(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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You can say what you want about The Oscars, The Grammys, or The
Emmys, but there’s always a party going on at the VMA’s, and this year’s
event didn’t disappoint. Honoring the year’s best in music videos,
MTV’s annual celebration brought the celebrities, musicians, and even
some little people, out to celebrate the art form that made MTV a
household name. So just what went down at the event, hosted by funnyman
Kevin Hart? Check out our breakdown of the night’s best, brightest, and
WTF-iest of the 2012 Video Music Awards.
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First things first, let’s dive right into the fashion. There were
some hits (Rihanna), some misses (Emma Watson!?), and even a few “meh’s”
(sorry, Alicia Keys). But there’s no denying the variety of looks
hitting the red carpet this year. Check out our roundup of looks.
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Amber Rose debuted her baby bump, with Wiz Khalifa by her side.
Considering she’s got quite the bump going, she looks pretty awesome.
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(Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
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Katy Perry glammed it up, in a big way, in this vintage looking frock.
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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Taylor Swift had a wardrobe change for her performance, but her red carpet look was sleek and sexy.
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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It’s her, Miley! She debuted her much talked-about new ‘do here, wearing a plunging black gown.
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(Kevin Masur/Getty Images)
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Ke$ha looks pretty cleaned up! Maybe that’s why we almost didn’t recognize her?
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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Demi Lovato is going for a bit of a dominatrix look here, and we’re not so sure it’s working out…
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(Kevin Masur/Getty Images)
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Oh hey, Ri Ri. You rock that white frock, girl.
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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Sorry, Emma. This look ain’t workin for ya.
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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Alicia Keys’ gown is a bit on the frumpy side, but since she’s a relatively new mom, we’ll let that slide!
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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Those One Direction boys sure do know how to clean up, don’t they?! Just adorable!
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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Her simple get-up certainly wasn’t a show-stopper, but Pink’s onstage look was worth noting.
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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Rashida Jones went for a leather look, and it didn’t look all that comfortable. But you go, Rashida! Good effort.
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(Kevin McDonald/Getty Images)
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And while she didn’t take home a trophy (spoiler alert!), Taylor Swift’s performance outfit was a real winner!
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(Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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And now to the main event! Making a grand entrance as only she could
(or maybe Madonna), Rihanna, decked in red, treated the crowd to an
awesome laser-filled performance, which almost looked like something out
of a Michael Jackson video. She was later joined by A$AP Rocky before
heading into the crowd serenade the audience with her hit “We Found
Love,” which brought the audience to dance party, USA. It was an awesome
Studio 54 moment, and Ri Ri killed it.
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Host Kevin Hart made an entrance almost as grand as Rihanna, escorted
by a wee secret service, as a nod to the Democratic National Convention
going down in Charlotte. “
I’m gonna need a little security, and they took me too seriously.” Really, little people jokes? No.
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Hart’s monologue touched on many controversial topics -
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Drake and Chris Brown’s beef: “
It was all about recycling!”
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Frank Ocean’s recent outing: “
I commend you!”
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New mom Snooki: “
She didn’t make a mistake, the baby daddy did.” “Don’t spray him orange, and give him that hairstyle the Jersey Shore guys have…”
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KStew’s cheating: “
She made a mistake! Get over it!”
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And then- BAM – stage dive time! The jump into the crowd seemed to be
one a lot of people were making this year, and Hart was happy to start
the trend.
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Katy Perry (debuting a new hairstyle, as she often does) presented
the best pop video award to the Brit boys of One Direction, who took the
trophy and looked absolutely adorable doing so. Seriously, give us a
call, boys. They gushed about their love for the VMA’s, and didn’t make
it a full minute before breaking the trophy. Oh, boys. Be more careful!
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Wowza. Miley Cyrus debuted her off-the-wall haircut which looked
almost identical to acrobatic-loving Pink, who was soaring through the
air in no time. She treated the fans to the first taste of her new
single “Blow Me One Last Kiss,” which was awesome. And filled with curse
words.
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But the weirdest moment? Her dancers clad in ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ lips. How’d they see anything?
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‘The X-Factor’ judge Demi Lovato (set to be back on our TV’s soon)
and Brit sensation (and buxom blonde) Rita Ora presented the award for
best male video to Chris Brown who was sporting some strange dyed locks
and sunglasses. He actually directed his winning video himself. He’s
nothing if not multi-talented, we suppose?
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Zoe Saldana (falling flat in her fringe-y gown) intro’ed man of the
hour Frank Ocean who almost appeared to be performing in Disneyland.
What was going on there? He did a partially acoustic take on his hit
“Thinkin’ ‘Bout You,” and while his space-age scene was a little strange
(was he paying homage to Zoe Saldana in ‘Star Trek’?), he sounded
great.
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On-screen couple Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg (of ‘Celeste and
Jesse Forever’) got kinda weird – rapping and yolo-ing it up behind some
hipster frames. And they handed off the best hip hop popcorn to Drake
(wheelchair Jimmy!) and Lil’ Wayne, who brought everyone onstage to
accept the award with them. But Wayne couldn’t be bothered to take off
his headphones. Dude jammed out to his iPod the entire time. Was he
listening to Drake?
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In a flash, One Direction appeared from nowhere to take the boy band
reigns from the dudes of the 90’s. Even the fierce five got in on the
fun – singing along to every word. It was, in a word, adorable.
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(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Rebel Wilson (the greatest ever) took the stage in a sexy bod beach
cover up with other of-the-moment boy band The Wanted to hand out the
honor of best female video, which went to Nicki Minaj. Not someone to
wear anything understated, she was sporting some tweety bird yellow hair
and a gaga-esque jumpsuit.
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Two Chainz took it off the chain (see what we did there?!) with his
first-ever VMA performance, where he was joined by Lil’ Wayne (who left
his headphones elsewhere).
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The most awkwardly dressed duo of all time, Emma Watson and Ezra
Miller intro’ed the dudes from Green Day (including a recently
hospitalized Billie Joe Armstrong), who proved that no matter how much
time has passed, they can still rock hard. In true punk rock fashion,
they invited the audience to join them in a mosh pit. And it was f*cking
awesome. Long live Green Day, y’all.
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IT’S TWILIGHT TIME, Y’ALL. The cast of ‘Breaking Dawn Pt. 2′ took to
the podium to present an exclusive FIRST LOOK at the film. Noticeably
absent? Kristen Stewart, who’s too busy living in her shame cloud to be
bothered. Sorry, K Stew. You caught a bit of a rough break on this one…
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Ke$ha. Was she even recognizable? She really didn’t look herself
tonight. She joined Wiz Khalifa (who’s expecting a child with Amber Rose
any moment) to present the Best New Artist golden popcorn to the real
fab five, One Direction. Could these guys BE any cuter? Nope. Nope they
couldn’t.
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The fierce five re-emerged, looking (and sounding!) just as precious
as ever, presenting the lovely Alicia Keys, who brought new son Egypt to
the show (dad is Swizz Beats). She sounded a little pitchy (as did
everyone!) but her new jam is gonna be huge, and she looked incredible.
Her girl Nicki Minaj joined her for an interlude (when was Nicki Minaj
NOT onstage at this show?!) and even Gabby Douglas got some stage time,
doing a few tricks and tumbles! It was awesome. You go, Gabby. You go.
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Kevin came back to present the final award of the night, which went
to our girl Ri Ri for “We Found Love,” which caused everyone to freak
OUT. And she looked beyond lovely. BEYOND.
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Who better to close out the show than the lovely Taylor Swift? She
belted out her mega-smash new single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back
Together,” with some adorably dressed gymnasts accompanying her.
Girlfriend nailed it. And that is a straight up jam. Jam-tastic.
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And that’s a wrap! We’re sad to close the book on another VMA’s, but
it was as fun as ever. Plus, thanks to MTV’s new gif technology, we can
have it all at our fingertips forever! Check out the full list of
winners below!
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List of Winners
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Video of the Year – Rihanna (featuring Calvin Harris) – “We Found Love”
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Best Male Video – Chris Brown — “Turn Up the Music”
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Best Female Video – Nicki Minaj — “Starships”
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Best New Artist – One Direction — “What Makes You Beautiful”
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Best Pop Video – One Direction — “What Makes You Beautiful”
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Best Rock Video – Coldplay — “Paradise”
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Best Hip-Hop Video – Drake (featuring Lil Wayne) — “HYFR”
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Best Electronic Dance Music Video – Calvin Harris — “Feel So Close”
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Best Video with a Message – Demi Lovato — “Skyscraper”
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Most Share-Worthy Video – One Direction — “What Makes You Beautiful”
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