The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards took place at L.A.’s Staples Center on Thursday night and for the 25th year in a row, “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel didn’t win a single award. It’s a damn shame.
Year after year, the VMAs aren’t about the awards, they’re about the moments: Madonna kissing Britney, Michael kissing Lisa Marie, Kanye interrupting Taylor, Beyonce announcing her pregnancy. This year, not so much.
The biggest event during the 2012 VMAs was Wiz Khalifa and girlfriend Amber Rose announcing they are expecting a baby. And what better way to announce it than onstage with Ke$ha, who claims Khalifa will have “the hottest and probably coolest baby ever.” We can only hope. Most parents don’t care if their baby is a boy or a girl, as long as it’s healthy and both hot and cool.
Host Kevin Hart started the show with a monologue poking fun at the feud between Chris Brown and Drake. He also emphasized that “MTV is the place for mistakes,” but the ceremony didn’t feature many. The show ran smoothly and that’s what made it kind of boring.
Predictably, British boy band One Direction had a big night, winning most share-worthy video, best new artist and best pop video for “What Makes You Beautiful.”
Drake was Canada’s only winner. His “HYFR” video won best hip-hop video, and in his acceptance speech he gave shout-outs to Hamilton and Toronto.
The show featured performances by Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj and others. Pink performed alongside women who were dressed as mouths shooting confetti – like that time I swallowed the contents of a three-hole punch and my doctor made me throw up.
Frank Ocean sang “Thinking About You” in a mellow performance in front of what was apparently a bog on fire. Believe me, it wasn’t as exciting as it sounds, but according to a graphic during the telecast, this was the most tweeted-about moment of the night, though I didn’t notice #bogfire trending.
Here are a few more notable moments from the ceremony:
• Lil Wayne inexplicably wore huge headphones all night. I presume he was listening to a broadcast of Joe Biden’s DNC speech.
• The camera kept cutting to Katy Perry and Rihanna whispering to each other. Are they besties? Is that a thing?
• Chris Brown won best male video, and he seems very cool and likeable. I’m glad good things are happening for him.
• Everyone – including Pink, Chris Brown, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Rita Ora and Amber Rose – bleached their hair for the event. If you didn’t bleach your hair after seeing the show, don’t bother coming into work today.
• Korean artist and viral sensation Psy showed up to perform his trademark horse dance, though he seemed a bit too classy for these awards.
• Kevin Hart, Lil Wayne and Taylor Swift all crowd-surfed at different points throughout the show.
• Calvin Harris was the house DJ, and he was OK, but couldn’t they have gotten the house DJ from Ellen?
• It was only two hours but it felt like three.
• Olympian Gabby Douglas did some cartwheels during Alicia Keys’s performance. It enhanced nothing
• They showed a clip of the new Twilight movie. From the looks of it, Bella kills a wildcat, then she gets sent to Transylvania in a Volvo to be a monk and play ice football or whatever.
Below are the winners of the 2012 VMAs:
Best pop video
“What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction
Best male video
“Turn Up the Music” by Chris Brown
Best rock video
“Paradise” by Coldplay
Best hip-hop video
“HYFR” by Drake featuring Lil Wayne
Best female video
“Starships” by Nicki Minaj
Best new artist
“What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction
Video of the year
“We Found Love” by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris
Best video with a message
“Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato
Best electronic dance video
“Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris
Most share-worthy video
“What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction
Best art direction
“Wide Awake” by Katy Perry
Best choreography
“Turn Up the Music” by Chris Brown
Best cinematography
“Bad Girls” by M.I.A.
Best editing
“Countdown” by Beyonce
Best visual effects
“First of the Year (Equinox)” by Skrillex
Best direction
“Bad Girls” by M.I.A.
Related:
The MTV Video Music Awards playlist
Poll: Which Canadians will take home MTV VMAs?
Drake and Rihanna lead MTV Video Music Award nominations