Twenty years ago, the MTV Video Music Awards had a viral moment — before “viral moments” even existed — during the opening number when Madonna kissed both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
Seemingly in shock — just like the rest of us — Spears’ then-fresh ex Justin Timberlake looked on awkwardly from the Radio City Music Hall audience.
And 10 years ago, at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Miley Cyrus infamously twerked upon Robin Thicke during a performance that forever unblurred the lines between the former Disney darling and Hannah Montana.
But Cyrus — despite having one of the biggest songs of 2023 in “Flowers” — is, at press time, just one of the top pop stars who is not even slated to appear at this Tuesday’s MTV VMAs, which will take place a New Jersey Transit hike away from the buzz and bright lights of New York City at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ for the second year in a row (and third time since 2019).
Unless any major surprises happen, though, Cyrus — who is up for five Moon Persons — is in good company as a VMAs no-show with her fellow superstar nominees Beyoncé, Drake, Harry Styles, The Weeknd and Ed Sheeran.
Even six-time nominee SZA — who, with her No. 1 smash “Kill Bill,” has had the kind of killer year that used to guarantee a big VMAs splash — is paying them dust. This, despite being a New Jersey native who grew up a hop, skip and an Uber ride away from Prudential Center in Maplewood.
These are just the latest signs of the troubled times for the VMAs, which — once the hottest awards show around — hardly matter anymore.
Gone are the must-see moments of years past — from Madonna (again) writhing across the stage in her “Like a Virgin” wedding dress at the very first VMAs in 1984 to Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley sealing their music-royal marriage with a smooch in 1994 to Kanye West infamously interrupting Taylor Swift’s Best Female Video acceptance speech in 2009 because an ever-graciously beaten Beyoncé had made “one of the best videos of all time” in “Singles Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” (Well, Ye was right — at least this once.)
Instead, at Prudential Center last year we got Johnny Depp making a desperate comeback attempt as a Moon Person after his sordid trial with ex-wife Amber Heard, Swift — who leads this year’s nominees with eight nods — fan-girling instead of performing before predictably winning Video of the Year for a record-setting third time, and Nicki Minaj doubling up as both co-host (with LL Cool J) and Video Vanguard recipient seemingly because, well, they couldn’t secure any other heavy hitters.
Last year, the most buzz-worthy moment actually happened during Bad Bunny’s remote performance, when he kissed one of his male dancers. It didn’t really feel like the VMAs being beamed in from his Yankee Stadium concert, but man, they sure needed it.
On Friday, just four days before the VMAs — very late in the game for any awards show — it was announced that Minaj would return as host this year, while also performing again. Welcome to “The Nicki Minaj Show” for the second year in a row.
And while some of that may be attributed to the fact that the ongoing actors’ strike makes a lot of celebrities unavailable this year, it’s still hard to understand when you can’t get the hottest artists of the moment to perform.
Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat and Colombian sensation Karol G make sense. But why no Travis Scott — given his No. 1 album “Utopia” this summer — instead of Lil Wayne?
Or even country phenom Morgan Wallen — who has spent a whopping 16 weeks atop the pop charts this year with “Last Night” — instead of Kelsea Ballerini?
Or freaking anybody instead of Demi Lovato?
With the disconnect between MTV and actual music having only grown in recent years, the VMAs continue to lose relevance.
And when a game-changing artist like Beyoncé decides to make no music videos for her “Renaissance” album — instead, letting fans create their own clips on TikTok and such — it signals that the art form itself is no longer what it once was back when Lady Gaga rocked a meat dress to the VMAs.
