This year’s MTV Video Music Awards had the unfortunate luck of coinciding with President Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, which was broadcast on almost every other network besides MTV. But if you chose to watch the POTUS accept his party’s nomination for the second time, instead of watching the VMA’s, you didn’t miss too much. This year’s VMA’s were remarkably low-key and understated, at least by MTV’s standards—no girl-on-girl celebrity make-out sessions, no rappers interrupting acceptance speeches by country music sweethearts. Mainly it was business as usual (whatever “usual” is), with standout live performances by the likes of P!nk, Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys and others. Oh, and Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas did some gymnastics. Otherwise, the cheering crowd at the DNC probably carried more energy than the VMA audience—and that’s mainly because there were more people at the DNC.

That’s not to say the VMA’s weren’t good—just to say there were no outrageous moments you’d kick yourself for missing. And that’s probably a good thing. (You don’t want to upstage the President, after all.)

As far as the awards themselves, no one really swept them this year; UK boy band One Direction were the “big” winners with three awards, while Chris Brown and M.I.A. walked away with two each. If you’re curious and don’t have time to watch the entire replay on MTV’s website, here’s a quick rundown of the winners:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR: “We Found Love” by Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
(Rihanna beat out videos by Drake, Gotye, M.I.A. and Katy Perry.)

BEST NEW ARTIST: One Direction (beating out Carly Rae Jepsen, fun., Frank Ocean and The Wanted)

BEST FEMALE VIDEO: “Starships” by Nicki Minaj

BEST MALE VIDEO: “Turn Up the Music” by Chris Brown

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO: “HYFR” by Drake ft. Lil Wayne Rigsby

BEST POP VIDEO: “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction

BEST ROCK VIDEO: “Paradise” by Coldplay

BEST EDM VIDEO: “Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris

BEST VIDEO WITH A MESSAGE: “Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato

MOST SHARE-WORTHY VIDEO: “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction

BEST ART DIRECTION: “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: “Bad Girls” by M.I.A.

BEST DIRECTION: “Bad Girls” by M.I.A.

BEST EDITING: “Countdown” by Beyonce

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: “Turn Up the Music” by Chris Brown

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: “First of the Year (Equinox)” by Skrillex

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About the Author

David Tillman on MUSIC IS MY OXYGEN WEEKLY.

David Tillman is an independent composer/arranger whose primary work involves writing jingles for commercials for radio and television, with several film and television placements to his credit as well. David has a fascination for all things related to the music business and the music industry in general, an obsession which his wife finds to be mildly unhealthy at times. His personal tastes in music are in electronica and industrial rock, and include The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk and Nine Inch Nails (he loves that Trent Reznor is writing soundtracks!). When not in his office or in his man-cave, David enjoys skiing, hiking, the occasional game of golf, and sometimes just lounging by the pool. David lives with his wife and three children in Los Angeles, CA.

Tagged: MTV, music industry, Video Music Awards, VMAs
Posted in: Featured, Music Industry

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