INGLEWOOD—For the first time in years, I was stoked about watching the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Perhaps it was the fact that the level of star power at this year’s ceremony was at a fever pitch. The ceremony was posted at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. Beyonce led all nominees with a total of eight nominations, and Queen Bee walked away with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award.
The singer unleashed a performance that tore the house down as she held the stage for more than 20 minutes. She started out the marathon with her hit “Mine,” complete with intricate choreography and blue flames. She then transitioned to her hit “Onto You,” before moving into other medleys from her latest album including the dance frenzy “Blow.”
She then performed her monumental hit “Drunk in Love,” full of sensual choreography. She than parlayed into the club-thumper “Partition,” and a video montage featuring her daughter Blue Ivy and husband Jay-Z, such a sweet and tender moment. She broke down to tears as she was joined on stage by her husband and daughter, as she accepted her award; the best performance of the night and worth the wait.
The ceremony opened with Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J. Grande starting singing her futuristic hit “Break Free,” complete with intergalactic dance moves, and its apparent Ariana has some pipes. Minaj than took the stage singing her massive hit “Anaconda” which just broke records for most views for a music video outperforming Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” It was indeed a tantalizing performance to say the least. Jessie J then joined the ladies on stage to perform “Bang Bang.”
The first award of the night Best Female Video was presented to Katy Perry feat. Juicy J “Dark Horse,” that was indeed a surprise. As I was expecting either Beyonce or Iggy to take the prize.
Country darling Taylor Swift unleashed her newest hit “Shake It Off” which had the crowd clapping and roaring around. The tune is indeed catchy as hell. Best Male Video was given to Ed Sheeran “Sing.” Funnymen Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels presented Best Pop Video to Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea “Problem.” Sam Smith took to the stage to perform his melancholy hit “Stay With Me.”
In a side note, rapper/actor Common came to the stage to shed a bit of light on the issue dominating America in Ferguson, Missouri. He later presented the award for Best Hip-Hop Video to Drake “Hold On We’re Going Home.” Best Rock Video went to Lorde “Royals” who was quite flabbergasted while accepting her award on the stage. The trophy for Artist to Watch was handed out to Fifth Harmony “Miss Movin’ On.”
Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora hit the stage to perform their new hit “Black Widow.” It was complete with stunning costumes, but nothing memorable in my opinion. Nearly 90 minutes into the show, and I still haven’t been wowed by a performance since the opening number. Maroon 5 took the stage outside to perform their new single, with a crowd that loved every single minute of it.
Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon presented the award for Video of the Year to Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball.” Now that I think of it, I’m not too surprised by Miley’s win. She did something unexpected; it was a heartfelt moment where Miley allowed a run-away and homeless teen named Jesse accept her award. He delivered a speech that literally left the audience silent and completely stunned by what was taking place on stage. I was literally standing to my feet with what Ms. Cyrus just did. Unbelievable, courageous and simply put, empowering and a stand-out moment of the show!
And just like that the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards are in the record books. You wanna know one thing, this is the first year, and there was not one of those shocking moments that left audiences horrified like in previous years. Let’s see what happens in 2015.
By LaDale Anderson
