It was a show filled with both memorable and shocking moments. The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was a night to remember. Dedicated to the late great King of Pop, Michael Jackson, there was no other artist more fitting to open the show than his little sister, Janet Jackson.
After a heartfelt speech by Madonna, where she shared her own private and personal memories of her friendship with Michael Jackson, professional dancers performed a medley of Michael Jackson songs. The dancers were on point, bringing MJ classics "Thriller," "I'm Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" back to life on stage. Then, as the audience stood on their feet, Janet appeared in front of a giant-sized video screen of her brother, and she danced in real-time alongside the screen behind her which played the music video for their duet, "Scream."
Another show-stealing moment was provided by Beyonce, who performed "Single Ladies," a video and song which earned her nine nominations (including nods for "Best Female Video," "Best Pop Video" and "Best Choreography"--which she won). But it wasn't just her performance that made her the hero of the night, it was her humbleness.
While tensions inside Radio City were heightened because of an unexpected outburst from Kanye West, Beyonce showed her own halo by giving up her own moment after a controversial moment had already taken place lingering over the Awards all night. When Taylor Swift won the award for Best Female Video, her acceptance speech was interrupted by--no surprise here--Kanye, who felt it necessary to voice his disagreement. He grabbed the mic from Taylor and said "Yo, Taylor I'm really happy for you but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time." In an interview, Taylor Swift said she didn't know what was going to happen after producers asked her to stand on the side of the stage. Swift then told reporters, "I thought that I couldn't love Beyonce more and then tonight happened."
Throughout the show, any mention of Kanye's name was met with "boos" from the audience. And though he had been nominated for four awards, Kanye did not take any moon men home. Actually, MTV.com reported that Kanye and his date, Amber Rose were both escorted out after his tantrum. Later, photos of Kanye holding a bottle of Hennessy on the red carpet began circulating on the blogs and in the news.
Later on that night, Beyonce, who has won many awards in her day, picked up the Award for "Video Of the Year," an award that she said in the pre-show was the one she most wanted to win. She began her acceptance speech by talking about how memorable it was to win an MTV Award with Destiny's Child back when she was just a teen. "It was one of the most exciting moments of my life," she began. "So I'd like for Taylor to come out and have her moment," said Beyonce before handing the floor over to Taylor Swift.
Bey's hubby Jay-Z closed out the night with a show-stopping performance of his new single "Empire State of Mind." Accompanied by Alicia Keys on piano, Hov arrived to the show right before his performance and took the stage last, just minutes after Beyonce won her award. And then another awkward, unexplainable moment occurred. At the end of his set, the artist was joined by Lil' Mama, who stood alongside Jay and Alicia and nodded her head. The move was a confusing one which neither side has yet to explain.
Other artists who picked up awards for the night were Eminem for "We Made You" which got the "Best Hip Hop Video" award, and T.I. (not surprisingly absent) featuring Rihanna for "Live Your Life," the Best Male Video.