Sorry, not sorry everyone, but the MTV Video Music Awards were kind of a snooze fest.
And surprisingly, it’s what we didn’t see that ended up making the two-hour telecast uneventful.
Nicki Minaj covered her bass with a lot of clothes, the six-foot snake that supposedly bit one of her dancers during rehearsals was notably absent, Miley Cyrus stayed in her seat the entire time, and none of the musical acts did much.
That being said, there a couple standout moments, a precious few amid a sea of suddenly in crop tops and Kardashian-grade disinterest:
Beyoncé. Her 15-minute medley comprised of 14 songs from her self-titled album was kind of confusing, but the big payoff was seeing Jay-Z and Blue Ivy take the stage to present her with the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award.
Sam Smith’s Adele moment. His stripped-down rendition of “Stay With Me” came pretty close to transfixing everyone, evoking the soulful chanteuse doing the same at the 2011 VMAs with “Someone Like You.”
Miley Cyrus’ humanitarian moment. When Jimmy Fallon announced her Video of the Year award win, Cyrus sent a formerly homeless youth named Jesse on stage to deliver a short speech to raise awareness about homeless youth on her behalf. It would seem she’s using her figurative foam finger for good, so there’s that.
Ed Sheeran and Lorde’s wins prove that MTV may actually still care about music. Maybe.
Taylor Swift reminds us all that diamonté is a girl’s best friend. On a onesie. It was shiny.
And just because, here’s the complete list of 2014 VMA winners:
- Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award: Beyoncé
- Video of the Year: Miley Cyrus, “Wrecking Ball”
- Best Male Video: Ed Sheeran, “Sing”
- Best Female Video: Katy Perry, “Dark Horse”
- Artist to Watch: Fifth Harmony, “Miss Movin’ On”
- Best Pop Video: Ariana Grande, “Problem”
- Best Rock Video: Lorde, “Royals”
- Best Hip-Hop Video: Drake, “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
- MTV Clubland Award: Zedd (featuring Hayley Williams), “Stay the Night”
- Best Collaboration: Beyoncé (featuring Jay-Z), “Drunk in Love”
- Best Video with a Social Message: Beyoncé, “Pretty Hurts”
- Best Lyric Video: 5 Seconds of Summer, “Don’t Stop”
- Best Direction: DJ Snake and Lil Jon, “Turn Down for What” (Directors: DANIELS)
- Best Choreography: Sia, “Chandelier” (Choreographer: Ryan Heffington)
- Best Visual Effects: OK Go, “The Writing’s on the Wall” (Visual Effects: 1stAveMachine)
- Best Art Direction: Arcade Fire, “Reflektor” (Art Director: Anastasia Masaro)
- Best Editing: Eminem ,”Rap God” (Editor: Ken Mowe)
- Best Cinematography: Beyoncé, “Pretty Hurts” (Directors of Photography: Darren Lew and Jackson Hunt)
Photo credits: MTV
I haven’t watched the VMAs in years! Thanks for the recap so I don’t need to this year!
I didn’t watch the VMA’s and honestly it’s been a few years since I’ve seen them. Maybe that means I’m getting old….
Don’t feel bad. I didn’t know who ANYBODY was. Ok, so that’s an exaggeration. I recognized all the 90s people in the audience
Sorry I missed most of these fun awards (my girls and I usually watch together) and happy for the update!
Wait, did Taylor Swift get engaged? Did I miss it? I totally missed the VMAs last night, but I guess from what I hear, I didn’t miss much. Great recap!
LOL… no, Annie. She wore a diamanté onesie for her performance that was blinding in its bling.
Sounds pretty tame for sure. And, wow, maybe Miley is growing up after all?
Thanks so much for the great VMA recap! You’ve saved me the time of fast forwarding through last night’s awards show that is on my DVR! I can now delete it and make room for other things!
So I guess I didn’t miss anything! That’s good news.
When do they even play videos anymore. The only time I ever see music videos anymore is on YouTube. Make a YouTube Video Music Channel and kill MTV like Video killed the Radio star. That would be something.
They don’t. Hence, the irony.