Worst: Miley Cyrus Will Be Your Hostess Tonight
Let’s go back to the no host format, shall we, MTV? Miley Cyrus seemed to have two objectives Sunday night: to make mention of weed and sexual innuendo at every opportunity, and to eventually plug her free album at the end of the show. She also wore a ton of stupid stuff that left very little to be desired, for anyone who still desires at this point.
Overall, her efforts should not prove a particularly tough act to follow in 2016.
Best: Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj Move Beyond ‘Bad Blood
The entire audience inside the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles jumped to its feet when Taylor Swift took the stage, joining Nicki Minaj for a brief surprise performance of Swift’s “Bad Blood.”
The two artists had beefed over social media after Minaj complained about not receiving a VMA nomination for “Anaconda.”
Worst: But Nicki’s Still Got Beef in Her Heart
Nicki Minaj may have made nice with Taylor Swift, but she wasn’t as lovey-dovey with her host, Miley Cyrus.
After receiving the award for Best Hip Hop Video — and ironically following a shoutout to her preacher — Minaj bashed Cyrus for mentioning her in a recent New York Times interview.
Cyrus did her best to play it off and transition to the next act, but it was awkward to say the least.
Best: Justin Bieber Moves Self to Tears
The Biebs performed “Where Are U Now?” followed by brand new single “What Do You Mean?” He then took to the air, flying on a harness at the performance’s end. When lowered to the safety of the stage, Bieber broke into tears.
Perhaps the harness was too tight?
Worst: Kanye West’s Latest Rambling Rant
Kanye West is a terrific rapper and a terrible speaker. The predetermined honoree of the MTV VMAs Video Vanguard Award accepted his trophy from old show foe Taylor Swift, and then he got to preaching.
It is unclear what West’s point or motivation was, though he cursed roughly as much as he said “bro.” In the end, he admitted to smoking marijuana before the show and declared that he is running for President of the United States of America in 2020. So, ah, rock the vote.
Best and Worst: MTV’s Censoring Job
It was the best of efforts, it was the worst of efforts. MTV had a big task Sunday night, trying to keep its flagship awards show to a PG-13 level. For the most part, whoever was manning the “dump” button did a nice job covering up a ton of expletives — but the cable channel was a bit asleep as the wheel with visual censorship.
Rebel Wilson wore a shirt with the word “Fuck” clear as day on it, and MTV got caught with its host sans shirt (or anything else on top), as Miley Cyrus suffered a nip slip at one point. Not that she cares.
Best: Macklemore Takes It to the Streets
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis rarely give a milquetoast performance, and Sunday’s ambitious exterior VMAs performance was no exception.
The duo gave daps to old-school hip-hop with a movement-filled mini set that included guest stars such as Kool Moe Dee. One that that wasn’t so great? Macklemore’s moped negotiating skills.
Worst: Clock Management
Like seemingly every awards show, the MTV VMAs simply could not stick within their allotted time. Much of that can be attributed to Kanye West’s aforementioned all-over-the-place award acceptance/2020 candidacy speech. That’s what you get for giving that guy the one trophy that doesn’t come with optional play-off music.
Though the show was somewhere around two-and-a-half hours, most folks in attendance would probably tell you that it felt even longer. Anyway, here’s a picture of Demi Lovato and Iggy Azalea.
Best: Miley Hearts Wayne Coyne
The unlikely lovefest between the 54-year-old Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne and 22-year-old Cyrus continued at the VMAs.
Coyne, who produced the surprise album Cyrus dropped at the end of the show, assisted the pop singer with her performance by holding an air cannon between her thighs and firing as she stroked it. Coyne and Cyrus previously performed together at the Billboard Music Awards, and Cyrus appeared on the Flaming Lips’ 2014 Beatles tribute album “With a Little Help From My Fwends.”
