It was only fitting that MTV's Video Music Awards should celebrate its 20th anniversary with a kiss and that the kiss should be a suggestive smooch shared by Madonna (news - web sites) and Britney Spears (news), as Christina Aguilera (news) stood by leering.
It was the climax of an opening number that began with Spears and Aguilera, both in bridal attire, crooning Like a Virgin, the hit performed by Madonna at the first VMAs. But it was ultimately stolen by Madonna herself, by comparison a model of old-school glamour and class, even in a modified groom's outfit that made her resemble a well-heeled dominatrix. (Related item: Who won at the VMAs?)
The performance offered a poignant reminder of MTV's role in defining a youth culture that has become something of a tease winking at convention without offering any fresh alternatives.
Host Chris Rock (news), who managed to breathe life into the lame lip-sync fest that was 1999's VMAs, provided a few welcome hints of genuine subversion. For starters, he reminded the audience that MTV celebrates videos without actually playing many of them.
Commenting on the shows that now drive MTV's programming, he alluded to Making the Band, the series in which rap impresario P. Diddy mentors a nascent hip-hop band. Rock mused, "Who better than Puff Daddy (news - web sites) to show the kids wrong from wronger?"
The awards themselves followed MTV's tradition of favoring the young, the new and the accessibly hip. Justin Timberlake (news), Beyoncé Knowles and British band Coldplay won three apiece; rap upstart 50 Cent and relative veteran Missy Elliott were double victors.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20030829/en_usatoday/11732025
It was the climax of an opening number that began with Spears and Aguilera, both in bridal attire, crooning Like a Virgin, the hit performed by Madonna at the first VMAs. But it was ultimately stolen by Madonna herself, by comparison a model of old-school glamour and class, even in a modified groom's outfit that made her resemble a well-heeled dominatrix. (Related item: Who won at the VMAs?)
The performance offered a poignant reminder of MTV's role in defining a youth culture that has become something of a tease winking at convention without offering any fresh alternatives.
Host Chris Rock (news), who managed to breathe life into the lame lip-sync fest that was 1999's VMAs, provided a few welcome hints of genuine subversion. For starters, he reminded the audience that MTV celebrates videos without actually playing many of them.
Commenting on the shows that now drive MTV's programming, he alluded to Making the Band, the series in which rap impresario P. Diddy mentors a nascent hip-hop band. Rock mused, "Who better than Puff Daddy (news - web sites) to show the kids wrong from wronger?"
The awards themselves followed MTV's tradition of favoring the young, the new and the accessibly hip. Justin Timberlake (news), Beyoncé Knowles and British band Coldplay won three apiece; rap upstart 50 Cent and relative veteran Missy Elliott were double victors.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20030829/en_usatoday/11732025
