It was a night of performances, surprises, hits and misses at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, emanating for the first time from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Justin Timberlake stole the show, while Miley Cyrus fell flat.
This year’s show was the 30th anniversary of the VMAs, and it was one of the biggest the show has ever seen. It was heavy in performances, with Justin Timberlake giving the longest and most impressive performance of the bunch. Introduced by Jimmy Fallon, Timberlake received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, but only after singing and dancing his way through a string of his greatest hits. He was even joined on stage his former NSYNC band members for a reunion, doing a short medley of the band’s hits. Timberlake was the big winner of the night; in addition to his Video Vanguard Award, he received the night’s most prestigious honor, “Video of the Year” for his song, “Mirrors.”
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were also big winners, taking home the moonman for “Best Hip Hop Video” for “Can’t Hold Us” and “Best Video With A Social Message” for “Same Love.” The duo gave a simple yet powerful performance of the latter song, with a surprise appearance from singer Jennifer Hudson.
Lady Gaga opened the show with a unique performance of her new single “Applause,” complete with dancing and multiple costume and wig changes in the midst of the performance. It was Gaga’s return to the televised stage since breaking her hip on her last tour. Katy Perry also made an impressive return to the VMA stage, closing the show by performing her new single “Roar” in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. Perry was dressed in full boxing gear, belting out lyrics on a boxing ring-like stage. There were other notable performances of the night as well, including Kanye West, Drake and Bruno Mars. Mars took home the award for “Best Male Video” for his song “Locked Out Of Heaven.”
Unfortunately, not all of the performances were gems. Miley Cyrus put on a raunchy show for the audience while singing her hit “We Can’t Stop.” Surrounded by giant teddy bears, Cyrus twerked, popped and gyrated her way across the stage, leaving many in the crowd stunned and confused. She was joined onstage by Robin Thicke, and the two did a duet of Thicke’s hit “Blurred Lines.” Thicke’s appearance, however, was not enough to save the overall performance. Although Cyrus and Thicke were nominated for multiple awards apiece, the two walked away from the show empty handed.
Other winners of the night were Selena Gomez’s “Come and Get It” winning for “Best Pop Video,” Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” winning for “Best Female Video,” One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” winning for “Best Song of the Summer” and Austin Mahone’s “What About Love” winning for “Artist to Watch.” Although not awarded on the live show, P!nk also won “Best Collaboration” for her song “Just Give Me A Reason featuring Nate Ruess of Fun.”, and 30 Seconds to Mars won “Best Rock Video” for their song “Up In the Air.”
Overall, the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards was worth watching. Despite putting more focus on performances than awards, it worked to the show’s advantage. It was all about music and the artists that entertain us. Music fans can only hope that MTV follows this trend for years to come.
