The VMAs are still trash (2020 edition)

I said I wasn't going to watch the MTV VMA's and I fucking did. Well, the performances at least. I was honestly only tuning in to watch Chloe x Halle's performance (which was immaculate by the way). But it was just a reminder that the VMA's are biased and a celebration of the current zeitgeist. You could argue that every awards show basically is. But you can always rely on the VMA's to really hammer that home.

MTV gave 2020 the VMA show it truly deserved. If I had them nothing else, I have to hand them that.

The shortlists for the categories made no sense
You can always rely on the VMAs to create shortlists for categories that aren't reflections of the categories at all. Let's start with the music video categories.

Best direction
Billie Eilish - Xanny
Doja Cat - Say So
Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now
Harry Styles - Adore You
Taylor Swift - The Man
The Weeknd - Blinding Lights

Best cinematography
5 Seconds of Summer - Old Me
Camila Cabello featuring DaBaby - My Oh My
Billie Eilish - All The Good Girls go To Hell
Katy Perry - Harleys In Hawaii
Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande - Rain On Me
The Weeknd - Blinding Lights

Now, I'm not saying all of these music videos weren't well directed and didn't feature good cinematography. But credibility goes out the window for me when neither category features Chloe x Halle's "Do It", and Dua Lipa's "Don't Start Now" is shortlisted over "Physical" for best direction. This isn't even subjective. "Do It" and "Physical" are both gorgeous looking music videos with brilliant direction. And yet, they are in neither of the music video categories. And the video that wins best cinematography is the ugliest looking video. "Rain On Me" was such a muddy looking, badly shot, horribly graded video. Naomi Watanabe's 'parody' featured far better cinematography than the official music video itself. MTV have no taste and seem to have no grasp on what ranks as award winning direction and cinematography. If they did, "Rain On Me" wouldn't have won a damn thing. It wouldn't had even been shortlisted. Imagine. A channel whose existence used to simply celebrate the art of the music video not being able to identify good cinematography and direction...in a music video.

Fuckery runs rampant in every category. The Weeknd being in the R&B category with "Blinding Lights" when the song is Pop. Chloe x Halle being confined to the R&B category with "Do It", when it shoulda been in the Pop category too. Because let's face it; if Ariana Grande had released "Do It", that shit woulda been in Pop categories. Chloe x Halle's most basic home performance being shortlisted in the Home performance category over their amazing YouTube Class of 2020, Global Citizen and BET award performances. Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande's "Rain On Me" being shortlisted for best choreography, when that whole routine was just white people arm waving. Neither Dua's "Physical" or "Break My Heart" were shortlisted for best editing. Chloe x Halle's "Do It" not being shortlisted for best art direction in a music video. Blackpink's "How Do You Like That?" winning song of the Summer, when that shit came and went in a week.

The shortlisting makes zero sense whatsoever, and neither do some of the winners. The VMAs aren't a celebration of actual talent, graft and artistry. It's a popularity contest, which is on brand, because...it's MTV. Blackpink won a category, because it's Blackpink, MTV wanna be on the good side of Blinks, and because K-Pop is seen as a current trend which Blackpink is now one of the faces of. Lady Gaga swept-up, because it's Lady Gaga. The Weeknd was put in an R&B category because he's Black, but he's a VMA winner white people fuck with, so...whatever.

It's all trash. And whilst it doesn't make sense, it all makes sense.

The VMA's was a stan event for Lady Gaga
The VMA's this year was basically a MTV Icon for Lady Gaga, as she swept the awards, appeared numerous times, got the longest slot to perform and had some award made-up for her. I'm not saying that Lady Gaga doesn't deserve her flowers, but some of those awards she won weren't deserved. "Rain On Me" was not a song of the year by a long shot. As much as I cannot stand Doja Cat's "Say So", and I don't want any award given to a song produced by Dr. Puke, it was song of the year material. But of course the award went to "Rain On Me". 

Even on the night of the VMA's, there was clearly a Lady Gaga stan running the MTV Twitter account. There were a disproportionate amount of tweets about Gaga over other acts who were also winning awards and performing at the time.

Nothing against Lady Gaga. But it was just plain biased. Lady Gaga is a great Pop star, but Chromatica wasn't that good of an album to be sweeping award shows. And let's be real, "Rain On Me" wasn't that great neither. So many artists put out great music and videos that MTV decided to just gloss over and mis-categorise, because they don't care and just wanted to stan Gaga.

MTV still be racist
MTV was racist when it first started out as a channel for white Rock artists 39 years ago and it's still low key racist. If MTV were a person, it'd say 'But we can't be racist. We commissioned four seasons of Making the Band with Puff Daddy and gave Missy a video vanguard award. We even named a VMA award after Michael Jackson.' But they are absolutely racist. Being a little bit racist, is still racist. Being low key racist is still racist.

MTV's VMA categories basically lumps every Black artist under Rap or R&B / Urban categories, when some of them should be in the Pop categories. The only Black artists they feature are those who are liked by hella white people. Or so damn popular at a given moment, that MTV have no choice but to include them in at least one category. There is zero consideration taken into how Black artists are categorised. The same also goes for K-Pop. MTV's approach is so slapdash and disingenuous, and they think they're doing favours with what they're doing.



None of what I'm saying is a revelation of any sort. It's all old news. The MTV VMAs have always been a mess and geared each show to whoever they deem an artist of the moment, whilst categorically side lining waves of others. I mean, the fuckery of Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez getting a video vanguard award before Missy Elliott. That Justin Timberlake even has a video vanguard at all. That P!nk won a vanguard award for releasing the same music videos over and over, but Christina Aguilera is yet to win.

It's all trash. And whilst it doesn't make sense, it all makes sense.

MTV not stepping up to honour talent deservingly leaves a huge gap for many other non Viacom affiliated publications to do it right and do what MTV don't have the range nor the balls (or decency) to do.