A show that is unmistakably loud, full of scandal and egomania, and the most absurd fashion choices (after the MET Gala, of course), the MTV VMA’s gave us nothing besides these factors this year. It did, however, have a few more brutal shocks for us. After Madonna’s astonishing introduction paying tribute to the 40th birthday of MTV, you wouldn’t expect this show to turn out as anything but incredible. Ironically, the cards unfolded the other way round. It was a night where Justin Bieber mentioned “the COVID thing” in passing, Billie Eilish refused to clap for J-Lo, and ended with Lil Nas X yelling, “Let’s go gay agenda”.
Many who followed MTV for its golden history have probably decided not to tune into this channel anymore. MTV set off lumbering tributes to their past to protect their glory, beginning with Madonna’s speech. As surprising (as per Avril Lavigne’s semi claps) as it was to see Justin Bieber in his all-hoodie attire step up and accept artist of the year in front of Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift, his speech was even more astounding. Donned with the vocabulary of a 10-year-old, his speech goes on to reiterate the “unprecedented times” we are currently facing, taking us back to the mailing list emails we receive month after month. We also heard Olivia perform, for the millionth time, Good 4 U instead of the many underrated tracks from her spectacular debut album. I mean the opportunity for Déjà vu and Jealousy, Jealousy was right there. I’m not complaining, though. Any chance to hear Olivia Rodrigo sing live is nothing short of a blessing.
Rodrigo’s acceptance speech for the song of the year, “Drivers License”, was one of the ups from the many downs of this show. Her iconic line “[I wanna dedicate this award] to all the other girls who write songs on their bathroom floor” needs to be put on a mug, shipped, and sold in millions worldwide. I’d buy one of those.
Normani stole the show with her instant-classic performance of “Wild Side,” securing her place as one of the most promising artists of our time! The costume! The choreography! The Janet Jackson vibes! I am here for it! But Doja Cat’s hosting made this show an insurmountable amount of times more viewable. Her non-performance, shortcuts around long speeches on the teleprompter, and absurd clothes gave us what the VMA’s are all about. Comforting chaos.
And while this show was a complete train wreck, people around the world (myself included) tuned in to get our hands on this show, and we’re not stopping anytime soon. This 3-hour long product-placement show still gave us those daring and “risqué” live performances (cough, cough: Lil Nas X) we crave so desperately!
