2021 VMAS

It was forty years ago this year that MTV was launched and delivered to the world the music video, a perfect blend of energized visuals with hard-driving music that completely changed how we were exposed to new songs. I was drawn to the channel immediately as it combined my great love of cinema and music and I would spend as much time as I possibly could watching my MTV. There is no denying MTV helped create pop stars, aiding these musicians by promoting their songs through the rotation of their videos which also defined these performers with a distinctive image. Sure, some of these artists probably would have been fine without the music channel but there is no doubt that many were able to achieve incredible global success with the far-reaching assistance of MTV.

The 2021 Video Music Awards celebrates the legacy of MTV and while the channel doesn't really show these clips anymore, they still enthusiastically honor the artistry behind the music video. Held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Doja Cat was this year's host and while she might be one of the hottest pop acts at the moment, the singer didn't leave much of an impact. As a host, she was barely on stage, didn't say anything meaningful and never made much of an impression beyond her progressively weird outfits (which included some sort of worm-like contraption and a literal chair on her head). Even Madonna, who showed up just to kick off the show, was able to make more of a significant impression in her brief appearance where the still rebellious sixty-three year old highlighted her completely covered yet fully exposed, oddly enhanced backside.

And the Queen of Pop was just one of several musical artists from MTV's glory days that appeared throughout the evening to present awards. There was Madonna's "rival", Cyndi Lauper; Tommy Lee of the metal band, Motley Crew; AJ McLean of Backstreet Boys, Lance Bass of N'Sync and Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees who represented the "Boy Band" era and the still very witty, David Lee Roth of Van Halen. Busta Rhymes appeared on the show (along with his hype-man, Spliff Star) to do a melody of many of his hits from the '90's and '00's but the hip-hop legend was largely out-of-breath and low-energy.

Even though Nicki Minaj and Lorde (due to a "change in production elements") decided to drop out at the last moment, there were still plenty of big names that turned up live on stage. Some highlights included Justin Bieber appearing with The Kid Laroi to do their hit, "Stay" and then Biebs did his newest single, "Ghosts"; Ed Sheeran took to a stage at the Brooklyn Bridge Park to deliver his latest single, "Shivers"; lovebirds, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes appeared separately to perform their songs, "Don't Go Yet" and "Summer of Love" respectively; and our host, Doja Cat had to get on stage, doing a mash-up of "Been Like This" and "You Right" while soaring high above the audience in the air. A few of my favorite appearances included a fierce Chlöe performing (without her sister, Halle) her first solo song, "Have Mercy"; Normani bringing her hit, "Wild Life" to life with a sizzling performance; Kacey Musgraves brought a touch of country-pop while encircled by a ring of fire with the title track of her new album, "Star-Crossed" and the always welcome, Alicia Keys delivering a new song and a tribute to New York City with "Empire State of Mind". And Global Icon Award winners, Foo Fighters did a roaring set of their songs that reminded us that rock & roll is far from dead.

As for the awards, Lil Nas X and Olivia Rodrigo were the big winners of the night, each receiving three awards with Rodrigo winning Song of the Year for "Drivers License" and Best New Artist while Nas took the big Video of the Year award for his controversial clip, "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)". These young entertainers each had a moment on the show to make their presence felt with big, splashy production numbers surrounded by a small army of dancers. But this was were their inexperience as live performers came in to sharp focus. Nas and Rodrigo both looked slightly uncomfortable on stage while struggling to stand out from their massive productions.

This points out a glaring problem with some of today's musicians who manage to get a hit record yet never paid any dues by learning to perform their music in front of an audience. Lil Nas X and Ms Rodrigo are appealing pop stars and have made some great records but are they artists that will still be around in ten years? Five years? No one really knows as talent alone is not necessarily enough to keep people interested. Yet I think the era of "American Idol" insta-pop-stars has done a great disservice to young singers who think skipping much of the long, hard work involved and jumping straight to fame is enough to maintain a career.