Tonight is the MTV Video Music Awards Show. I do not get the channel, not to mention it is the Sabbath, so I won't be watching it. But I WILL be keeping track of who wins what. And I WILL be commenting on this site whenever something interesting happens.
Tonight, Lady Gaga is nominated for 13 awards from her own works, not to mention the five that she's nominated for from Beyonce's "Video Phone." So she's already made history.
Of course, (because I do so love to share my opinions) I am going to provide you with my personal predictions and preferences in regards to every one of the categories. When it comes to the VMA's, my philosophy is that the awards should be given to the best video, not necessarily the best artists. You'll see what I mean once I get started, I think. And heeeeere we go!
BEST NEW ARTIST:
Jason DeRulo: "In My Head"
Should Win, and probably will win. Jason's got some amazing dance skills. As a best NEW ARTIST nominee, this video really shows what the guy can do and that he will stick in the biz for a while. A breakthrough artist like Jason needs to create an iconic image of himself through his videos, and I think he does that well amidst the lights and the strong rock beats.
BEST COLLABORATION:
Beyonce and Lady Gaga "Telephone"
You cannot deny that Lady Gaga and Beyonce make the best collaboration for a video this year. Their performances outshine all the other collaborations. But how to choose between "Telephone" and "Video Phone"? Here's where that whole "It's-about-the-video-not-the-artist" philosophy comes into play. "Telephone" is obviously a more thought-out, artistically stimulating, complete video experience. There's a plot, rad imagery, and great dancing. "Video Phone" just has a lot of plastic guns and booty-shaking. It just does not compare to the artistry and sophisitication that "Telephone" presents us with. But does the world agree? I really can't be sure on this one.
BEST DANCE VIDEO:
Lady Gaga "Bad Romance"
Should win. Will win. There is no comparison to the level of artistic vision that this video possesses. I like dance videos that are more than just dancing. All these other nominees besides "Bad Romance" is just a club scene that you see over and over again in video after video. I had to stop watching the Cascada one because it was just soooo monotonous. Let's make the dancing interesting. How do we do it? Weird alien costumes, underwear, and fire, of course!
BEST FEMALE VIDEO:
This one's hard. I want "Bad Romance" to win because I want to see Gaga do well, but I get the feeling Tay-Tay is gonna take this one. "Fifteen" is a GREAT video! It's artsy, tells a story, leaves behind a great message, really brings out the best in Taylor. It's a beautiful experience for both the eyes and the ears. Way to go!
I also liked Katy Perry's silly music video. It was very colorful and fun and the costumes were great. Some people say it's annoying to have a video that doesn't really go along with the lyrics of the music, but I like it when directors play with your mind and make you go out and look for connections. The "Telephone" video is the same way for me.
BEST HIP HOP VIDEO:
DEFINITELY Eminem. Hands-down. This video speaks to so many. The lyrics are triumphant and fit well in the setting in which Shady is placed. Furthermore, it is incredibly well-crafted. I wonder how many artists can portray the edge of the earth, the end of the world, as well as was done in this video. Second place would definitely go to "Airplanes," but there's really nothing more than Hayley and B.o.b. just sitting around and singing, which can get a little boring. The rest of these videos are just fluff and not worth watching.
BEST MALE VIDEO:
Eminem again, mainly because B.o.b.'s video has a girl in it and the rest of them are (once again) just singers standing around or talking to girls. The emotion in Em's video runs so high and there are such breathtaking climaxes in the cinematography that go so well with his lyricism. I think the world understands this and will pick this video for the award. Props, Em, Props.
BEST POP VIDEO:
This one's hard. I love "Nothin' on You." It's a fun song that's presented in a really cool method. But is it POP? Does it define POP? No. Does Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" define POP? Sadly, no. It's more futuristic, Euro-rave, club scene. So this video needs the POP quality that fits the award. Katy Perry's "Calfornia Gurls" fits this well. Candy, rappers, naked women, colors, and fun. Yes. This is POP. As for what the real world thinks, it's a toss-up.
BEST ROCK VIDEO:
Let's first narrow it down by getting rid of the ones that WON'T win. Sorry, Florence and the Machine and MGMT. And let's get rid of "Ignorance" too. You can only have so much of hayley williams singing with a lightbulb in her hand. So now we're down to 30 Seconds to Mars and Muse. I LOVE the Muse video, but I think it's the song that makes it so great more than the video does. Once again, I'm rating the VIDEO, not the band or even simply the music. 30STM has not only an epic song, but an epic video to go with it. They should take the Moonman. Sadly, I don't think voters distinguish as well as I do what it means to have a good video, so they'll probably pick Paramore.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR:
Also very hard, but "Telephone" should take it. Why? It has changed history! It's not just a music video, it's a short film! In that 8 minutes of amazing, you get intrigue, skilled choreography, amazing costumes, and two of the world's biggest divas in one place. How much more epic can you get? This video DEFINES 2010. People will never look at music videos in the same way after "Telephone." I am very confident that it will win.
BEST ART DIRECTION:
I'm not a professional critic, so I don't have the best understanding of what it means for art to be well-directed, but I will say that "Bad Romance" seemed like a pretty hard undertaking that turned out very very successful. It touches on everything people love about music videos. A catchy tune, a recognizable dance, iconic costumes, and a storyline (of sorts). Few of the other videos do it for me.
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY:
Janelle Monae's "Tightrope" has some WICKED dance moves. It takes real skill simply to dance that choreography, much less make it up. To have another one of those videos take this award when such artistry lies before us would be a real shame.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
"Empire State of Mind" has such a moving backdrop of epic Manhatten scenery. Plus I love the black-and-white touch. And in the end, you get the color and the lights and the Jay-Z and the Alicia Keys. It's quite perfect, really. Class and sophistication for a very classy and sophisticated rap.
BEST DIRECTION:
I really feel like "Telephone" should win this one even though it's not even part of the lineup. I think the way Jonas Akerulnd responded to the vision as wacky as Lady Gaga's was simply phenomenal. But since it's not even a nominee, I will take Gaga's "Bad Romance" as a good enough substitute, for very similar reasons. The mood that is evoked in that video is very wacky and it takes some serious thought and artistry to put something like that together. Furthermore, unlike any of the other videos which just requires either standing and singing or mass movement, some actual ACTING had to occur in the "Bad Romance" video. Ergo, a skilled director was required.
BEST EDITING:
Mike Snow's "Animal" must have taken some KILLER editing. All those different shots put together? How could it not win?
BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS:
I am VERY torn between Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown" and Dan Black's "Symphonies." I think I'll give it to Dan Black simply because the VARIETY of special effects present in that video is much more impressive than just black-and-white splash ink in 21st Century Breakdown. But they are both GREAT videos, nonetheless. I also appreciate Muse, but again, it's not enough to keep in the running. I'm wondering where exactly the special effects happen in the Lady Gaga music video, to be quite honest.
BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO:
I like all these videos, but "Strawberry Swing" is by far one of the GREATEST videos I've ever seen and completely deserves the title "Breakthrough." Whoever thought of that idea should be given a huge hug. It's a happy video, a creative medium, and definitely painstakingly thought through and executed. Well, done, Coldplay!!! Moonman for you!!
So... Gaga deserves 5 awards. That sounds like a good amount. It would take a miracle for her to sweep all of the awards she was nominated for. It would be amazing and incredible and a great, but impossible. Besides, there's just too many other great artists that hardly get any recognition whatsoever that I feel need some time to shine.
So go Gaga! Win the awards you deserve and let's enjoy the VMA's!!
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