First Posted: 8/26/2013
The trend with the MTV Video Music Awards is that the show is short on awards, moderate on music, and heavy on moments that the blogosphere will be writing about for weeks to come. Last Sunday night proved no different, as the only memorable award belonged to the man responsible for the evening’s biggest performance.
Justin Timberlake received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from a breathless Jimmy Fallon. The presentation followed a 15-minute trip down memory lane which showcased the star’s extensive library, impressive choreography, and the reason why we came to know Timberlake in the first place.
In possibly the worst kept secret of the evening, J.C. Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass, and Joey Fatone reunited with Justin; for about two minutes, but reunited nonetheless. ‘NSYNC elicited the loudest response of the show from the sold out crowd inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center – entering to “Gone,” segueing to “Girlfriend,” and bringing it home with “Bye, Bye, Bye,” dance moves and all.
Still, the night belongs to Timberlake alone, who also took home Moonmen for Best Direction, Best Editing, and the top Video of the Year honor thanks to “Mirrors,” which the entertainer accepted with a heartwarming speech about how his grandparents inspired the piece.
The second-most talked about event of the evening, or first if you’re using Twitter statistics, was Miley Cyrus’ performance with Robin Thicke, and the gyrating that followed. A source inside the Barclays Center during rehearsals, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Cyrus had practiced all of her raunchy moves with Thicke prior to Sunday’s award show. That could make the whole situation better or worse, depending on your perspective.
While Katy Perry’s closing of the show provided awesome visuals of the Brooklyn Bridge as she pranced around a boxing ring to her new smash “Roar,” it was Kanye West, Macklemore, and Bruno Mars who turned in other noteworthy performances. Lady Gaga kicked off the evening to a loud ovation with “Applause,” but the show fell into disarray before Timberlake got things back on track midway through.
While the show itself is now one of the biggest nights in music, the awards carry little to no weight. The arena booed audibly when One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” won a fan vote for “Song of the Summer,” a title that any person with common sense will tell you belongs to Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”
As of press time, no television ratings were published for the event. Last year’s VMAs were held on a Thursday night and on the West Coast, taking over Los Angeles’ STAPLES Center.
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