Last night’s MTV Video Music Awards was tame by MTV standards. There were no Britney and Madonna make-out sessions, no wardrobe malfunctions and no real surprises. The show from Miami was sizzling, colorful and sexy but stayed clear off the raunchy behavior of previous shows. The most skin shown was on the bare chest of Usher as he opened the show singing “Burn.”
Dave Chappelle hosted and he alluded to the fact that he might be up to some trouble. 'It's the biggest mistake you made since Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl,' he warned early in the show, referring to the infamous breast-baring incident.
The big winners of the night were Outkast and Jay-Z. They each received four awards. Outkast won video of the year for “Hey Ya!” Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” was the most nominated video and it won four awards. Beyonce won best female video for “Naughty Girl” and No Doubt took home on of MTV’s moonmen for best pop video for “It’s My Life.” 'I guess there ain't really no comparison between me and Justin no more right? There's no competition between me and Justin, I'm setting the record straight,” Usher said, after beating out Justin Timberlake’s “Senorita” to win best male video.
MTV used a several-second tape delay to avoid any potential run-ins with the FCC. The delay was in heavy use during the hip-hop medley, which featured Lil Jon, Petey Pablo and Fat Joe.
The award’s show is usually held in New York or Los Angeles. To celebrate the change of venue, MTV had the stars arrive on yachts instead of in limos. The show was held at the American Airlines Arena.
Highlights of the evening included performances by Alicia Keys singing 'If I Ain't Got You' with Stevie Wonder on harmonica. She also joined Wonder and Lenny Kravitz as they sang a classic Wonder hit, 'Higher Ground.' Keys and Kravitz also appeared on stage to honor the late Ray Charles, who died in June. Kanye West, who uses a Chaka Khan sample in his song “Through the Wire” brought the singer on stage with him to sing the live version.
Mary Kate Olsen (with twin sister Ashley) made her first public appearance since going to rehab for an eating disorder, alluded to her ordeal before introducing Jessica Simpson. 'Thank you to everyone you have been very supportive for the last couple of months,' said Mary Kate.
Politics were present but decidedly non-partisan. The Kerry daughters appeared at the show and the Bush twins showed up on video urging people to vote. The end of the show looked much like the Republican convention, which begins today in New York City, with red, white and blue balloons falling from the rafters. The audience held up 'vote' signs during OutKast's closing performance.
