Best and Worst of the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards: Chelsea Handler, Taylor Swift, Kanye West

Worst: Chelsea Handler

CORNY!!! One of the WORST hosts in VMA history...Chelsea Handler was in over her head with hosting duties. The stage was just too big for her and the audience too distant. From the jokes about sleeping with rappers to the jokes about partying hard, the night just seemed to outlive her. It is amazing how much can fly on MTV though....FCC must be in their "fave 5" list or something. I mean Chelsea started the show by stating that she had given up drinking all week to prepare for the performance but went on to say that she was "high" and referenced a "prayer circle" with Snoop Dogg as the cause for her elevated state of mind.

I know that Chelsea was only part of the problem as someone had to have written these nightmarish lines/jokes, some jokes so flat you could see the disappointment creep across her face as the monitors rolled. These include mostly cringe-worthy swipes at women, almost all women -- from Taylor Swift's purity image to Mariah Carey's age in addition to Lady Gaga opener that was almost an insult.
And, yes, that's Handler riding Rick Ross, riding a motorized cart....SMH


Worst: Taylor Swift's "Forgiveness"

I needed a Valium after this performance....A year is too long to still be talking about the whole Kanye interruption bit, and it's definitely too late to bring it back up, particularly in the show's Saddest Little Melodrama, starring Swift.


The lyrics to the track "Forgiveness" sound as though Swift has forgiven the rapper's childish behavior, but the presentation told a different story. It kicked off with the misty water colored replay of the incident on little television screens, amping up Swift's apparent devastation. The 20-year-old then "plays" a dobro and wah wah wah-ed softly in front of the set's busted windows (they're broken like her heart, get it?). While singing solo, shoeless, in the middle of the giant circular stage took some bravery, she still performed wobbly, as a wide-eyed victim of West's assy antics, even if West wasn't there to pan to.

Last week, one couldn't help but to feel like West was capitalizing on and exploiting the debacle for his own good. Now, it seems like Swift is doing the same.

Best: Kanye West

So Taylor Swift was like, "Kanye West is a child." And Kanye West, by end of the show is like, "Yeah, I know."

Kanye gets to be a show Best. He's obviously done with apologies as he raps, "Let’s have a toast for the douchebags / ... the *ssholes / ... the scumbags / ... the jerk-offs." It is very creative....I mean we all have had a moment where we could be seen as one of the above...

West is a Best because it was a perfectly authentic response -- to the 2009 incident, to Swift's song, to the year-plus of backlash, and to his own true nature. It was a great performance, too, with ballerinas, a verse from Clipse rapper Pusha T, a drum machine on a pedestal and style for miles. It was entertaining to get to see what goes on when Kanye creates these masterpieces that we rock to. You get a gold star Kanye!

Best: Lady Gaga

Congratulations to Lady Gaga for not only walking away with eight shiny new awards, but for taking advantage of the limelight when she knew she had it. She devoted a hot minute to her entourage, former members of the military discharged due to the recently overturned Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Her disruptive fashion was powerful, even if it was impractical. She was overcome choking back tears for all three of her televised acceptance speeches, moved by her fans. And then, finally, she gave a little back, by singing some bars from the title track of her forthcoming album, "Born This Way."

I'm particularly tickled by her speech after earning Best Female Video for "Bad Romance": "Thank you to all the gays for remaking this video over and over again."

Worst: The cast of "Jersey Shore"

I don't blame MTV for giving its idiot cast to idiotic "Jersey Shore" its moment in the idiot sun, but did the VMAs were downright overrun with these idiots. The overkill bled into Chelsea Handler's fledgling hosting duties, constantly tainted the pre-show/white carpet and elicited little to no response from the audience in L.A. Considering Snooki, The Situation and all the rest of the spray-tanned crew speak on repeat, I'm not entirely sure how much more MTV can milk out of 'em. I was over it before it started!

 
Best: Usher

Another great performance from our favorite R&B great...Usher Raymond. Usher performed "OMG" and "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love"; in turn, MTV got us fallin' in love with Usher all over again. The pop star took advantage of the light-up floor and, unlike his protege Justin Bieber, went with live vocals, effectively pulling off a (literally) breathtaking performance.......Proof that he is no longer held back by the draining relationship with the now EX-wife......cheers to "signing them papers" :)

Best: A surprise visit from Rihanna

Eminem was delivering "I'm Not Afraid" when audiences were surprised by an unannounced special guest, Rihanna, who showed up to help out on the hook to "Love the Way You Lie." Rihanna drifted on the curved catwalk like a broken angel in a hipster 2-piece wedding dress, with fiery red hair and combat style boots. It was a perfect vision of hot and cold.

Eminem's disappearing act after opening the show was so that he could make it to New York in time for his concerts with Jay-Z....in YANKEE STADIUM!!! SOLD OUT weeks ago!

  

 

 
 
 
 
Best: Drake, Mary J., Bruno Mars, Swizz Beats
 

 
 
Drake, Mary J., Swizz Beats and Bruno Mars had a very entertaining performance incorporating a little Rat Pack into their medley.
 
Blige looked amazing in her tailored "lady tux" and the stage was lit with Drake making it down the steps in style....and on his feet!
 
They all sounded great and the energy was through the roof! Another great representation of the North....loved it!
 
 
 
There was a lot to see and hear while watching the awards this year.....overall the performances were great but the writers need to be fired!