeff Daniels handed her that award and the way she kept her left side to the camera during her performance made for a few strange moments. Is it just that she's a Mariah clone and Mariah always hid one side of her face or what? It's very strange.

I've read several pieces of gossip that say Ariana will only be filmed and photographed on her left side.

Edited by WendyCR72
Removed repeated post
Maharincess

Maharincess

Rock - real rock - is all but dead on MTV. Can you picture Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora (feud notwithstanding!) doing the acoustic set they did at the VMAs in '89? (And helped launch Unplugged!) A few years later, you had the advent of grunge with Pearl Jam and Nirvana appearing. And these acts co-existed with the likes of Madonna and artists more rap/pop oriented.

The point is, there were more artists because more than pop was represented. But now MTV seems to want to play it safe rather than help forge trails. Just my take.

While I would never, ever ever call Bon Jovi "real rock" ever ever, I see your point.

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