By Rachel Katz
Staff Writer
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards were filled with wild surprises, such as Beyonce revealing her pregnancy and Lady Gaga performing as her alter ego. This year’s awards were even better.
There wasn’t a dull moment throughout the whole show. Amber Rose revealed her baby bump, Frank Ocean performed for his first time on the VMA stage, Chris Brown congratulated Rihanna with a kiss, and Drake made a heartwarming speech that almost everyone could relate to. However, it was disappointing to see One Direction win three awards and beat out extremely talented people that were nominated for the same category.
It all started off at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, September 6th. Hundreds of crazed fans and paparazzi awaited the arrival of the most popular celebrities in the music industry.
As the Pre-Show began, hundreds of celebrities walked down the first ever double-decker red carpet, which was a two story high carpet. After posing for photographers and getting interviewed by the press, some were nice enough to walk down and greet their fans.
Teenagers screamed at the top of their lungs as the cast of Awkward, Teen Wolf, and Jersey Shore made their way down the red carpet. The arrival of artists such as Frank Ocean, NeYo, Katy Perry, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, and Kesha even brought a few tears.
The most anticipated arrival of the afternoon was that of One Direction. Fans couldn’t contain their excitement or their tears as their favorite group walked just inches away from them.
However, when fans held out their hands and their phones in hopes for at least a picture, One Direction quickly walked away and tried not to get too close.
The afternoon got even more exciting when Demi Lovato performed her hit song “Give You’re Heart a Break.“ As she danced around the stage in a black sparkly dress and black booties, she kept every note in tune and didn’t miss a beat. Her voice was flawless and she sounded even better live than on the radio. Her song “Skyscraper” won her an award for Best Video with a Message.
As the last of the celebrities made their way across the red carpet and waved hello to their admirers, many fans were disappointed to find out that Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Niki Minaj, Beyonce, and Drake were amongst the few that chose to skip through the red carpet process and avoid the screaming masses.
The VMA’s continued in the Staples Center with unforgettable performances by Rihanna, Greenday, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, and Pink. Frank Ocean’s performance of “Thinkin Bout You” was filled with emotion, and One Direction’s performance of “One Thing” brought everyone to their feet.
Alicia Keye’s performance of her new song “Girl on Fire” was exciting, however it was very pitchy and certainly not one of her best.
Almost all of the evening’s performers decided to interact with their screaming fans, which was a refreshing change compared to previous award shows. Rihanna walked through the huge crowd and danced with all her fans as she sang “We Found Love” and Lil Wayne crowd surfed.
Plenty of awards were taken home by unexpected recipients. Drake won “Best Hip-Hop Video” for HYFR and One Direction won awards for Best New Artist, Best Pop Video, and Most Share-Worthy Video. Rihanna walked away with the Video of the Year award for We Found Love featuring Calvin Harris.
Even though the majority of the awards could have been given to artists other than One Direction, this year’s MTV Video Music awards were refreshing and exciting .
Leave a Reply