Kanye, JT & Miley Cyrus Twerking (Of Course): The 2013 MTV VMA’s Posted by Lucas G. on 08/26/13 | Filed under Top Stories, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, VMA's

MTV (and probably MTV2) haven’t played a music video in probably a decade, the Video Music Awards have become a time-honored tradition where, for at least one night a year, MTV focuses on the music. Granted its full of screaming teenage girls and the awards are usually bullshit, but you can always count on some big performances; last nights VMA’s were no different, following the formula to a T. The awards were a little meh, but the performances were definitely up to par. Don’t worry, if you missed because you were watching Breaking Bad (like me) All the notable ones will be included below, along with this list of winners.

Video of the Year
Justin Timberlake, "Mirrors" (winner)
Bruno Mars, "Locked out of Heaven"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, "Thrift Shop"
Robin Thicke, feat. T.I. and Pharrell, "Blurred Lines"
Taylor Swift, "I Knew You Were Trouble"

Best Male Video
Justin Timberlake, "Mirrors"
Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell, "Blurred Lines"
Bruno Mars, "Locked out of Heaven" (winner)
Ed Sheeran, "Lego House"
Kendrick Lamar, "Swimming Pools (Drank)"

Artist to Watch, Presented by Taco Bell
Twenty One Pilots, "Holding on to You"
Zedd feat. Foxes, "Clarity"
Austin Mahone, "What About Love" (winner)
The Weeknd, "Wicked Games"
Iggy Azalea, "Work"

Best Collaboration
Justin Timberlake, feat. Jay-Z, "Suit & Tie"
Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera, "Feel This Moment"
Calvin Harris feat. Ellie Goulding, "I Need Your Love"
Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell, "Blurred Lines"
Pink feat. Nate Ruess, "Just Give Me a Reason" (winner)

Best Video With a Social Message
Kelly Clarkson, "People Like Us"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, "Same Love" (winner)
Snoop Lion, "No Guns Allowed"
Miguel, "Candles in the Sun"
Beyoncé, "I Was Here"


Best Hip-Hop Video
A$AP Rocky feat. 2 Chainz, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar, "Fuckin' Problems"
J. Cole feat. Miguel, "Power Trip"
Drake, "Started From the Bottom"
Kendrick Lamar, "Swimming Pools (Drank)"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton, "Can't Hold Us" (winner)

Best Art Direction
Capital Cities, "Safe and Sound"
30 Seconds to Mars, "Up in the Air"
Janelle Monae feat. Erykah Badu, "Q.U.E.E.N" (winner)
Lana Del Rey, "National Anthem"
Alt-J, "Tesselate"

Best Choreography
Chris Brown, "Fine China"
Ciara, "Body Party"
Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull, "Live It Up"
will.i.am feat. Justin Bieber, "#thatPOWER"
Bruno Mars, "Treasure" (winner)

Best Cinematography
30 Seconds to Mars, "Up in the Air"
Lana Del Rey, "Ride"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Sacrilege"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton, "Can't Hold Us" (winner)
A-Trak & Tommy Trash, "Tuna Melt"

Best Direction
Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z, "Suit & Tie" (winner)
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton, "Can't Hold Us"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Sacrilege"
Fun., "Carry on"
Drake, "Started From the Bottom"

Best Editing
Pink feat. Nate Ruess, "Just Give Me a Reason"
Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch, "Sweet Nothing"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton, "Can't Hold Us"
Justin Timberlake, "Mirrors" (winner)
Miley Cyrus, "We Can't Stop"

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
Justin Timberlake (winner)

As you might expect from MTV, the hip-hip representative duties were given to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who not only won a few awards but performed "Same Love". I don’t hate Macklemore (nor am I a big fan) but it does seem a little weird to me that they became the face of hip-hop to MTV. To have them nominated/winning multiple awards and perform seems like a little much, but I digress. The duo, joined by Mary Lambert and a surprise appearance form Jennifer Hudson, gave a rousing rendition of the “Best Video With a Social Message “ winner, “Same Love”

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2013 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Kanye didn’t win any awards (or interrupt ay acceptance speeches) but he did take the spotlight for a little while, perfuming “Blood On The Leaves”. I was really excited he chose “Blood On The Leaves” over “Black Skinhead” or “New Slaves” (which both seem like the anti-MTV anthem) as it was my favorite off of Yeezus. The performance, Kanye’s 7th at the VMA’s, was pretty cool and totally different than West’s usual MTV performances. While 2010’s “Runaway” and 2008’ “Love Lockdown” performance had more showmanship, Yeezy went for a bare-bones approach this year. About a minute in, the lights cut out, leaving a silhouetted Kanye going crazy in front of a forest backdrop. Even with the annoying censorship, it was the performance of the night…until Timberlake took the stage.

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JT displayed why he was worthy of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, putting on quite a show. For his 15 minute set, Timberlake belted out some classics like “Cry Me A River” and “My Love” and sprinkled in some new cuts like “Suit & Tie” and the big winner of the night “Mirrors”. He even brought back N’Sync to perform a snippet of “Bye Bye Bye” and “Girlfriend”. While every girl might have been excited, it was easily the worst part of the performance because, frankly, the other members aren’t very good; JT was always the star. I had forgotten just how many hits Justin had, and this medley was a reminder that he has been a chart topper for over a decade.

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2013 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music, Justin Timberlake

Justin’s performance should be what everyone is talking about, but, sadly, its Miley Cyrus that stole the show. Not because of her talent or awesome performance, but, because of what she wore. I don’t even know how to describe it; it looked like Silly Putty hanging out of a flesh colored Fruit Roll-Up. To make matters worse, Miley, who can't keep her tongue in her fucking mouth, proceeded to do some unspeakable things with a foam finger as she twerked on Robin Thicke during “Blurred Lines”. It was a performance not even Kendrick Lamar could save.

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2013 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music, Miley Cyrus

Well Breaking Bad fans, there is your VMA recap in case you missed it, and in the event you chose the VMA’s over Breaking Bad, you might want to seriously reconsider some of your life choices. I tried to watch he VMA’s but I can only stand about a minute of shameless ads and shrieking teenagers, so I’ll stick to the performances and performances only, at leas MTV can still get those right (minus Miley Cyrus).

See Also:  Eminem, Kanye & More: The Complete 2010 MTV VMAs Video Wrap-Up (Watch!)
See Also:  A Look Back at Kanye’s Classic MTV VMA Moments