The MTV Video Music Awards are dead, long live the MTV Video Music Awards.
The 2007 edition of the show — which generated way more pre-press and pontification than any I can remember in recent years — is the culmination of a deconstructive process that has been ongoing since the original 1984 installment. Besides the new award categories, the new venue and every other tweak, the show was noteworthy — if not revolutionary — for being a large-scale introduction to the concept of a "choose your own" event. The TV version you saw was just a sampler and the fact that it was a one time only broadcast is irrelevant: There was no definitive show and it certainly wasn't designed to be a fixed TV event. It was designed to compel viewers to fire up their laptops and check out whatever turned them on — leading to tons of content available on-demand at mtv.com from the numerous concurrent performances that were barely hinted at on-air.
If it was drama they were after, then MTV certainly got that. And it's kind of fitting that those moments — Kid Rock vs. Tommy Lee in the battle for Pamela or Kanye's latest demand for more respect and airtime no matter how much he's already been granted — happened largely off-camera. The show ain't about the show no more and maybe MTV is no longer about giving you the One Thing that everyone must consume, but rather giving everything and then letting the viewer — if we can call this participant/controller a mere "viewer" — sort it all out. It certainly matches the fragmented, Internet-fueled zeitgeist of the moment. In that spirit — or more likely, due to my scattered, hungover brain after a long evening — I offer two lame puns to end this hungover recap of last night. Choose the one that floats your boat. 1) What happened in Vegas probably won't stay in Vegas, and/or, 2) VMAs 2.0 were a huge gamble (get it?) that may seem puzzling now, but could turn out to be as influential as version 1.0.
So, without further ado, here's the award winners and a recap from Video Static contributor Kevin Holy who dutifully watched the show and was kind enough to report on what he saw and what he thought.
2007 MTV VMA Winners:
- Video of the Year: Rihanna f/ Jay-Z "Umbrella"
- Male Artist of the Year: Justin Timberlake
- Female Artist of the Year: Fergie
- Best New Artist: Gym Class Heroes
- Best Group: Fall Out Boy
- Best Collaboration: Beyonce and Shakira "Beautiful Liar"
- Quadruple Threat: Justin Timberlake
- Monster Single of the Year: Rihanna f/ Jay-Z "Umbrella"
- Best Direction: Samuel Bayer for Justin Timberlake: "What Goes Around ..."
- Best Editing: Ken Mowe for Gnarls Barkley "Smiley Faces"
- Best Choreography in a Video: Marty Kudelka for Justin Timberlake "My Love"
Kevin Holy's take:
When MTV's Video Music Awards rolled out its first low-rent red carpet in 1984, it was a makeshift bandwagon for the cutting edge, often threatening to fly the planet off as it collided musical acts far and wide on a single stage. It was an often-brilliant formula that worked for almost two decades, but the sheen has faded in recent years as MTV struggles to remain relevant in the face of a collapsing music industry and a new cultural revolution found in Blackberries and iPods.
With the 2007 Video Music Awards MTV has reinvigorated its flagship program, and possibly saved its own reputation as arbiter of youth culture, by throwing one of the livest parties in awards show history. Set inside the roaming hallways, luxury suites, clubs, and the Pearl theater of Las Vegas' Palms Resort Casino, the ghosts of artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna resonated not just literally - in Chris Brown's performance of "Billie Jean," for instance - but figuratively as the past, present and future of MTV collided in a pop culture supernova that seemed to vibrate the entire hotel.
The show got off to an OMGWTFLOL start as Britney Spears awarded viewers the laziest performance in VMA history, slinking around on stage half-miming her comeback single "Gimme More," a performance which shut down PerezHilton.com for more than an hour last night.
The parties didn't stop as the performances and awards scrolled by without getting hyperactive or becoming a parody. There were challenges to MTV to play more videos - both by Justin Timberlake, numerous awkward moments that live shows thrive on, and countless moments of mind-blowing brilliance. The final award of the night, Video of the Year, went to Rihanna for "Umbrella" - a decidedly anti-climactic choice knowing that Kanye West was waiting somewhere to dis Justice. But nevermind. If we learned anything last night it's that, In the face of a rising tide of technology, MTV can still throw one hell of a party. Now about those missing categories...
[All photos from this post are from MTV.com. Visit their VMA photo section for lots more]
