Lady Gaga kicks off Awards night in Brooklyn before Miley ups the ante
By AP
Published Monday, August 26, 2013
Even if the hotly rumored ‘N Sync reunion doesn’t happen, the MTV Video Music Awards are already shaping up as Justin Timberlake’s night.
The lead nominee — with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis — is up for six awards. Timberlake also will be honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, and the anticipation over whether he and his old boy-band cronies will appear together will persist well after the show kicks off Sunday night from Brooklyn.
Justin Timberlake. (AP)
MTV is officially mum, neither confirming nor denying the rumor, and Joey Fatone has even denied it officially. But ‘N Sync debuted a Twitter account Saturday, and the hubbub has overshadowed what will be an all-star lineup at the Barclays Center.
Timberlake joked in the pre-recorded segment that the Vanguard is the, "the you got old award," then listed several previous winners.
"I don’t feel like I’m worthy of it, but I’m not going to pass it up," Timberlake said.
Miley Cyrus made Lady Gaga look surprisingly tame as the pop stars opened the MTV Video Music Awards.
Gaga changed costumes four times Sunday night during her first return to the stage since hip surgery as she performed her new single "Applause."
Lady Gaga arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards. (AP)
It was a predictably unpredictable appearance for Gaga, who seemed to pump in boos over the over the sound system as she opened the song in a white nun’s habit and square headdress. By the time she finished the song, she was surrounded by unitard-clad male dancers and wearing a thong bikini decorated in shells and a long blonde wig.
Cyrus immediately kicked things up well beyond provocative, however, as she appeared on stage with a multitude of dancing teddy bears in a bodysuit adorned with a cartoon character. She twerked, changed into a nude bikini, ran a fan’s foam finger along her privates as Robin Thicke appeared on stage to perform "Blurred Lines," then gave the singer a lap dance.
Miley Cyrus arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013. (AP)
Timberlake — who’s won seven moonman trophies — has the year’s best-selling album, "The 20/20 Experience," and his follow-up "The 20/20 Experience: 2 of 2," is due out in September. His "Mirrors" is up for video of the year. Thicke’s "Blurred Lines" featuring T.I. and Pharrell, Bruno Mars’ "Locked Out of Heaven" and Swift’s "I Knew You Were Trouble" round out the category.
Swift had Twitter afire early in the evening when she appeared to utter an expletive toward One Direction when the British boy band made an appearance after Gaga’s performance.
Early winners included Macklemore and Lewis for best rap video, Thirty Seconds to Mars for best rock video and Selena Gomez for best pop video.
One Direction didn’t give any clues about its role, and MTV has kept many details about the two-hour show under wraps.
Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, A$AP Rocky, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jared Leto and last year’s host Kevin Hart (MTV has chosen to go without a host this year) are scheduled to participate, and former NBA player Jason Collins, who recently acknowledged he is gay, will introduce Macklemore and Lewis’ marriage equality anthem "Same Love."
The Seattle duo is the surprise of the year and is up for six awards, as Timberlake is. The Seattle rap crew has the top song from the first half of 2013, "Thrift Shop" featuring Wanz, one of five songs up for the top honor: video of the year.
Stars began arriving on the red carpet early Sunday evening. Katy Perry wore a bejeweled grill bearing the name of her single "Roar," and got a kiss from Richard Simmons. Pharrell rode the carpet with a crew of BMX bikers.
The show travels to Brooklyn and the brand new Barclays Center for the first time, which should change its vibe. It also will change the iconic moonman trophy. MTV commissioned Brooklyn artist KAWS to redesign the statuette for this year’s show.
via Top hit-makers Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Timberlake on Video Music Awards – Emirates 24/7.
