Last night's VMAs

We watched the MTV Video Music Awards last night and honestly, that show isn't what it used to be. The jokes were lame and the performances were all right but the show lacked energy. One of the best performers of the night was the house band!

It didn't help that Lady Gaga showed up as her male alter-ego Jo Calderone and spent every moment on-stage smoking, drinking, and mugging for the camera. The smoking and drinking really bothered me. She has such a huge following - not to mention that the VMAs are aimed at teenagers - and I personally think that smoking and drinking sends the wrong message to her fans and the people watching. She wasn't glorifying that behaviour - it was clearly part of her character - but for her to do it at all sends a message that it's ok to do it. And I don't think that this is the right message to send to the viewers.

I was quite disappointed with the lifetime achievement award presentation to Britney Spears also, and not just because I think that it's a little early to be giving her a lifetime achievement award. The presentation included a frantic, sped-up rendition of Britney-lookalike dancers dancing the choreographies from her different videos which was quite unpleasant to watch. Lady Gaga/Jo also presented the award and managed to make the presentation more about her and less about Britney. Britney giggled but she looked uncomfortable and wasn't able to say much of anything due to Lady Gaga/Jo's comments and constant mugging.
 
The highlight of the night was the Amy Winehouse tribute given by Russell Brand. He toned down his usual manic self even though it still looked to me like he was bursting to tell a joke of some kind. Luckily for the viewers, he didn't give in to that urge and instead managed to convey that she was a brilliant artist who struggled with her life. He was able to humanize her and make her seem like less of a tabloid freak and more of a real person.

Another highlight was seeing the stranger outfits that Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj were wearing. I love it when someone has the confidence to pull off an over-the-top look and both of these women are known for their costumes. I will of course be doing a red carpet post for this event in the next couple of days and I hope to include as many of these crazy outfits as possible. Thank goodness for the crazy outfits because they made the show entertaining when it wasn't fun at all.

If you haven't yet seen this year's VMAs, I wouldn't recommend watching them. The show just wasn't that good.