One thing is for sure about the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. It was the year of the woman. The ladies dominated in categories and musical numbers, which culminated in the Vanguard Award being presented to Beyoncé. An unprecedented amount of collaboration between female artists occurred and hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come. Here are some of the highlights from last night’s epic show.
Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J kicked off the show with a massive opener, “Bang Bang.” We even got a little taste of Minaj’s song “Anaconda,” and as far as I could tell, no one got bitten during the live show. Minaj did however, get a little personal with one of her back up dancers. Alas, the brief pas de deux was about as sapphic as the show got. Minaj appeared to have a bit of a wardrobe malfunction with her custom change, but held her dress tightly as she continued on without missing a beat. Everyone’s favorite goth-songstress Lorde introduced her good friend Taylor Swift. Swift took the stage in silver fringed hot pants and performed her new number “Shake it Off. ” While Swift is normally behind a piano or guitar, she seems pretty comfortable leading a big dance number. She even added her signature cheeky sense of humor by refusing to jump into the waiting arms of the male dancers below, opting to take the stairs.
Kim Kardashian, wearing a plunging poncho, introduced newcomer Sam Smith. Smith, who is openly gay, sang his plaintive ballad, “Stay With Me.” Even in the cavernous hall with thousands of screaming fans, his soaring falsetto hit all the right notes and gave us all the feels.
Uzo Abuba, Taylor Schilling and Laverne Cox, descended from the heavens to introduce a number by Nicki Minaj and Usher. Uzo went full on Crazy Eyes in her intro, much to the delight of the VMA audience.
“Royals” fever has yet to die down and Lorde walked away with the award for Best Rock Video. Lorde had some trouble figuring out what camera to look in, which was kind of endearing, teenage rock stars—they’re just like us!
Fifth Harmony, the all-girl group originally featured on X-Factor took home the award for Artist to Watch. They were adorably surprised and gracious when accepting the award. They also performed their tune Boss at the VMA pre-show. (And according to Tumblr, these ladies are indeed ones to watch.)
“The Fosters” producer and your biggest crush in 1999 (OK, today) Jennifer Lopez introduced Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora‘s new tune, “Black Widow.” It was a part Spiderman the Musical, part Black Swan. In other words, it was awesome.
Miley Cyrus took home the award for Video of the Year, but decided to use her moment in the sun to draw attention to the plight of LA’s runaways and homeless youth. She sent a young man who had experienced homelessness himself onstage to deliver a short statement, while she watched from the seats, wiping away tears as he spoke.
In the most anticipate moment of the evening, Beyoncé performed a massive medley of songs while proving that girls do indeed run the world. She was joined by a revolving cast of dancers, who gave each song a totally different look and feel. Jay Z did not join Beyonce onstage for “Drunk in Love,” but the camera panned to him holding Blue Ivy in the audience. The song did bring us a bevy of dancers in skintight, glitter bodysuits. Not to be outdone, Beyoncé took a twirl around a stripper pole before being silhouetted in front of a giant projection of the word FEMINIST. Near the end of her set, she sang the song dedicated to her daughter, and tears welled in the singer’s eyes. Jay Z brought Blue Ivy on stage to present Beyonce with the Vanguard Award. Her speech was short and sweet but filled with gratitude.
Overall, this year’s VMA’s was a strong show, full of entertaining numbers and collaborations. Seeing so many women onstage was also a breath of fresh air from some of the previously male dominated shows. Not having a specific host actually made the show feel a little bit smoother and more streamlined.
What did you think of this year’s VMAs?
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