HOLLYWOOD—The night of the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards belonged to Lady Gaga as she took home eight awards. Gaga, who is known to never disappoint when it comes to fashion, had several costume changes as she took the stage throughout the night.  During the pre-show she won awards for Best Dance Video “Bad Romance” and Best Collaboration “Telephone” featuring Beyoncé.  She accepted her first award of the night, Best Female Video for “Bad Romance,” from comedian Ellen DeGeneres. 

Florence + The Machine performing a spectacular number at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Photo by Getty Images

“Thank you so much.  I love my fans so much, my little monsters,” stated Lady Gaga while accepting the award.  Gaga went on to win awards for Best Pop Video and Video of the Year for “Bad Romance.”  When accepting the big award of the night by music icon Cher, Gaga wore an eye-popping meat dress and gave the world a sample of her new record “Born This Way.”  It was truly a highlight of the night.

Lady Gaga accepts her award for Best Female Video for "Bad Romance." Photo by Picture Group

Other big winners of the night included rapper Eminem who won Best Hip Hop Video and Best Male Video for “Not Afraid.”  He opened the ceremony singing his summer hit “Not Afraid,” then surprised audiences with the arrival of songstress Rihanna as they performed “Love the Way You Lie.”  Both received huge roars from the crowd.  Justin Bieber won Best New Artist beating out Nicki Minaj, who many thought would triumph in that category.  Jared Leto and his band 30 Seconds to Mars won Best Rock Video for “Kings and Queens,” but enough already on awards let’s talk about the performances. 

I must admit I was excited for the Video Music Awards for the first time in a long time.  There were so many commercials and buzz building around the performers, but not many musical numbers stood out.  Justin Bieber performed his hit “Baby” outside the Nokia Theater amidst thousands of screaming fans.  Usher did a medley of his hits “DJ Got Us Falling in Love” and summer anthem “OMG” full of dance sequences and energy, but neither were memorable.  Linkin Park also rocked the stage, as well as rapper Drake with surprise guest Mary J. Blige. 

Perhaps the most anticipated performances of the night came from two artists at last year’s ceremony, Taylor Swift and Kanye West.  Swift performed an untitled single from her upcoming album “Speak Now” talking about that infamous moment at the 2009 VMAs when West interrupted her speech for Best Female Video.  West closed out the show debuting his new single “Runaway” self-referencing himself as an a**hole in the lyrics.  In my opinion, both West and Swift had good performances.  They have gotten over last year’s debacle and so should the public.

The best performances of the night came from two artists that should have taken home awards.  Nicki Minaj performed at the pre-show singing a sample of “Your Love,” before breaking out in full character for “Check It Out.”  She was full of energy and let her personality shine on stage.  Her caricatures were amazing.  Florence + The Machine had the best performance at the ceremony as she sang her undeniable smash “Dog Days Are Over.”  It was full of bright colors, great choreography and phenomenal vocals.  That voice was sensational.  I was utterly floored after that performance, and they received a standing ovation from the audience.  That’s what you call talent with a capital “T”.

The ceremony was hosted by late night comedian Chelsea Handler who had a riotous opening with surprise guest Lindsay Lohan who slapped some sense into Chelsea while taking shots at her own life. That moment with the alcohol monitor was genius. She hit the stage paying tribute to the night’s big nominee Lady Gaga. I’ll admit some of the jokes during the ceremony were a bit off, but Chelsea kept the show moving.  Her skit with Snooki, The Situation, Pauly D and J-Woww of “Jersey Shore” was classic as she took a dip in the hot tub that proves she will do almost anything for laughs.  Overall the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards didn’t have any shocking moments like last year, but here’s hoping that 2011 will be even better.

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