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MTV Video Music Awards: Live blog
Photo credit: AP
MTV Video Music Awards time, people. Let's rock the live blog. Here we go:
>> MTV VMA Red Carpet photos
>> MTV VMA show photos
8:04 p.m.: Oh, sweet buttery deity of your choosing, what the heck is Lady Gaga wearing tonight?
8:06: Sway to Shakira, "I've never quite seen a video like 'She Wolf,' and I've never watched a video so many times." That's what I've been telling you, people.
8:12: Pink on the red carpet about Carey Hart: "Last year, I was singing about him. Now, he's my date."
8:14: The Lady Gaga-Kermit the Frog date skit on the red carpet is remarkably unfunny. What is truly hilarious is the neckbrace "attire" Gaga is rocking.
8:20: Matt and Kim win the Breakthrough video of the year for "Lessons Learned."
8:25: Photo alert: Jack Black is still not funny.
8:26: Taylor Swift arrives in some sort of Cinderella horse and carriage buggy.
8:31: Alicia Keys on the red carpet, looking as perfect as ever. I'm reminded right now of a recent IM convo with Big Cat. "Alicia Keys would definitely be top-5 on my draft board," he wrote. "I would trade up one spot in front of you," I responded.
8:35: One of the drawbacks of live blogging - having to watch commercials. However, they just showed a spot for Rhapsody, with lyrics from Jay-Z's "Run This Town." I'm loving his line "Follow the leader, so Eric B. we are."
8:37: Not really sure I can bring myself to watch "The Hills" this season, but dang, Kristin Cavallari is looking mad good in that silver number.
8:40: World premiere of the "Fame" music video to go along with the new movie out Sept. 25. Still the same song, just with a hipper and hopper dance beat. Kinda catchy beat, actually. Watch it here.
8:45: Just showed 15 seconds of the "Michael Jackson THIS IS IT" movie due Oct. 28. I think it's going to be an extremely interesting two-week run in theaters with this behind the scenes documentary. So interesting, I'm guessing they keep in theaters more than 14 days.
8:52: Yeah, Jennifer Lopez is still pretty much the hottest woman ever. At least for right now at this moment.
8:55: Nominated for 9 VMAs, Beyonce says she would prefer to win the Moonman for Video of the Year. She should win all nine.
8:59: The VMA for Best Video That Should Have Won a Moonman goes to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage." Great video. Would have preferred David Lee Roth's "Just a Gigolo" just for that true old school flavor.
9:01: Out comes Madonna to introduce Janet Jackson and her tribute to Michael Jackson. Wow, that's a 1980s and '90s pop culture iconic overload right there. Powerful for us older folks.
9:05: Madonna is still going. Touching speech and story telling. Slightly awkward in some points, though.
9:06: Madonna still going. "My sons, 9 and 4, are obsessed with Michael. There's a lot of crotch-grabbing and moonwalking going on in my house."
9:07: Loved the old MTV intro to go from Madonna to Janet, with the rocket taking off and the man landing on the moon.
9:07.30: You know it's Thriller.
9:09: And the whole world has to answer right now because I'll tell you once again, who's bad?
9:09.30: Still no Janet.
9:10: We've been hit by a smooth criminal.
9:11: "Scream" video on the big screen. Crowd going crazy, Alicia Keys and Beyonce in particular. And here comes Janet.
9:12: Great camera work by MTV right now. Janet is alone in the shot, with Michael on the video screen behind her right shoulder (our left) and matched his dance moves from the "Scream" video step for step. Whoever is in production truck working that shot deserves an instant Moonman! This video below will show you what I'm talking about.
9:17: VMA host Russell Brand says Beyonce and Jay-Z are the most beautiful couple in the world. "But he must know that the Mrs. is keeping the average up." I laughed. She didn't. As expected.
9:21: And that about was the highlight of Brand's monologue, save for his Lady Gaga bit, which we won't repeat here.
9:24: Taylor Swift wins the Moonman for Best Female Video for "You Belong With Me." That is some straight-up hosery right there. Catchy song, sure, and the video is cute, but I was hoping for a Beyonce sweep.
9:25: Oh yeah, here comes Kanye West to interrupt Swift's speech. "Taylor I'm really happy for you, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time." Beyonce is stunned every time they cut to her. Swift doesn't know what to do. Hilarious move by Kanye. Typical, too. Chumpy, as well. He pretty much just verbally smacked Swift in the face during her moment. Can't wait to hear/read/watch the post-game on this.
9:26: Swift will perform in a few minutes. I hope she fires back at Kanye. C'mon, T-Swizzle!
9:34: We said it at 8:25 p.m. and we'll do it again after his little presenter skit with Leighton Meester: Jack Black is remarkably unfunny.
9:36: Green Day wins Best Rock Video for "21 Guns." Surprisingly, Kanye West is NOT outraged.
9:38: Little 15-year-old Justin Bieber comes out to introduce Taylor Swift's performance. "I just wanna say 'Give it up for Taylor Swift.'" Oooooh, take that Kanye.
9:39: Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" starts on a subway platform, the moves into a subway car. Very cool concept. Original. Oh, snap, that subway car is moving, too. Let's hope she doesn't have to transfer at 34th Street.
9:40: Wait a tick, how does her wireless microphone work underground. So unfair!
9:41: Ah, she exited at 47th-50th Streets stop with a bunch of people following her. They were already in the car, and the safe guess is they were handpicked beforehand. Now she's on top of a cab singing outside Radio City.
9:42: Eat that, Kanye!
9:51: Here comes Lady Gaga in some sort of white lace get-up (think Madonna's "Like a Virgin" wedding gown VMA outfit from way back . . . on steroids!) doing a slowed down version of "Paparazzi." Not feeling it. Especially the fake bleeding stomach thing. Makes no sense to me. No offense to the Gaga crowd out there.
9:54: Here come the Kanye West photos. Will post them in our MTV VMA show photo gallery asap.
10:01: Russell Brand not funny yet, which is quite upsetting. I kinda like his comedy usually.
10:03: Best Pop Video nominees. I want Beyonce to win still, but now maybe not if Kanye West promises to clown himself again.
10:04: Oh boy, Britney Spears just won the Moonman for Best Pop Video for "Womanizer." Please tell me Kanye West is in restraints right now, even if Brit is on tour and had to accept her award via taped speech.
10:08: Green Day just pulled a whole bunch of fans onto the stage for their performance. Very cool stuff.
10:18: Extended trailer for "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" debuts. Third round of trailers. Looks pretty decent, even for those of us who aren't screaming teenage girls.
10:25: As much as I love the close-up shots of Beyonce, I'm loving even more the wide-angle shots of the entire stage, with the four levels of dancers spaced out. Very cool.
10:31: Diddy and Jamie-Lynn Sigler are presenting Best Male Video. Diddy mentions Kanye West as a nominee. A huge "Booooooooooooooooo" erupts from the crowd, followed by chants of "Tay-lor! Tay-lor!" Awesome. Diddy responds, jokingly, "What happened? What did I say?"
10:33: T.I. wins Best Male Video for "Live Your Life." Still no sign of Kanye.
10:50: The Moonman for Best Hip Hop video goes to Eminem for "We Made You." Nice. Great video, probably his funniest. And the anti-Kanye West sentiment continues in the voting results.
10:53: "I just interviewed Madonna backstage. I feel like Kurt Loder." Great quote from MTV's backstage reporter, whose name escapes me right now.
10:59: Best New Artist. Lady Gaga. No shocker there. OMG, NOW what the heck is she wearing? Photos to come as soon as the wires move them. This is hilarious. It looks like she bought too much red lace fabric for a tablecloth and decided to use it to turn herself in a cage dancer at an Imperial Guard club on the Death Star.
11:00: Serena Williams presents P!nk. "She won't have to worry about stepping over any lines." Well, at least she didn't threaten to jam a tennis ball down anyone's throat this time.
11:03: Crazy, acrobatic performance by P!nk. She's flying through the air, doing all sorts of trapeze stuff. Impressive visuals. More impressive athleticism. Could get my vote for performance of the night when it's all over.
11:12: Here come the nominees for Video of the Year, the Neil Armstrong of Moonmen.
11:13: And the Moonman goes to . . . BEYONCE! They liked it and they put a Moonman on it! Thank you, MTV, for keeping my faith in you.
11:14: "I'd like for Taylor to come out and have her moment." Nice touch, Beyonce.
11:15: "Maybe we could try this again?" Swift said. She seems a little nervous at first, but calms down a bit. Beyonce . . . Awesome!
11:22: Jay-Z just rolled up to the VMAs. I'm pretty sure he runs this town.
11:25: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys rockin' Radio City. Pretty sick video display going on behind Jay-Z, too.
11:27: Oh for the love of Pete, what the heck does Lady Gaga have on her body now? She looks like a skinny Uncle Jesse from "The Dukes of Hazzard."
11:30: "Michael Jackson THIS IS IT" footage being shown now. All rehearsal footage for what would have been his last tour. Gonna be a sick documentary to watch. See you in the movie theaters on Oct. 28.
11:31: That's it, folks. Thanks for riding with me through the 26th annual MTV VMAs. Keep reading and keep commenting while I keep digging up photos to post.
>> MTV VMA Red Carpet photos
>> MTV VMA show photos
>> MTV maintains its wild side
