I really don't love award shows, but I like to tune in because it gives me an excuse to pig out, veg on the couch, and relax.  My best friend made red beans and rice with cornbread, and I made brownies that ended up entirely too thin with Kinder Buenos inside.  Don't worry, thin brownies are still brownies, and they still tasted amazing.

If you were one of the millions who watched the VMAs last night, chances are you have some mixed thoughts.  I'd say my feelings could be summed up in a single "meh".  I wasn't very impressed by the performances (it seems that the VMAs are consistently the most disappointing), and I found the entire show seemingly scripted and tasteless.

Let's start with the pre-show -- I'm not sure who was speaking, but one of the girls kept bobbing her head and making duck faces which I found pretty distracting and just annoying.  There's so many talented journalists, spokespeople, and hosts...don't blow it with your need to be the center of attention.

Miley.  Oh, Miley Cyrus.  You might be thinking "where art thou brain"?  I on the other hand thinks she knows exactly what she's doing.  While Miley's busy smoking, sticking her tongue out, and shaking her ass in rap videos, we're all talking about her.  It works!  She's not stupid.  Should MTV have chosen her to host the VMAs?  I don't really care, and to be honest, I think she did a pretty decent job.  Yes, I hated her outfits.  I don't even consider them outfits.  But again, she knows what she's doing and knows that even negative attention is still attention in the entertainment industry.  I personally wouldn't choose to wear macaron-looking things over my nipples and nothing else, but hey, whatever floats her boat.  I thought she had some funny one-liners and did a good job at poking fun at herself throughout the show.

Justin Bieber.  Not sure about that hair, but I'm a belieber.  He's damn talented.  Still not sure about the fit of tears at the end, but his voice continues to impress young and older fans, and he'll probably continue to kill it for a while.


Tori Kelly.  YES.  Just yes.  I wasn't too familiar with Tori before the show, but I had heard her hit single and was impressed by her voice.  When I saw her on stage, fully clothed, beautiful, minimal makeup, curly hair, and smile, I was even more impressed.   This is how you showcase talent.  I thought Tori was the best act of the night.  She was able to display her talent and her beauty without strutting around naked or distastefully calling someone out.  Props, Tori.


Nicki Minaj.  Eh, I don't really think her speech is worth discussing much.  I do think it was scripted, and for her sake I hope it was.  If it wasn't, I found her remarks distasteful and not classy at all.  Incase you missed it, Nicki went onstage to receive her award and while wrapping up, turned the mic back over to Miley and referred to her as "that b*tch who had some things to say about me last week".  Her mic was muted, and Miley commented about how they were both in the industry and know how interviews can go.  Nicki, or anyone in the music/entertainment industry, should be able to accept their award, thank whoever they want, and walk off.  No need to bring drama into a show that is attempting to recognize you for your achievement.  I thought she made herself look pretty bad.

I also found the whole Taylor Swift and Nicki performance lame.  We all know that your Twitter drama was staged so that you could go out with a bang.  Again, not a fan of 2 talented women playing into publicity schemes to up the ratings.

Taylor Swift was yet again the face of the show.  When is she not?  Yes, Bad Blood deserved an award.  But I find the Taylor-obsessed culture annoying, and the fact that she's shown on camera throughout the entire show is a bit overboard for me.  There are hundreds of celebrities sitting in one room, but we find a reason to zoom in on Taylor dancing for every clip.  But then again, she did have a posse of VS models with her, and Gigi Hadid doesn't hurt either.


And last but certainly not least, Kanye.  I'm a Kanye fan.  I find him hilarious, and we'd be lying if we said he wasn't a talented artist.  I love that he's able to show up to the VMAs in a t-shirt and sweats while being considered a fashion icon.  #KanyeForPresident.  Not really, but I'll roll with that for now.  I do find it funny that MTV allows him to talk for 20 minutes about essentially nothing.  I know he had a point to make, and I think after gathering some of his thoughts we understood, but it felt like he was trying to describe the taste of water or how it feels to be in love.  We kind of get it, but we kind of don't.  Overall, I think he was trying to spit out the fact that award shows are bologna and shouldn't measure the true success of an artist.  I agree.  He touched on MTV amping up his beef with Taylor Swift and how they made sure to have her announce his award just for more views and higher ratings.  We put too much emphasis on who wore what, who came with who, who won, who lost, etc. rather than focusing on the pure talent spread among different musical artists.  Kanye speaks the truth.

To sum it up, I wasn't a huge fan of the VMAs last night.  I wish we were able to value talent in a more classy yet still comical way.  But I'll still probably tune in next year for pizza and beer!

What were your thoughts?  Feel free to share in the comments!