Cyrus’ lewd performance overshadows Gaga; Yeezus delivers an emotional “Blood on Leaves”

By Opinions Editor James Wendt

Last night, performances by Lady Gaga, Robin Thicke, Miley Cyrus, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Bruno Mars, Drake, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, and Katie Perry ruled the airwaves. But if you missed the MTV Video Music Awards last night, don’t worry: you did not miss much.

The show opened on a startling close up of Lady Gaga prancing around and undergoing various costume changes, but the show did not really start until Miley Cyrus took the stage. Cyrus’ and Thicke’s medley did not exactly knock my socks off, but it did cause Cyrus to remove hers – and then some. Cyrus shared the stage with a gaggle of teddy bears, seemingly for no reason, and later with Robin Thicke. “Blurred Lines” turned into a duet, and then Cyrus soloed with a foam finger that traveled to the most unsavory of places.

Cyrus may have shed some clothes, but that is something viewers have seen before and will undoubtedly see again. Kanye West, however, took us on a rare journey to his softer side. His performance of “Blood On The Leaves” from his latest album, Yeezus, was set to an appropriately thematic backdrop of a forest and was as emotional as Cyrus’ was lewd.

Later, Justin Timberlake stole the show: not the fun kind but the intruder kind. The performance was a barrage of JT hits that started with “Take Back the Night” and had me wondering, When will it end? The marathon of throwbacks heated up and quickly fizzled out with a tired performance of “Mirrors.” The elaborate set was perfect for JT lovers, but was too elaborate and Timberlake seemingly half-heartedly went through the choreography. After the second of twelve songs, Timberlake made the claim, “I still run this bitch” but a tired jog would have been a more accurate depiction of his efforts.

Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, and Mary Lambert provided JT with some relief after his exhausting set. They performed their ballad “Same Love,” the winner of the VMA for Best Video with a Social Message. They shared the stage with Jennifer Hudson, who I did not recognize at first and accidently exclaimed, “Alicia!” (as in Keys). Oops. Macklemore remained animated and excited for an inhuman amount of time throughout the beautifully set song that featured American flags and reminded us that we all come from the same God and share the same love.

Throughout the night, various presenters hyped Katy Perry’s performance. It was an appropriately light and borderline-mediocre finale to a light and borderline-mediocre show. Her boxing match themed performance of “Roar” was billed her “biggest hit ever,” but doesn’t knock out her past successes.

The show featured several good performances, but it lacked the luster and craziness typical of the VMA’s. So, let us pray that next year will deliver us a better show. In Yeezus’ name, Amen.