The VMA's: The Best and the Worst

I know I am a few days late to discuss the VMA's but there was this whole hurricane thing going on that kept me a little preoccupied. Luckily, I am home now...safe and dry. I was able to watch the VMA's - power went back on just as the show aired - overall the show itself has been on a steep decline, but this years wasn't as bad a the past few years.

Here are the highlights -

1. Adele - Probably the biggest highlight of the night - the only performer who didn't feel the need to go over the top. She just stood up there and sung her heart out and it gave me chills. 'Someone Like You' is my favorite song on her album - I often burst into tears while listening to it so I actually have to turn it off sometimes. She got a well-deserved standing O from the audience and made the entire show worth watching.

2. Jessie J - Yes, it totally sucked that the poor girl was in a leg cast and had to sit through the entire show. It was awkward to see her writhe around in that weird electric chair-slash-throne. Yet, I give her props for going through with show at all - if her leg is in a cast then she must be in some pain (I'm not even sure what her injury was and don't care enough to look it up...). She became a highlight for me when she sang 'Firework' after Katy Perry & Kanye won for 'E.T' and she sounded a million times better than Katy. I found that hilarious. Then Jessie won my heart by busting out with TLC's 'Scrubs'.

3. Twitter - It is totally more entertaining to watch a bad awards show while reading hilarious tweets - my favorites were from @questlove (which for some reason have vanished from his twitterfeed) - my favorite was while Britney was accepting her MJ Vanguard award he tweeted "I. Can. Read." He also made a funny comment on Kanye rooting for Chris Brown as JayZ sat in his chair and pretended like he didn't exist but I can't remember the exact phrasing. I also loved @EWTimStack who wrote "I have no idea who Young the Giant is but I do know that Jared Leto played Jordan Catalano. #neverforget #imreallyold" - Because that is exactly what was going on in my head at that moment. Also, you can officially call me a Demi Lovato fan - I love her for calling out all of the people who were commenting on her weight gain - the girl just got out of an institution for having an eating disorder. We should be worried if she wasn't gaining weight. People are just jealous - because dayum she looked good.

4. The Amy Winehouse Tribute - Two people I am not a fan of: Russell Brand & Bruno Mars. Yet, I have to admit that they did a stand-up job in paying tribute to the late Amy Winehouse. Russell is completely annoying to listen to and he speaks too fast - so it was hard to hear exactly what he was saying - but the gist of it was that yes, she had a horrible disease of addiction but that didn't define her. She also had this incredible talent that made her special. He used the terms "loose canon" and "crazy" which I think some might find disrespectful but I appreciate his candor. Bruno Mars performed an amazing rendition of 'Valerie' (although I would have rather seen the Glee kids doing it). He sounded fantastic and the whole theme was very fitting and respectful.

and the lowlights:

1. The Britney Tribute - The blink-and-you-miss-it tribute was pretty painful. First, why not get well-known artists to pay tribute to her? Instead of a bunch of back-up dancers (no offense to them - they danced their asses off) - I just think she deserved a bit more respect. Speaking of RESPECT - back the fuck up Lady Gaga or Jo or whatever you want to be called when someone is accepting a lifetime achievement award. Stealing the spotlight is not cool - have we learned nothing from Kanye? AND don't even get me started on the poor girls "speech" which she read from a teleprompter. My friend says that Britney reminds her of a marionette now - with everyone else pulling strings controlling her every move and this whole disaster proves her right. Can the poor girl not even have enough freedom to speak her own words from her own heart? Are they scared that she might go batshit crazy again? The speech got even more awkward when it turned into her introducing Beyonce who quickly stole her thunder by announcing her pregnancy in the most adorable way possible.

2. Katy Perry - This girl gets on my last nerve. I enjoy both 'E.T' and 'Firework' so I have no problem with them winning...but "Video of the Year" really? Does she deserve that much credit? 'Rolling in the Deep' should have won (clearly...) but then again I haven't watched either video....because I honestly haven't seen a video in YEARS. Do they actually even exist anymore? Anyway, back to Katy - I just don't see the talent and I consistently read bad things about her from critics - so I am not sure why she is winning awards. Plus, seriously what was with the cube on her head.

3. Lady Gaga/ Jo - Not a fan of this "alter ego" crap but that isn't the part that bothers me. It bothers me that she sounded so fantastic (one of the best of the night) yet, NO ONE is talking about that because they are focused on her "dramatics" instead of her "talent". But that is her own fault. AND yes, she reminded me of a bad impersonation of Adam Goldberg and no, she can't act so I hope she doesn't think she is going to be an actress now...

4. Chris Brown - I am sad for the Chris Brown situation. He is an incredible dancer and performer - I just can't support him. I am someone who loves to believe that people can change - just because someone makes a horrible mistake doesn't make them a bad person right? But every time I give someone the opportunity to change my mind - 90% of the time they fail (but the 10% is worth it....like Mark Wahlberg for example). Chris Brown started off in the right direction - public apologies, anger management but none of it seemed to work instead of proving that he is in fact a "decent guy" he instead further pushes himself towards the "angry black male" stereo-type (throwing chairs through windows, going on homophobic tirades on twitter). So, Chris - You had your second chance and you blew it. Now get off of my television.