REVIEW: 2014 MTV Video Music Awards!

Last night was the MTV Video Music Awards, and I quite enjoyed myself watching! With high energy performances on deck, the night was definitely one to look forward to. Of course, it started with the Pre-Show with  Sway and other MTV correspondents interviewing the hottest celebs on the red carpet including Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lopez, and more!

Ariana Grande opened up the show with "Break Free," which is still growing on me. Nicki Minaj then hit the stage with a short performance of her newest single "Anaconda," which I have to admit is my guilty pleasure song, especially when I'm working out and hitting my squats! The ladies then came came together with Jessie J for "Bang Bang!" Nicki had a dress malfunction with the quick change she had to do to get ready for her part of the song, but she managed to hold it together so she didn't flash anybody, thank goodness! Overall, the performance was great, and was an awesome way to open the show.

Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg presented Best Female Music Video to Katy Perry for "Dark Horse" featuring Juicy J. I can't say I ever really watched the video, so I can't really say whether she deserved it or not. From the clips I've seen, it looked really detailed, though. Taylor Swift then hit the stage with "Shake It Off." I don't really like this song by her, but she still gave her all. The most memorable part of the performance though was Taylor throwing a little jab at Nicki Minaj's dancer getting bit by an anaconda, when Taylor refused to jump off the stage into her dancers' arms, and potentially injuring herself. It was funny. Afterwards, Ed Sheeran won the Best Male award for "Sing."

Jay Pharaoh did impressions throughout the night, that I was really not feeling. He wasn't all that funny to me, and it seemed like MTV was making him an interim host, without actually giving him full hosting duties. Someone I follow on Twitter said it best: either have a host or don't have one at all.

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels presented the video for Best Pop Video to Ariana Grande for her smash hit, "Problem," with Iggy Azalea! I absolutely love Ariana, so I was very happy for her. Aftewards, Artist to Watch nominee Sam Smith performed his hit "Stay With Me." I had heard the song before, which is absolutely beautiful, and his voice is incredible. In fact, I was so in awe by his live performance, I went and bought his album on iTunes during the commercial break (IT'S AWESOME!).

Common had a moment of silence for Michael Brown and the city of Ferguson, Missouri, before presenting Best Hip Hop Video to Drake for "Hold On, We're Going Home"with Majid Jordan. Uzo Adoba, Taylor Schilling and Laverne Cox from Orange Is The New Black presented Usher who performed "She Came To Give It To You," featuring Nicki Minaj. It's not my favorite song by him, but Usher still killed the stage! His moves were flawless and his performance was explosive!

Nina Dobrev and Trey Songz presented the Best Rock Video to Lorde for "Royals," which I wasn't aware was considered rock. Don't get me wrong, it's a good song. I just don't know if she should've won it.
Chloe Grace Moretz and Dylan O'Brien presented 5 Seconds of Summer who performed their hit "Amnesia." I've seen their name plenty of times before, but never really listened to them before. I definitely liked the song, though.

Jay Pharoah presented the award for Artist to Watch to Fifth Harmony, which I'm convinced was bought by Simon Cowell for publicity. They're nice girls, and I enjoyed them on the X Factor. They actually can sing, but I don't think they deserved this. Then again, this award was one where the fans "voted," so it's basically a popularity contest. Sam Smith honestly should've taken this one, though.

Iggy Azalea then performed "Black Widow," with Rita Ora, which actually did a great job of showcasing Rita's skills as a singer! Her vocals on the hook were great. Overall, I really liked the song and the performance. Demi Lovato and Jason Derulo then presented Maroon 5 who performed "Maps" outside. I don't listen to them regularly, but whenever I see them perform and Adam Levine sing, I love it!
The Video of the Year award then went to Miley Cyrus for "Wrecking Ball," where she allowed a homeless friend to bring to light homelessness in America. It was a very beautiful, selfless moment that I was actually proud of Miley for!

Then came the moment we had all been waiting for....literally! The winner of this year's MTV Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award Beyoncé killed the stage with her setlist with a medley complete of songs from her latest self-titled album, Beyoncé, including "Mine," "Flawless," "Partition," and even "Blue," which she never performed before! It was the perfect performance! The setlist was leaked a while before, but I was still excited and in awe the entire time! Jay-Z and Blue Ivy were there, and presented Bey with the award after her performance! To see Blue herself just in awe of her mommy and congratulating her was a precious moment! The show ended right after that, which was PERFECT. That's the way it needed to end!

Overall, a great show. The performances, of course, are always the best part. MTV got a few of these awards wrong, but I didn't care. I was so ready for Bey nothing else really phased me! I enjoyed watching.

What was your favorite moment of the VMAs?