2008 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008 live from Paramount Pictures Studios (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom), honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were announced on the MTV program FNMTV after being selected through viewer online voting at MTV.com. The remaining, professional categories were chosen by a panel of music industry professionals. Unlike previous editions of the show, MTV announced the winners to the professional categories three days before the ceremony (September 4) via a press release, rather than on the pre-show or main show. The rest of the winners were announced during the ceremony. Comedian Russell Brand hosted the event. On September 4, 2008 it was announced that Britney Spears would open the event.
This year's awards were a huge improvement ratings-wise, seeing a 19% rise on last year with 8.4 million viewers. It was also a 23% advance over the 5.76 million who saw the 2006 ceremony. Although ratings improved, this year's video music awards was hosted at its smallest venue of its 25-year history. Britney Spears became the main winner of the night, walking away with three Moonmen: Video of the Year, Best Female Video, and Best Pop Video all for "Piece of Me".
2006 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The 2006 Video Music Awards marked the first time viewers were able to vote for all performers' categories (Best Video; Best Male, Female, and Group Videos; and genre categories). Like previous years, the artistic categories (Best Direction, Best Cinematography, etc.) are still chosen by music industry professionals. The 2006 Awards also discontinued the major category Breakthrough Video.
The show was criticized by fans and viewers as being uninteresting or lacking substance. The award ceremony's ratings were down 28% from the 8 million viewers it averaged in 2005 and down 45% from the 10.3 million viewers it averaged in 2004.
Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers received the most nominations, with seven each. Avenged Sevenfold won Best New Artist and "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", by Panic! at the Disco, became the first video to win Video of the Year without winning a single other award since "This Note's for You" by Neil Young in 1989.
1998 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1998 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 10, 1998, honoring the best music videos from June 17, 1997, to June 12, 1998. The show was hosted by Ben Stiller at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
Madonna was the most successful winner and nominee of the night, winning six awards out of a total nine nominations: five (out of eight) for "Ray of Light", including Video of the Year and Best Female Video, and one for "Frozen" (its only nomination). Other than Madonna, only Will Smith and The Prodigy won multiple awards that night, winning two apiece.
With regard to nominations, the two biggest nominees aside from Madonna were alt-rock band Garbage and rapper Will Smith. Smith split his nominations between two videos: "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" (five) and "Just the Two of Us" (one), each of which earned a Moonman. In contrast, Garbage received all eight nominations for "Push It" but went home completely empty-handed at the end of the night.
The mesh dress that actor Rose McGowan wore to the award show was the subject of much media attention following the awards. The dress went on to become one of the most iconic and controversial outfits in the history of the VMA's.
Music Music
I'll be writing till I'm dead or maybe till I'm alive
All the emptiness I've bled has only helped me survive
Something melted inside when the tones hit my pulse
And stifled the idle eagerness to grow into my clothes
No one that I know is any longer good at actin'
Like they comprehend the motive uncoated to feed the corroded passion
Actually needs to stay eye level with the rest
That's the least I deserve for the love that I've shed
I've trudged through the sediment in search of the rhythm
Dove soul first to bathe nude in its abyss
Paid dues and made music my religion
Now I listen, close my eyes, and forget I even exist
I sing a bastard's tune, inspired by the noise
The ship made before it sank and was finally destroyed
I flaunt the grin of a man made for disguising a boy
Who tried to avoid showing the cry in his voice
But there's something special about the notes that he hears
Those scales are redemption, unraveling repressed memories
And when he breathes, a new energy enters and consumes him
To heal his wounds and unseal his doom
If only I could make you understand
But words are just words so I can't
The universe's deepest art form keeps my heart warm with influence
I tell ya
Ain't nothing quite as beautiful as Music
To be an angel, you gotta earn your wings
To control your own, you gotta burn your strings
To hit blackjack, you gotta turn a king
But to live forever, all you gotta do is learn to sing
I get a pleasure that's inevitably immeasurable
And I won't let it be rejected by no man
Why does it have to be so damn difficult
To live in the frame of a game that will slit your throat?
But I've dug in the mud in search of the drum
Dove soul first to bathe nude in its abyss
Stayed true to the music, now my favorite thing to do is
Close my eyes and forget that I even exist
I hold this fistful of degenerate ideas
For every genius that was murdered in the name of Jesus
Still deaf to the bells that claimed to free us
But I pay homage to my melody 'cause she's the sweetest
The core of our spirit is naked
The form of its lyrics are sacred
Blanketed by the original sound of the inner vibrations
I'm floating on the soft clouds of positive creation
See, I can look at a painting and admire the colors
Or appreciate any type of art that I discover
But what I dig's invisible
It's my teacher and I'm its student
I tell ya