Beyonce on Sunday dominated the MTV
Video Music Awards as she won a near-record award haul and awed the
audience with a fiery dance medley with an unstated political message.
The pop superstar won Video of the Year
for “Formation,” the most controversial work of her career, as she took
home eight of the 11 awards for which she was nominated.
“Formation,” the first single off her
intertwined film and album “Lemonade,” was shot in New Orleans and
inspired by the city’s Creole culture, its bounce hip-hop scene and the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“I dedicate this award to the people of
New Orleans. God bless you guys,” Beyonce told the gala at New York’s
Madison Square Garden.
Beyonce stole the spotlight by
performing for more than 16 minutes songs from “Lemonade,” managing even
to change outfits in a set that culminated in the stage erupting in
fire.
In one of the most striking moments, a
series of gun-shots rang out as her dancers, in angelic white dresses,
each dropped to the ground in a red fog.
The video for “Formation,” directed by
Melina Matsoukas, had offered solidarity with the Black Lives Matter
movement against police brutality with officers portrayed raising their
hands as if under arrest.
Beyonce invited to the show, broadcast
to more than 120 countries, the mothers of four young African American
men whose deaths have galvanized the United States — Michael Brown, Eric
Garner, Oscar Grant and Trayvon Martin.
Martin, 17, was killed in 2012 by a
white neighborhood guard, a catalyst moment for Black Lives Matter.
Brown, Garner and Grant were all killed by law enforcement.
Singer Alicia Keys offered another of
the night’s powerful moments as she recited a poem inspired by civil
rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. who delivered his landmark “I Have a
Dream” speech in Washington 53 years ago Sunday.
In a year marred by global conflict and a
bitter US presidential race, Keys, moving seamlessly from spoken word
to a cappella, said: “If war is holy and sex is obscene, then we got it
twisted in this lucid dream.”
“Maybe we can love somebody / instead of polishing the bombs of holy war.”
– Kanye talks Kanye –
At eight awards, Beyonce tied her
contemporary Lady Gaga and Norway’s a-ha- a sensation in MTV’s early
years — for the second biggest win in a single night.
Peter Gabriel retains the record, set in 1987 after his animation-driven “Sledgehammer.”
In one of the night’s most anticipated
moments, rap superstar Kanye West — who last year used the occasion to
declare his intention to run for president in 2020 — delivered a nearly
stream-of-consciousness speech about empowerment.
As the audience chanted his stage-name
Yeezy, West likened his creative talent to that of Apple founder Steve
Jobs and entertainment pioneer Walt Disney, and said that unnamed
wealthy white people had warned him not to make the comparison.
He defended his “Famous,” also up for
Video of the Year, which depicted clean-cut pop star Taylor Swift naked
in bed with him despite her complaints about the song.
Also seen naked with West in the video
are Republican presidential contender Donald Trump, known for his
hardline anti-immigration stance, and fashion editor Anna Wintour.
“We came over in the same boat. Now we
all in the same bed,” West said, before clarifying that the on-screen
lovers arrived on “maybe different boats.”
West then presented a racy new video for
his song “Fade” featuring actress and singer Teyana Taylor, who moved
her body sensually in a gym before a steamy shower scene.
The video marked a theme in the evening, if accidental, of sexualized exercise.
Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj received
roars of crowd approval for a sensual take on a workout, with the pop
singer and rapper dancing together in a stage transformed into a gym
full of highly physical young men.
– Drake smitten with Rihanna –
Drake won in the rap category for “Hotline Bling,” one of the most popular songs of the year.
But Drake did not appear to accept the
award. According to the presenter, rap icon Puff Daddy, the Toronto star
got stuck in New York traffic.
Drake however did show up to present the
Video Vanguard Award — named after late King of Pop Michael Jackson —
to Rihanna, in recognition to her contributions to pop culture.
Drake gushed that Rihanna was “someone I’ve been in love with since I was 22.”
The 28-year-old Rihanna put on four medleys of her songs throughout the show in outfits that began with a snug white T-shirt.
In an acceptance speech, Rihanna pledged never to forget her native Barbados.
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