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Post by Admin on Sept 1, 2020 8:28:52 GMT
Ariana Grande didn't walk a traditional red carpet tonight at the MTV VMAs with her new boyfriend Dalton Gomez, but the couple still managed to have a sweet moment during the show. Grande shared several photos from her VMA night, including a shot of her and Gomez leaving together, holding hands after she taped her performance with Lady Gaga. Her shot with Gomez was the last in her gallery, so it was there but easy to miss: http://instagram.com/p/CEipprXl1f7 Grande had a big night ahead of her during the ceremony: In addition to performing live with Lady Gaga during the show, the singer was also up for many of the night's biggest awards. Gaga and Grande won Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, and Best Cinematography for "Rain on Me." They were also up for Best Pop Song, Best Video Effects, and Best Choreography for the track. Grande and Justin Bieber also shared nominations for Best Collaboration and Best Music Video from Home (for their song "Stuck With U"); they won Best Music Video from Home. Grande and Gomez's big moment comes shortly after Grande gave Gomez a very public and very sweet birthday tribute. It was one of the most public moments so far in their relationship. (The two were first seen together in February 2020 and have been quarantining together over the past couple months.) http://instagram.com/p/CDmAXPglcaw "hbd to my baby my best friend my fav part of all the days i love u," Grande wrote on August 7, sharing a gallery of photos and videos of them together. An Us Weekly report on August 21 made it clear that Grande and Gomez are in a "serious" and happy relationship these day in private. “Ariana sees something different in Dalton that she has never seen before in guys she has previously dated," the source said. “He is the type of guy she has been looking for. He’s very protective of her, will go out of his way for her and does little things that are chivalrous. Dalton will go above and beyond to meet her needs.”
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Post by Admin on Sept 1, 2020 19:11:30 GMT
Last night’s MTV Video Music Awards were bizarre, even by 2020 standards. This year’s ceremony was originally supposed to take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, but the show was forced to pivot to remote segments due to the ongoing pandemic. While a few performances were filmed on location in New York, many were reportedly shot in front of green screens in Los Angeles (or, in the case of BTS, Seoul). The show attempted to position itself as a tribute to the Big Apple, but it ended up reducing the city to an eerie, empty backdrop.
None of the performances or acceptance speeches were actually filmed live in real-time. Host Keke Palmer and the presenters held court from a digitally rendered rooftop, cheered on by hordes of CGI revelers on adjacent buildings. Their windows were converted into a sea of smiling, clapping anonymous faces, a discomfiting array of captive audience members applauding performances they never saw. Aesthetically speaking, it was all very Blade Runner.
The actual dystopia that we currently live in creeped into the VMAs in other ways as well, as artists made attempts to address the pandemic and ongoing civil unrest. Lady Gaga, the night’s big winner, made a point to mask up every single time she was on camera, whether performing or accepting an award. (“Wear a mask. It’s a sign of respect,” she said during one of her acceptance speeches.) The Weeknd closed both of his acceptance speeches, for Best R&B and Video of the Year, by repeating the phrase “Justice for Jacob Blake. Justice for Breonna Taylor.” DaBaby performed on top of a police car, as fires burned around him. And advertisements for social justice issues, voting, and the Biden/Harris campaign were omnipresent.
The most memorable VMAs performances displayed humanity or shone a light on the absurdity of our times. The most forgettable acted like it was business as usual. Here are the best and worst moments from the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. –Noah Yoo
The Best Lady Gaga
Yes, the delightful Keke Palmer technically hosted the VMAs, but the evening was dominated by Lady Gaga, as if Chromatica was a meteor that had momentarily crashed into Earth. Gaga being Gaga, she celebrated each televised win (including the inaugural “Tricon” award) with a new outfit change, unleashing a variety of ensembles that truly no else could pull off (except for maybe Björk), including a mask decked out with tentacles. Her performance was no less ambitious. The medley began with Gaga watching a clip of the 1999 VMAs and twirling down a fireman’s pole into a lair of mannequins as “Chromatica II” transitioned into, what else, “911.” After a quick costume change that winkingly nodded to the artifice of the “live” performance, she launched into “Rain on Me,” joined by a bouncy Ariana Grande. While Grande opted for a simple black mask, Gaga wore a bulky one with an oscilloscope mouthpiece. The performance concluded with “Stupid Love,” which Gaga performed in part behind a giant brain-shaped piano. Her over-achieving showmanship was on full display, and frankly, we needed it. –Quinn Moreland
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Post by Admin on Sept 2, 2020 4:06:14 GMT
Fans are wigging out over Machine Gun Kelly’s new ‘do. The “Bloody Valentine” singer, 30, sparked theories he got a hair transplant after his blonde mane appeared fuller and thicker at the 2020 Video Music Awards on Sunday where he won for Best Alternative Video. In older photos, MGK’s hairline appears to be receding. Over the last few months, several fans have shared their theories on MGK’s alleged hair affair. “Y’all I had no idea machine gun kelly had hair transplant surgery, the poor guy he was so young 🙁 but he looks amazing now,” one person tweeted in August. “Machine Gun Kelly’s hair transplant saved his career,” another wrote in May. Also, his hairstylist shared that the rapper reportedly admitted to having thin hair, according to the blog Hair Dryer Fair. Perhaps he was inspired to upgrade his look after entering into his relationship with brunette bombshell Megan Fox.
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Post by Admin on Sept 2, 2020 8:18:04 GMT
Some basketball fans were heated on Sunday night (Aug. 30) when late Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant was not included in an In Memoriam package at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards.
The show, which was dedicated to Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman -- who died on Friday after a four-year battle with colon cancer -- featured a tribute section in which Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker remembered passed rappers Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD.
He then set up a video montage that honored a number of other artists lost over the past year, including musicians Dick Dale, Eddie Money, Bushwick Bill, Ric Ocasek, Neil Peart, Bill Withers, Adam Schlesinger, Chynna Rogers, Kenny Rogers, Little Richard, Huey, Florian Schneider, music exec Andre Harrell, Glee star/singer/actress Naya Rivera and Boseman.
DaBaby rocked a Lakers hat and jersey with team colors during his medley performance in the show as well.
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Post by Admin on Sept 2, 2020 21:17:24 GMT
The Weeknd
You have to respect the Weeknd’s commitment to the beaten-and-bloodied look he’s been sporting during his After Hours campaign. Abel Tesfaye’s bombastic VMAs opening performance started with a shot of the singer unconscious, waking up as the first synths of “Blinding Lights” started to drift in. He groaned and looked around; he didn’t seem as if he particularly wanted to be there. The voyeuristic close-up didn’t last long though, and Tesfaye was quickly revealed to be singing atop the Edge at Hudson Yards, a massive sky deck overlooking the Hudson River on Manhattan’s West Side, with helicopters filming his every move. The sheer scale of the production dwarfed the singer, and the performance became more about gawking at the camera angles and the enormous array of fireworks, all while the Empire State Building shined in the background. Just like when he chose to focus on victims of police brutality in his acceptance speeches, the Weeknd knew that this whole night was about something bigger than himself. –NY
Chloe x Halle
Chloe x Halle did not screw around. The sisters’ pre-show performance of “Ungodly Hour” was one of the night’s tightest sets. Channeling the metallic arms of Beyoncé circa “Single Ladies” and Zayn at the 2016 Met Gala, the duo strutted and danced under a beam of light that reflected off their shiny suits. Throughout the night, some performers got tangled in the conceptual elements of their sets, but Chloe x Halle kept things simple, and it paid off. It was a much-needed moment of clarity. –QM
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