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Music. Mayhem. Music. Those are the profound words that are currently counting down MTV's 25th Annual Video Music Awards. The VMAs are the Grammys for music videos and it has proudly evolved to become a distinguished symbol of American pop culture. No matter how much you disgustingly hate MTV, the VMAs has secured its place in the back of everybody's minds for the show's always unpredictable pandemonium and outrageous circumstances.
From the red carpet to the end of the credits, you simply can't turn your head for a split second during the entire award show because anything, and I mean anything, can happen. That doesn't mean the VMAs doesn't have any memorable positive moments. The event arguable puts on the best quality performances any award show has seen, some of which resinating in television history.
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards are going down tomorrow night, hosted by English comedian Russell Brand at the Paramount Picture Studios in Hollywood (I remember they used to film all the old Nickelodeon shows there back in the day). This year MTV decided to include a little more public input by allowing viewers to vote for the nominations. By the look of the performance line-up, I'm sure the show will live up to its prominent past.
The urban acts scheduled to perform are Rihanna (Disturbia), Lupe Fiasco with Travis Barkey and DJ AM (Superstar), T.I. with Rihanna (Live Your Life/Whatever You Like), Lil Wayne with Kid Rock (All Summer Long/Lollipop), T-Pain (Church/Can't Believe It), and the closing act Kanye West (Love Lockdown). It's amusing to see Kanye West and MTV finally reconcile with each other, that situation was h-i-l-arious. To view the full list of performers, click here.
Below are my unworthy predictions of the winners in bold that are going home with a silver astronaut tomorrow evening. I've only included a selected number of categories because I can definitely assure you that I'm not qualified to judge nominees from groups like "Best Rock Video" and "Best Pop Video" (my readers are hip-hop heads anyway). Tune into the VMAs at 9:00 PM to see how I did!
Best Hip-Hop Video:
Mary J. Blige - Just Fine (They really need to make an R&B/Soul category for next year...)
Lupe Fiasco - Superstar
Flo Rida - Low
Lil Wayne - Lollipop
Kanye West - Homecoming
I was contemplating between Weezy and Yeezy on this one, but Hype Williams' originality was the ultimate deciding factor for "Homecoming." The black and white coloring compliments the images of Chi-City perfectly and the cut-out effect implemented on Chris Martin is bananas. "Lollipop" is a great video, but it isn't necessarily something we've haven't seen before. Maybe Gil Green should have placed Lil Wayne in an astronaut suit on the moon or something. It would have went well with the occasion.
Best Dancing in a Video:
Chris Brown - Forever
Danity Kane - Damaged
Madonna - 4 Minutes
Ne-Yo - Closer
Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up
This was a tough one. I'm far from a talented dancer myself so it was difficult to pinpoint the exact degree of difficulty in each of these videos. Basically whatever looked good was good enough for me. Chris Brown is famously known for his skills on the dance floor and his choreography can get a bit repetitive because he dances in every one of his videos. Ne-Yo isn't nearly as recognized for his footwork and I think he did a tremendous job with "Closer." But Breezy definitely stepped it up in "Forever" by incorporating fresh eye-catching moves and slick pose throughout the entire video. Even though it has a darkened atmosphere, you can still easily see his intricate and detailed work. Don't be down Ne-Yo, you'll own Chris in song writing any day.
Best Male Video:
Chris Brown - With You
Flo Rida - Low
Lil Wayne - Lollipop
T.I. - No Matter What
Usher - Love in this Club
The music video for Usher's "Love in this Club" was a superb comeback after a four year haitus from the music industry. I am actually surprised that this video wasn't nominated for "Best Dancing" (Does this prove that Chris Brown is officially considered a better dancer than Usher now?!). It was obvious from the gecko that this song's video will take place in a club setting and I was afraid that the final product will come out overly generic and flat, but that clearly wasn't the case. The Brother Strause cleverly set Usher in a club alone as he imagines himself experiencing his ideal fantasy. The video also demonstrated some of the best lighting techniques we've seen all year. What's a club without any dope lighting effects? Apparently nothing when you don't have anyone to share it with.
Best Female Video:
Mariah Carey - Touch My Body
Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl
Rihanna - Take a Bow
Jordin Sparks - No Air
Britney Spears - Piece of Me
Mariah Carey and Britney Spears, arguable the two biggest female pop stars today, have received huge amounts of top honors and treasured awards throughout their long, drawn-out careers. However, both of them still haven't won their very first VMA. Will this be the year? It will be for Mariah Carey at least. I thought Brett Ratner's humorous approach a such an intimate subject matter allowed viewers to really enjoy "Touch My Body" on an entirely different level. The various settings, outfits, and actions Mariah participates in are priceless. Jack McBrayer largely contributed to the success of this video and I know a lot of guys were able to relate to his image as a soft-headed, nerdy moron.
And those are my picks!!
The station also already announced the winners of the less significant categories. Here are some notables from the pack...
Best Special Effects: Kanye West - Good Life
Best Direction: Erykah Badu - Honey
Best Choreography: Gnarls Barkley - Run
Best Art Direction: Gnarls Barkley - Run
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