Poppin' Off: Recap of the 2013 VMAs

Oh boy. What a show the VMAs turned out to be. I have to say....I kind of loved it (and thats all thanks to JT).

First off, that Lady Gaga opener. I'm not so much a fan of hers. I liked her earlier songs and then she just got a little too political for my taste, and it reflected in her music. Anyway, I liked her performance. I thought it had a slow start, and that weird nun outfit was a little much, but the song is catchy. And, her seashell bra and G-string bottom? Get it girl! I respect that she isn't stick thin and still has the confidence to rock that outfit. I think thats something the tween set, and even many adults, need to see (maybe not the buttcheeks, but the message). Body image has been so mutilated thanks to modern media; I thought Lady Gaga's outfit was a nice display of confidence and wasn't trashy.

And then there was Miley. She was a little (meaning really) trashy. I didn't have my children in the room with me while I was watching the VMAs, so I don't have the parental rage that so many seem to have. She pushed a lot of boundaries, but I don't think she did it to glorify that lifestyle, I think she was just doing it for attention. People weren't paying attention to her when she was just being herself, and crazy trashy seems to sell these days (Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan anyone?), so its a smart PR move. I like the song, and I liked when Robin Thicke came out to sing Blurred Lines. Sure, it may be 2013's rape anthem (according to my sister in law), but that song is catchy. Also, I wasn't paying too close attention to Miley while Robin Thicke was singing, so I didn't see all the nasty things she was doing with that foam finger.

Before I get to Justin Timberlake's a-maz-ing performance, I'd like to point out some things that bothered me about the VMAs. First off, Taylor Swift's jab at her ex One Direction boyfriend was so immature. I used to be a huge fan of hers, and I still like her songs, but with the constant boyfriend hopping and the lack of maturity she displays.....it makes her kinda icky. At least Miley keeps consistent with one guy. Also, what was up with the 24/7 shots of her and Selena Gomez all night long? Sure its fun to see celeb BFFs, but I would've liked to have seen other audience members. Something else that bothered me were Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's acceptance speeches. They deserve every award they got, no doubt about it. But they had the longest speeches of the night, and they always seemed to thank their featured singers (Ray Dalton and Mary Lambert) who were up there onstage with them, as an afterthought. Which I thought was disrespectful because without Mary and Ray, those songs would be incomplete. Also, news outlets reported that One Direction were the only act to be booed that night, but I could swear that at the beginning of Lady Gaga's set, she was getting booed too. Did anyone else hear that, or was that just me?

So Justin. Justin, Justin, Justin. His performance was amazing. Perfect even. He sang all my favorite songs by him and he looked like such a cutie. Its now a life ambition of mine to see him in concert. The only thing I didn't like was that the N'Sync reunion was like five seconds long. The hype leading up to it made it so disappointing. But you also have to take into account that it wasn't a Video Vanguard for N'Sync, it was for Justin as a solo artist. Even Jimmy Fallon's intro and rambles before giving Justin the award were cute ("I'm talking Sexy Back! I'm talking Dick In A Box! Dick In A Box!") Justin's performance was the highlight of the night, no doubt about it. I imagine that next year's VMAs will pale in comparison, just because they won't have the Justin performance (and also, I'm sure MTV will have to vigilant about their performances, thanks to Miley's twerking escapades.)

Since I can't find any good YouTube videos of the performances, here are the official videos for Applause, Blurred Line and We Can't Stop.