Gimme Bored
Britney Spears’ much-ballyhooed comeback performance opening the MTV VMAs at the Palms was, to put it nicely, a trainwreck.
Wearing a glittery black bikini and knee-high boots, the pop starlet couldn’t have seemed more bored performing (read: lip-synching) her new electro-pop jam, “Gimme More.” Her once-acrobatic dance moves – which always redeemed her live appearances -- were also absent, replaced by listless gyrations and cheap grinding with her posse of backup dancers.
The underwhelming atmosphere at the Palms Casino Resort dissipated somewhat as the two-plus-hour awards show went on, thanks to a show-stealing performance by hip-hop phenom Chris Brown.
The rubbery, loose-limbed 17-year-old moved and danced to his new single “Wall to Wall” like he was triple-jointed, echoing shades of Usher and Michael Jackson (whose “Billie Jean” he also danced to). Perhaps most impressive, he leapt across lighted tables that looked like lilypads with no effort at all.
The show-closing medley featuring Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Nelly Furtado was another highlight, although Alicia Keys’ off-key performance was a big disappointment and an appearance by Dr. Dre to present “Best Video” at the end seemed completely head-scratching.
In fact, much of the ceremony was rather boring – especially because to maximize the number of performers, the VMAs featured multiple artists playing sets in the Fantasy Tower Suites. But by only featuring snippets of songs performed, the impact and coolness of the collaborations was lost.
Nevertheless, the Foo Fighters’ party suite seemed especially raucous, with Cee-Lo Green dueting with them on Prince’s “Darlin’ Nikki” and Serj Tankian covering Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia.” The Justin Timberlake and Kanye West suites were, as expected, celebratory and filled with guest stars. And the Fall Out Boy suite went absolutely insane when Gym Class Heroes won “Best New Artist.”
The presentation of the actual MTV Moonmen awards actually seemed like an afterthought. (“Female Artist of the Year” winner Fergie wasn’t there, and even Ludacris – who appeared on her single “Glamorous” – didn’t feel compelled to accept it on her behalf.) Rihanna won two – including “Video of the Year” for “Umbrella” – as did Justin Timberlake, including “Quadruple Threat of the Year” and “Male Artist of the Year.”
The latter’s enthusiasm for his music and performing was refreshing – and he used his iconic status every chance he had to say, “I want to challenge MTV right now to play more videos.” Right on.