Britney Spears tops at MTV VMAs
Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Los Angeles: It took a year, but Britney Spears got the comeback she was seeking from the MTV Video Music Awards — and she didn’t even have to sing or dance.
Spears nabbed three VMAs, including video of the year, erasing last year’s career-low performance. Her first Moonman trophies came during a 25th anniversary show that otherwise lacked a defining moment, with most of the zaniness coming from host Russell Brand.
“Wow, thank you, I’m in shock right now. I was not expecting this,” Spears, looking spectacular in a shimmering silver dress, said as she accepted her third trophy of the evening for “Piece of Me.”
Spears kept all three of her acceptance speeches short.
“This is such an honour to have this award right now,” she said. “I want to thank my fans, this is dedicated to you.”
There was no such honour for Spears last year, when the declining diva — by then known more for her tabloid exploits and erratic behaviour — kicked off the Las Vegas telecast. Looking haggard and dazed, Spears bumbled her way through a performance of “Gimme More” that gave new meaning to the phrase “Sin City.”
Though Spears didn’t perform this time, she still opened the show, giving a blink-and-you-missed-it introduction of Rihanna. Still, just being there was enough for a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd long before she opened her mouth to get things rolling.
Spears did provide a few laughs during a pre-taped comedic segment with “Superbad” actor Jonah Hill that preceded the live telecast. There were a few more laughs during comedian Brand’s opening monologue, but the celeb audience seemed more nervous than amused, as the frenetic Brit took aim at Madonna, the virginity of teen sensations the Jonas Brothers and President George W. Bush, whom he called “a retarded cowboy fellow.”
He clearly got under the skin of one celebrity, however, with his jokes about promise rings, which the Jonas Brothers wear to signify their virginity. Another famous promise-ring wearer, Jordin Sparks, said before giving out one award:
“I just wanna say, it’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, okay?” she quipped.
Afterward, a somewhat contrite Brand apologized to a stone-faced Jonas Brothers, saying, “I didn’t mean to take it lightly” before adding, “a little sex once and a while never hurt anybody.”
Though the VMAs have been defined by zany, wild moments in the past — the Michael and Lisa Marie kiss, the Britney-Madonna kiss, Prince’s butt-out jeans just to name a few — there were more head-scratching moments than outrageous ones at the sprawling Paramount Studios lot.
The prim and proper Leona Lewis gave a graceful opening performance for a song by … Lil Wayne, who appeared on stage bare-chested, displaying his tattooed torso as his pants hung below his buttocks (Ralph Lauren’s underwear line got a nice plug, however). He performed hits “A Milli” and a song with T-Pain.
The Jonas Brothers performed a version of their song “Lovebug” that was so genteel one might have thought they were doing a tribute to the Osmonds. But the trio then segued to a rocked-out version of the song in the final moments, as a throng of screaming fans surrounded them on one of the movie’s many sets.
Pink gave perhaps the show’s most rousing performance, a pyrotechnic-fuelled performance of her new song, “So What.”
T.I.’s performance was also noteworthy, since the last time he was due to perform at an awards show, he was arrested instead. At last year’s BET Hip-Hop Awards, he was accused of trying to buy machine guns and silencers (he was sentenced earlier this year to serve about a year in prison after completing at least 1,000 hours of community service).
He performed a new song with Rihanna, who also appeared on last year’s show. But the dazzling singer from Barbados is hardly in need of any second chances, coming into the VMAs as one of music’s hottest acts thanks to her two No. 1 hits of the summer, “Take a Bow” and “Disturbia.”
Closing the night was Kanye West who, like Spears, was hoping for a second chance after a disappointing VMA experience last year. In Las Vegas, he had a Kanye-sized hissy fit backstage and vowed never to appear at the VMAs again after he didn’t get a Moonman trophy despite several nominations.
This time, he had a stage all to himself, but he still may have reason to be miffed: he won no trophies during the ceremony, and, appearing after Spears accepted her third and final trophy of the evening, may have been more of an afterthought.
List of winners of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards:
_ Video of the year: Britney Spears, "Piece of Me."
_ Female video: Britney Spears, "Piece of Me."
_ Male video: Chris Brown, "With You."
_ Rock video: Linkin Park, "Shadow of the Day."
_ Hip-hop video: Lil Wayne, "Lollipop."
_ Pop video: Britney Spears, "Piece of Me."
_ Dancing in a video: The Pussycat Dolls, "When I Grow Up."
_ New artist: Tokio Hotel
Top 10 Things You Didn’t See On TV
1. After winning three Moonmen, including video of the year, Britney Spears got cold feet before she met the press. She peeked into the media room with personal assistants and camera crew in tow, then promptly turned around and left.
A few moments later, Chris Brown hurried in to take her place — prompting a round of disappointed "Awwwww!" from disappointed Britney-wannabe paparazzi (a reaction that seemed to miff Brown, who maybe didn’t understand that he wasn’t being booed personally.) Never fear, Britney returned after Brown; she said nothing and posed for just a few quick pictures as she juggled her trophies. After the show, host Russell Brand described the event as "the resurrection of Britney Spears. I saw stigmata."
2. Impromptu "Best Dressed" MTV Awards were handed out on the red carpet — winners included Ne-Yo for his Louis Vuitton sunglasses and blogger Perez Hilton for his pale yellow plaid suit. The awards were a far cry from a Moonman, however. They were actually wind-up toys of a kiwi bird glued to a 99-cent store-quality plaque.
3. Video game "Rock Band 2" set up shop at the end of the red carpet, where talent could get their riff on before entering the awards show. T-Pain played the game with the most gusto, taking turns on both the drum kit as well as the guitar on the Talking Heads’ "Psycho Killer."
4. Tokio Hotel’s gigantic four-by-four truck competed for space with, yes, the omnipresent blinged-out VMA elephant in the Paramount lot six hours before the show started. The truck was bigger — barely. Before the show, Tokio Hotel frontman Bill Kaulitz said that he hadn’t prepared any remarks because there was "no way we’re going to win … there is NO WAY we’re going to win." And, in true VMA karma, the band won the Moonman for best new artist two hours later.
5. The show was filmed in Lot 16 at the 62-acre Paramount Studios; it’s the furthest from the main studio entrance on Melrose Avenue, so once talent did their red carpet duties, the limos drove them through the studio’s back lot to the stage. The non-famous were moved back in golf carts (ala the exit from Britney Spears and Russell Brand) or in shuttles — or hoofed it by their own power.
6. As they went down the red carpet, Shwayze and Cisco Adler tried to start a number of rumors about the unannounced performances to follow: Michael Jackson was going to appear with Kanye West, Britney Spears was going to ride in on the elephant, Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson were going to play a game of "old-fashioned Thai ping-pong." They saw rehearsals, they swore. Trust them.
7. Yep, one of the big applause lines of the night was Russell Brand’s appeal: "Please elect Barack Obama, please. On behalf of the world." Sure enough, Obama gear was omnipresent on the red carpet among the entourages of stars. Alex DeLeon of the Cab wore a black-and-white wristband showing his support for the candidate, and Atmosphere arrived in car decked out with Obama swag.
8. So what do the celebrities walk off with in their goodie bags? Among other baubles, a five-day stay in a five-star resort in the Dominican Republic, a pair of Fendi sunglasses, a purse made of "woven, bronze metallic patent lambskin," a full year of Rhapsody service, enough cashmere goodies to fill a wardrobe and a Baby Quasar, "a revolutionary photo rejuvenation anti-aging and acne skincare system." Not, apparently, for use on babies.
9. The audience inside the auditorium was served several rounds of champagne during the show. This did not aid the audience in getting the correct answers to the trivia questions they showed on screens during commercial breaks. (Who’s won the most Moonmen for Best Rock Video in VMA history? Aerosmith, FYI.)
10. So who won the professional categories that weren’t shown on TV? Gnarls Barkley’s "Run" won for best art direction and best choreography; "Honey" by Erykah Badu won for best direction; "I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab For Cutie won for best editing; "Conquest" by White Stripes took the Moonman for best cinematography; and Kanye West and T-Pain won for best special effects for "Good Life."
Spears nabbed three VMAs, including video of the year, erasing last year’s career-low performance. Her first Moonman trophies came during a 25th anniversary show that otherwise lacked a defining moment, with most of the zaniness coming from host Russell Brand.
“Wow, thank you, I’m in shock right now. I was not expecting this,” Spears, looking spectacular in a shimmering silver dress, said as she accepted her third trophy of the evening for “Piece of Me.”
Spears kept all three of her acceptance speeches short.
“This is such an honour to have this award right now,” she said. “I want to thank my fans, this is dedicated to you.”
There was no such honour for Spears last year, when the declining diva — by then known more for her tabloid exploits and erratic behaviour — kicked off the Las Vegas telecast. Looking haggard and dazed, Spears bumbled her way through a performance of “Gimme More” that gave new meaning to the phrase “Sin City.”
Though Spears didn’t perform this time, she still opened the show, giving a blink-and-you-missed-it introduction of Rihanna. Still, just being there was enough for a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd long before she opened her mouth to get things rolling.
Spears did provide a few laughs during a pre-taped comedic segment with “Superbad” actor Jonah Hill that preceded the live telecast. There were a few more laughs during comedian Brand’s opening monologue, but the celeb audience seemed more nervous than amused, as the frenetic Brit took aim at Madonna, the virginity of teen sensations the Jonas Brothers and President George W. Bush, whom he called “a retarded cowboy fellow.”
He clearly got under the skin of one celebrity, however, with his jokes about promise rings, which the Jonas Brothers wear to signify their virginity. Another famous promise-ring wearer, Jordin Sparks, said before giving out one award:
“I just wanna say, it’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, okay?” she quipped.
Afterward, a somewhat contrite Brand apologized to a stone-faced Jonas Brothers, saying, “I didn’t mean to take it lightly” before adding, “a little sex once and a while never hurt anybody.”
Though the VMAs have been defined by zany, wild moments in the past — the Michael and Lisa Marie kiss, the Britney-Madonna kiss, Prince’s butt-out jeans just to name a few — there were more head-scratching moments than outrageous ones at the sprawling Paramount Studios lot.
The prim and proper Leona Lewis gave a graceful opening performance for a song by … Lil Wayne, who appeared on stage bare-chested, displaying his tattooed torso as his pants hung below his buttocks (Ralph Lauren’s underwear line got a nice plug, however). He performed hits “A Milli” and a song with T-Pain.
The Jonas Brothers performed a version of their song “Lovebug” that was so genteel one might have thought they were doing a tribute to the Osmonds. But the trio then segued to a rocked-out version of the song in the final moments, as a throng of screaming fans surrounded them on one of the movie’s many sets.
Pink gave perhaps the show’s most rousing performance, a pyrotechnic-fuelled performance of her new song, “So What.”
T.I.’s performance was also noteworthy, since the last time he was due to perform at an awards show, he was arrested instead. At last year’s BET Hip-Hop Awards, he was accused of trying to buy machine guns and silencers (he was sentenced earlier this year to serve about a year in prison after completing at least 1,000 hours of community service).
He performed a new song with Rihanna, who also appeared on last year’s show. But the dazzling singer from Barbados is hardly in need of any second chances, coming into the VMAs as one of music’s hottest acts thanks to her two No. 1 hits of the summer, “Take a Bow” and “Disturbia.”
Closing the night was Kanye West who, like Spears, was hoping for a second chance after a disappointing VMA experience last year. In Las Vegas, he had a Kanye-sized hissy fit backstage and vowed never to appear at the VMAs again after he didn’t get a Moonman trophy despite several nominations.
This time, he had a stage all to himself, but he still may have reason to be miffed: he won no trophies during the ceremony, and, appearing after Spears accepted her third and final trophy of the evening, may have been more of an afterthought.
List of winners of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards:
_ Video of the year: Britney Spears, "Piece of Me."
_ Female video: Britney Spears, "Piece of Me."
_ Male video: Chris Brown, "With You."
_ Rock video: Linkin Park, "Shadow of the Day."
_ Hip-hop video: Lil Wayne, "Lollipop."
_ Pop video: Britney Spears, "Piece of Me."
_ Dancing in a video: The Pussycat Dolls, "When I Grow Up."
_ New artist: Tokio Hotel
Top 10 Things You Didn’t See On TV
1. After winning three Moonmen, including video of the year, Britney Spears got cold feet before she met the press. She peeked into the media room with personal assistants and camera crew in tow, then promptly turned around and left.
A few moments later, Chris Brown hurried in to take her place — prompting a round of disappointed "Awwwww!" from disappointed Britney-wannabe paparazzi (a reaction that seemed to miff Brown, who maybe didn’t understand that he wasn’t being booed personally.) Never fear, Britney returned after Brown; she said nothing and posed for just a few quick pictures as she juggled her trophies. After the show, host Russell Brand described the event as "the resurrection of Britney Spears. I saw stigmata."
2. Impromptu "Best Dressed" MTV Awards were handed out on the red carpet — winners included Ne-Yo for his Louis Vuitton sunglasses and blogger Perez Hilton for his pale yellow plaid suit. The awards were a far cry from a Moonman, however. They were actually wind-up toys of a kiwi bird glued to a 99-cent store-quality plaque.
3. Video game "Rock Band 2" set up shop at the end of the red carpet, where talent could get their riff on before entering the awards show. T-Pain played the game with the most gusto, taking turns on both the drum kit as well as the guitar on the Talking Heads’ "Psycho Killer."
4. Tokio Hotel’s gigantic four-by-four truck competed for space with, yes, the omnipresent blinged-out VMA elephant in the Paramount lot six hours before the show started. The truck was bigger — barely. Before the show, Tokio Hotel frontman Bill Kaulitz said that he hadn’t prepared any remarks because there was "no way we’re going to win … there is NO WAY we’re going to win." And, in true VMA karma, the band won the Moonman for best new artist two hours later.
5. The show was filmed in Lot 16 at the 62-acre Paramount Studios; it’s the furthest from the main studio entrance on Melrose Avenue, so once talent did their red carpet duties, the limos drove them through the studio’s back lot to the stage. The non-famous were moved back in golf carts (ala the exit from Britney Spears and Russell Brand) or in shuttles — or hoofed it by their own power.
6. As they went down the red carpet, Shwayze and Cisco Adler tried to start a number of rumors about the unannounced performances to follow: Michael Jackson was going to appear with Kanye West, Britney Spears was going to ride in on the elephant, Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson were going to play a game of "old-fashioned Thai ping-pong." They saw rehearsals, they swore. Trust them.
7. Yep, one of the big applause lines of the night was Russell Brand’s appeal: "Please elect Barack Obama, please. On behalf of the world." Sure enough, Obama gear was omnipresent on the red carpet among the entourages of stars. Alex DeLeon of the Cab wore a black-and-white wristband showing his support for the candidate, and Atmosphere arrived in car decked out with Obama swag.
8. So what do the celebrities walk off with in their goodie bags? Among other baubles, a five-day stay in a five-star resort in the Dominican Republic, a pair of Fendi sunglasses, a purse made of "woven, bronze metallic patent lambskin," a full year of Rhapsody service, enough cashmere goodies to fill a wardrobe and a Baby Quasar, "a revolutionary photo rejuvenation anti-aging and acne skincare system." Not, apparently, for use on babies.
9. The audience inside the auditorium was served several rounds of champagne during the show. This did not aid the audience in getting the correct answers to the trivia questions they showed on screens during commercial breaks. (Who’s won the most Moonmen for Best Rock Video in VMA history? Aerosmith, FYI.)
10. So who won the professional categories that weren’t shown on TV? Gnarls Barkley’s "Run" won for best art direction and best choreography; "Honey" by Erykah Badu won for best direction; "I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab For Cutie won for best editing; "Conquest" by White Stripes took the Moonman for best cinematography; and Kanye West and T-Pain won for best special effects for "Good Life."
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