Much like the trending 2020 BET Awards, this year’s MTV Video Music Awards had the challenge of making an entertaining show amid a quieting pandemic that prevented real life audience members. It was a challenge indeed, but being that BET and MTV are under the same parent company Viacom, the network was able to navigate the audience-free production using BET as a case study.
Let’s get the ratings out of the way. The show dropped 5 percent in its viewership from last year. In 2019, the VMAs obtained 6.8 million viewers compared to 6.4 million viewers on Sunday. The drop is well-deserved considering some major missteps the award show made.
However, there were some things that MTV got right this year, too. Keke Palmer was a perfect hosting choice given the Black Lives Matter movement and her undeniable personality, of course. She exuded energy and a zest for life, exactly what is needed in a time that is so dire for many. With New York as the chosen destination for the show, MTV added the glamorous touch of having Palmer host from the Empire State Building rooftop. Can’t get any bigger than that!
As far as the performances, the award show killed it with sets from BTS, The Weeknd, Maluma, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, DaBaby and CNCO. Legendary hip hop and pop group Black Eyed Peas closed the show with a new singer (who was not Fergie) by their side. The lady of the group is J. Rey Soul, born Jessica Reynoso, who got involved with the Black Eyed Peas in 2018 after Fergie decided to focus on being a mother.
The performances were solid, featuring dance routines, a set similar to a drive in movie theater, and spaced out, colorful themes throughout. The categories stood out, as well.
MTV definitely came off diverse and progressive with categories such as, Best K-Pop, Best Latin, Best Music Video from Home, Best Quarantine Performance, Video for Good, Song of Summer and the non-votable category of Everyday Heroes: Frontline Medical Workers.
The categories even delved into the professional realm with Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Choreography.
MTV made it very clear that they stand for diversity and youth. But, their chosen stance is the reason why the show was kind of lackluster. While the network’s version of diversity appeared to rely heavily on targeting the Latino, Hispanic and Asian demographics, a clear sign that the bottomline was a motivating factor for such a manufactured pop presence, the show still maintained an overly “white dominance.”
The fact that Lady Gaga made the most appearances on the show outside of the host Keke Palmer was an eye sore. Not because we don’t love the talented Lady Gaga who took home five trophies, but because no one wants to see an award show where the same person is winning all the awards. Wasn’t Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish the choice last year?
So, what it comes down to is that the MTV Video Music Awards is missing the mark on what we mean when we say we want more diversity. To make the show more appealing, the show should consider more diversity in winners, diversity in the age of the performers and an unapologetic willingness to acknowledge the greatness of black music artists, ego and privilege aside.
Every year, we see favoritism pouring through our smart TVs and it’s a low vibration reminder of the cliques of high school where popular kids worship and congratulate each other. It’s a false sense of importance and greatness that poops on real talent that don’t need the gimmicks and gadgets to impress.
The other element that is missing is authentic emotion and the element of surprise. Yes, is understandable that the artists had to find out beforehand whether they won an award or not.
However, it’s hard to recall the last time that the VMAs delivered those classic and shocking wins that provoked emotion from its viewers. Even the spontaneity of someone falling or saying the wrong thing has been eliminated by this pressure to present a “perfect” show.
It’s so lame that even church would be more entertaining then the VMAs — at least there’s a possibility of someone’s wig falling off or the choir director turning up.
Nowadays, the VMAs come off as a glossy and glamorized Diddy video. Nothing wrong with that, we love Diddy. By the way, that’s another thing. Where was Diddy? Or any of the other people who blazed a trail and are still the interest of the people, such as Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Future, DJ Khaled and so forth. Is their absence the result of the VMAs practicing age discrimination?
Also, why are the younger rappers being excluded from the award show? With the exception of DaBaby and Megan Thee Stallion and nods to A$AP Rocky, Cardi B, Lil Baby and Roddy Ricch, for the most part, the VMAs played it safe.
There was hardly any hip hop presence from Atlanta, the Bay, Chicago and Detroit. So, no Tee Grizzley, Saweetie, Trippie Redd, Young Thug, Rhapsody, Mozzy, Sauce Walka or anybody who really cultivated a following from the ground up. Basically, any artist who performs at the Rolling Loud festivals was generally not included at the VMAs.
With all the dance and pop music going on throughout the show, there was a lack of African and Caribbean artists. That’s a shame given that Beyonce just introduced us to a load of them on her Lion King album The Gift. Plus, Davido has been making waves, too.
The result is that we have nothing to look forward to but a bunch of artists who have record labels that are in cahoots with MTV to get their artist the publicity. What happened to the days when the VMAs were about groundbreaking entertainment serving the people, not the labels?
