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When we look back at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, we will remember two things: 1) This Jessie J thing is not going to happen, America, but it wasn't for lack of effort, and 2) Beyonce and Jay-Z are having a baby. For a two-and-a-half hour show, you'd think there'd be more memories, but this year's event lacked the electricity it somehow musters up each year. The water coolers are extra quiet this morning.
Here's a look back at last night's show in random spurts of reaction and head-shaking:
•••• Lady Gaga's opening number proved she's still worth watching, no matter the context. No one takes being a Pop Star more seriously, while somehow still keeping a sense of humor and perspective. That shouldn't be asked of every star, but it's refreshing to see someone still wanting to shoulder that responsibility. She doesn't do it perfectly every time, but she's committed to the story, to the performance, and in this case, the Jo Calderone character. "You and I" was a wonderful way to start the show, with actual live singing and a Brian May-cameo (the look on Dave Grohl's face was priceless) being the cherries on top.
•••• The big surprise of the night (which was actually spoiled by MTV a couple days before) was Kanye West and Jay-Z would perform. They killed "Otis," with the help of a striking set design and a quick barrage of rhymes. "Otis" isn't a watershed moment for either MC, but the joy they get from performing it is contagious.
•••• The night sorely missed a Nicki Minaj performance. (Turns out she left early to perform "Super Bass" with Taylor Swift.) Instead, she won "Best Hip-hop Video" which was a pleasant surprise. It was a nice moment when Lil Wayne stood on his chair to clap even though she had just beat his "6 Foot, 7 Foot" video.
•••• Adele's "Someone Like You" could make a tough guy weep. Her tone was gorgeous.
•••• Can we stop this Chris Brown thing? Yes, he is a great dancer, but who cares? He's a mediocre singer with flimsy songs. Oh, and he's a smug douchebag. Never forget that.
CHRIS BROWN'S PERFORMANCE AT MTV VMAs 2011
•••• Another thing not to forget: Give Beyonce a mic and she will tear the house down. She's a performer in the classic sense, and that's a rare breed. Has she ever left an awards show not on top?
•••• Is Justin Bieber entering his serious stage or did he pop a Xanax before the show? A lethargic Biebs won "Best Male Video" and thanked God and Jesus. Perhaps he really is on one.
•••• Tyler, the Creator rightfully won "Best New Artist" for "Yonkers." His mom cried, he cursed a lot and no one got hurt. Now let's never speak of a song off Goblin again.
•••• Russell Brand's tribute to Amy Winehouse was touching. There was plenty of snark on my timeline about Brand and his delivery, but I thought he did an unenvious job well. The clip of Tony Bennett and Amy performing earlier this year sent chills up my spine, and reminded me once again of the talent we lost. The only strange choice of the tribute was Bruno Mars performing "Valerie." He did a fine, workman-like rendition, but it felt like a "Glee" episode. The disconnect between Mars' pop polish and Amy's soul-bearing rawness was palpable.
•••• Lil Wayne closed out the show by hopping in the conductor's seat and speeding for the closest brickwall. The extra Auto-Tuned "How to Love" led to a heavily censored take on "John." The juxtaposition was a tough pill — first, he's singing about women needing to know they're beautiful, then he's saying if "she get greedy I'ma starve her to death." Tough, tough sell! It was a mess, and the main reaction besides "Huh?" was his pants were extra crazy. Sounds about right
2011 VMAs Pull Largest Audience In MTV History
Sunday's VMA Pre-Show also ranked as the best on record.
Thanks to unforgettable performances, a baby announcement and a lady superstar in full drag, among other major highlights, the 2011 MTV VMAs grabbed the biggest audience in the network's history.
In addition to bringing in a record-breaking 12.4 million total viewers, Sunday night's VMAs now rank as the #1 cable telecast of the year among viewers ages 12 to 34, and the #1 non-sports cable telecast of 2011 with total viewers.
"Anything can happen during the VMAs," Video of the Year winner Katy Perry told MTV news. "It's definitely just the funnest awards show of the whole gamut, of all the award shows. The VMAs are like a f---ing monkey out of hell award show," she laughed. "You just want to watch a spectacle, you want to watch what goes down and I think so many different sparks fly creatively."
On Sunday evening, amid a slew of eye-popping performances, Beyoncé took the stage to perform "Love on Top." But this was no ordinary performance, even for the Queen B: At the end of the song, she revealed her pregnancy by pulling back her sequined jacket as husband Jay-Z cheered from the audience. And the surprises kept coming, from Lady Gaga as male alter ego Jo Calderone presenting Britney Spears with MTV's Vanguard award to Adele's powerful rendition of "Someone Like You." Of course, as hip-hip goes, the unbilled appearance by Kanye West and papa-to-be Jay became one of many dominant VMA night Twitter trends.
The VMA Pre-Show was equally impressive and ranked as the best on record, while MTV Digital saw its highest VMA day ever on Sunday with VMA content attracting 2 million unique visitors, an increase of 33 percent year over year. Additionally, MTV racked up more than 10 million page views on Sunday, up 18 percent year over year. VMA video content generated 2.3 million streams for the day, up a whopping 41 percent vs. the day of the 2010 VMAs. It was also the most social VMA day of all time, with social networks driving 76 percent more traffic than a year ago.
A special encore presentation of the telecast airs Monday night (August 29) at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT, followed by the premieres of all-new series "Ridiculousness" at 10 p.m., "Death Valley" at 10:30 p.m. and "Cuff'd" at 11 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
Beyonce baby announcement sets Twitter record
Beyonce triggered a tweeting frenzy with her surprise announcement at the MTV Video Music Awards that she is expecting a baby. Viewers spreading the pop diva's news banged out 8,868 tweets per second at 10:35 p.m. on Sunday, a record for the most tweets per second ever recorded for an event, according to Twitter's official global PR feed.
The previous record of 7,196 tweets per second was set last July at the women's World Cup final when Japan upset the United States. No 3 was another football match - Brazil's loss to Paraguay in the Copa America when people sent out 7,166 tweets per second following the conclusion of play.
Prior to the awards ceremony, MTV first reported the news with a tweet that read, "OMG Beyonce just made a huge announcement on the #vma carpet! #baby!!!!!" During the show, the singer made it official when she told the audience, "I want you to feel the love that's growing inside me." After performing the song "Love on Top," she unbuttoned her coat and rubbed her stomach, revealing her five-month baby bulge.
COMMENTARY
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards turned out to be a surprisingly family-friendly affair, despite newbie Tyler the Creator's expletive-laden acceptance speech for Best New Artist (no one who follows him on Twitter was remotely surprised). Maybe it was because Kanye West decided to forget the Hennessey this time around, or perhaps the entire crowd was riding high on the announcement of hip hop royalty's baby-to-be. But there were still plenty of awkward moments at Los Angeles' Nokia Theater last night...
• Most of the crowd may have been won over by Chris Brown's aerial theatrics during his jaw-dropping dance medley, but not Jay-Z. Near the end of Brown's routine — after he'd already given himself the wedgie of a lifetime with suspension cords hung from the ceiling — the MTV cameras panned to the audience, revealing Jigga sitting and sipping stonefaced while his Watch the Throne-mate Kanye West clapped enthusiastically.
Jay-Z: Having a toast to the d-bags. By himself. In the front row.
Of course there's speculation that Jay-Z refrained from applause because he's a mentor and friend to Brown's ex Rihanna. Some will remember that a few months after Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault for attacking Rihanna, he was supposedly barred from performing at the 2009 BET Awards by Jay-Z, who later denied the story. Whatever the case, Jay-Z is not impressed by Chris Brown's Cirque du Soleil act. Either that or he didn't appreciate the abuse of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" during Brown's medley (trampolines? really?).
Katy Perry has geometry on the brain.
• Meanwhile, Katy Perry golf clapped next to Russell Brand with what appeared to be a hunk of cheese atop her head. Either Katy is doing secret down-low promotion for the next Cube sequel (oh, we wish) or she decided to use her VMAs moment to make a statement about how gosh-dang ridiculous awards show fashion has become: "Lady Gaga, you've made us all look like such blockheads."
• No one could be accused of trying harder than Nicki Minaj, who aimed for Harajuku theatricality with her floral-print face mask but just looked like she was trying to cover up a skin infection with a costume made of murdered Muppets:
Meanwhile, Gaga went easy on her makeup team this time around, eschewing proshetics and lobster wigs in favor of a five o'clock shadow. The beloved Mother Monster performed her hearty tune "Yoü and I" as her sneering alter ego Jo Calderone, who could best be described as Ralph Macchio without any of the sweetness. For more on VMAs fashion, check out StyleBistro's best and worst dressed.
Gaga for Britney. Yup.
• Lady Gaga's manly alter ego tried to make a move on Britney Spears, even though she's maybe engaged to that long-haired dude who isn't famous at all. Britney deflected Gaga's advances with her go-to move: The Blank Stare. She's holding out for Adele, anyway.
Britney picked up a moon man for Best Pop Video before she hit up Esquire magazine's after party at Beverly Hills' SLS Hotel with her boyfriend, the ever-sinewy Jason Trawick.
• Justin Bieber arrived with a snake named Johnson coiled around one of his hands. Girlfriend Selena Gomez didn't seem too bothered by it, but it looks like Demi Lovato was less than impressed:
Bieber, put your snake away.
• You'd think that Solange Knowles would have been in Los Angeles to celebrate her sister Beyonce's big announcement, but no: She was tweeting fury from Miami on Sunday after an incident involving an inflatable banana. See, TMZ reports Knowles felt it was completely necessary to lug a 5-foot tall banana into Club Cameo. So necessary that the cops were called. She complained that her banana was denied entry because she's black, and somehow things got so heated one of the cops allegedly threatened to deflate the precious banana. NOT THE BANANA!
Knowles was indignant in a series of tweets that read:
I have literally had my last leg with discriminating police! Miami police department will be notified. A police officer just pulled a weapon on me.... I have done NOTHING illegal, against the law, or anything of the sort. I am simply tired of police using arrogance, ego and authority as an offense. I'm only tweeting this to raise awareness. I could have left quietly, but I am sick & tired of this scenario being played over & over again. I'm ok. I'm safe & sound at my apartment. I'm just beyond frustrated with the system. It is time to do something about it. I am a mother raising a young black child in America. Im going to die trying! Been on the phone for the last 20 minutes reporting this incident. Yes, I have the officers name. Yes, I have the location. Scare tactics don't WORK. Curious how none of Knowles' tweets mention her beloved banana. Let's hope it was not forgotten in all of this.
