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Celeb News: TIME grades the 2011 VMA performances
Member Since: 9/25/2001
Posts: 26,816
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TIME grades the 2011 VMA performances
From the unpredictable Lady Gaga to the unprintable Lil Wayne, TIME's Claire Suddath takes stock of the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
SOURCE: TIME
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Lady Gaga, 'Yoü and I'
There was a lot of speculation about what Lady Gaga might wear to the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. How could she top last year's meat dress? The answer: she doesn't even try. Gaga kicks off the show in an oversized white T-shirt, greaser hairdo and black slacks.
That's right, she appears as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, first seen in Vogue Homme Japan in 2010 and — for those of us who don't buy the Japanese version of Vogue — most recently in the video for her latest single, "Yoü and I." Jo delivers a monologue straight out of a high school theater class, complaining that Lady Gaga is hard to date because she refuses to be real.
Wait, let me get this straight: Gaga dressed as a man is pretending to date Gaga as a woman? O.K., fine. At this point in the pop star's career, I'm willing to believe anything.
Gaga then breaks into a stripped-down version of "Yoü and I," one of her weaker songs that sounds like a half-hearted interpretation of a blue-collar anthem she imagines someone might listen to while driving a pickup truck across the American heartland.
Tonight's version, however, isn't that bad. It's not Auto-Tuned, it's not computerized and when Gaga sings it live, I actually kind of enjoy it.
Wait a second, is that Queen's Brian May on guitar? How many people in the MTV audience actually know who Brian May is? On second thought, let's not think about that.
Side note: Apparently Gaga took a tumble during part of her performance, but MTV cut away too fast for viewers at home to notice.
Grade: A-
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Kanye West and Jay-Z, 'Otis'
Kanye and Jay-Z look like they're having a great time, like they're just two friends goofing off in their basement. That is, if their basement contained flame torches, steam machines and a giant American flag.
This is a solid performance of "Otis," one of the standout songs on their Watch the Throne collaboration, but it's nowhere near the best that either rapper can do. But, hey, at least the audience gets to listen to Otis Redding for a few minutes. And why is Kanye wearing an ombré jean shirt?
Grade: B
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Pitbull featuring Nayer and Ne-Yo, 'Give Me Everything'
I've heard this exact same beat playing in nightclubs, bars and Abercrombie & Fitch dressing rooms for the past 10 years.
Pitbull's performance is fine, but there's nothing about this that's memorable. The most interesting part of this entire performance is Pitbull's red pants.
Grade: C-
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Adele, 'Someone Like You'
Adele hasn't dyed her hair purple or lost 100 lb., and she doesn't mask her talent behind outrageous costumes or dance routines. For that alone she should be applauded.
In an otherwise glitzy, amped-up awards show that keeps sneaking in camera shots of the Jersey Shore cast, it's heartening to hear a truly talented woman sing a mournful torch song for someone who has left her for someone better. And if her stellar performance, accompanied by only a piano, isn't enough to melt your heart, then her nervous wave to the audience at the end definitely will.
Adele doesn't appear to know why she's been embraced by MTV's audience or why she's so internationally beloved, but she accepts it in stride. If you want to watch her heart break, she is willing to break it for you again and again.
Grade: A
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Chris Brown, 'Yeah 3X' and 'Beautiful People'
Chris Brown has spent much of the past two years shunned by both the public and the rest of the music industry after he pleaded guilty to the felony assault of his then girlfriend Rihanna. So what's he been doing with himself while on probation? Improving his dance moves, apparently.
Brown continues a slow but steady comeback with this VMA performance — a combination of hip-hop, boy-band and pop-and-lock dance moves that earn him a standing ovation from Kanye West.
And as if that wasn't enough, he lip-synchs to Wu-Tang Clan and Nirvana and then flies through the air. Is this enough to forgive him? Probably not.
Grade: B
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Beyoncé, 'Love on Top'
Does Beyoncé do anything wrong? Does she ever have a bad hair day? Does she ever get a pimple? This offering from the reigning queen of pop music is relatively toned down and yet she still looked and sounded better than nearly everyone else at the awards.
Beyoncé takes the stage immediately after Britney Spears accepts her non-lifetime-achievement award. Both artists started out at roughly the same time (remember Destiny's Child?) and it's interesting to see how much their careers now differ.
At the end of her performance, Beyoncé rips off her sequined tuxedo jacket and shows off her pregnant belly. That's certainly one way to make it into the pages of Us Weekly.
Grade: B+
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Young the Giant, 'My Body'
Young the Giant are performing with the aid of 250 fans from their hometown of Irvine, Calif. That's sweet and all, but Irvine is less than an hour's drive from Los Angeles, where the MTV Video Music Awards are hosted; it's not like these guys hitchhiked in from Idaho. That said, this is a raucous performance by a still unknown band who is clearly thrilled to be able to put on such a big show.
Grade: B
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Bruno Mars, 'Valerie'
Bruno Mars has one problem: he's too polished. Music is about emotion, about an artist calling up something from deep within that he or she can't express any other way except through song (see Adele). Mars is an incredible singer who can write killer hooks to pop songs, but he lacks a certain rawness — and as a result his performances always feel a little flat.
What he lacks is exactly what the late Amy Winehouse once possessed, which makes his rendition of "Valerie" — a song Winehouse and Mark Ronson hit out of the park in 2007 — feel all the emptier. This performance is the musical equivalent of a student who knows the answers to every test question but can't explain what any of it means.
Grade: C
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Lil Wayne, 'John (If I Die Today)'
Is this a love song? I'm not used to hearing Lil Wayne sing a song to a woman without asking her to please bend over and—oh, never mind, he just removed his shirt and is now shouting stuff I can't print here.
That's the Lil Wayne I know. It's not easy to hear what he's rapping about on this single from Tha Carter IV; every third word out of his mouth has been censored by MTV. But the formerly incarcerated rapper is thoroughly enjoying his return to the stage.
Grade: B
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Member Since: 7/9/2010
Posts: 42,506
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Gaga and Adele 
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Member Since: 9/7/2010
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Beyoncé, 'Love on Top'
sounded better than nearly everyone else at the awards.
Grade: B+
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Who sounded better than her? Bye 
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Member Since: 8/28/2009
Posts: 7,345
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Originally posted by Sammi
Who sounded better than her? Bye |
They aint sure of what to do
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Member Since: 3/13/2011
Posts: 5,631
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'Love On Top' was clearly the best performance of the night
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Member Since: 8/16/2011
Posts: 4,850
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Originally posted by Sammi
Bye |
IKR
A MESS
bipolar much
BRUNO MARS DID GREAT WTH IS THIS "C" FOR??
~to the left,to the left~
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Member Since: 4/26/2010
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I think they were referring to Adele ^^
But I agree, Beyonce had this weird emotional impact last night. Usually Adele is the better of the two, but Beyonce's pregnancy has given her a purity in her voice. Hormones kicking in. Beyonce was truly amazing and deserves nothing less than an A+ .
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Member Since: 9/27/2010
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Originally posted by Remixed
Gaga and Adele |
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Member Since: 6/15/2010
Posts: 14,318
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Both artists started out at roughly the same time (remember Destiny's Child?)"
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Bruno Mars has one problem: he's too polished. Music is about emotion, This performance is the musical equivalent of a student who knows the answers to every test question but can't explain what any of it means.
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This is so, so, so true.
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Member Since: 11/11/2010
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Originally posted by Sammi
Who sounded better than her? Bye |
Adele, I guess...
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Member Since: 9/25/2001
Posts: 26,816
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sammi
Who sounded better than her? Bye |
Adele.
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Member Since: 2/26/2006
Posts: 62,897
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"Love on Top" was my favorite performance followed by You And I and Someone Like You.
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Member Since: 9/7/2010
Posts: 28,471
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I loveeeeeeeee Adele and SLY but she wasn't at her best last night. Bey really slayed vocally. I mean...come on
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Member Since: 9/25/2001
Posts: 26,816
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Originally posted by Sammi
I loveeeeeeeee Adele and SLY but she wasn't at her best last night. Bey really slayed vocally. I mean...come on
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It's arguable. They both slayed vocally.
Beyonce and those key changes, shewwww!!! 
But then again Adele's voice was flawless as always.
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Member Since: 6/1/2010
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People were saying Beyonce lipped.
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Member Since: 3/4/2011
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Originally posted by Rainbows
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Nothing against Bey but some of the delusionals in here... but even JessieJ showed off her vocals, better 
Adele and Gaga
Bey had an okay performance nontheless
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Member Since: 9/25/2001
Posts: 26,816
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Originally posted by Oshiish
Nothing against Bey but some of the delusionals in here... but even JessieJ showed of her vocals better
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Girl no....
......just no. No, no, no, no m'am.
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Member Since: 3/10/2011
Posts: 5,354
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Quote:
Originally posted by Oshiish
Nothing against Bey but some of the delusionals in here... but even JessieJ showed of her vocals better
Adele and Gaga
Bey had an okay performance nontheless |
Um, no. 
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Member Since: 4/21/2011
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no lies
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Member Since: 8/16/2011
Posts: 4,850
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Quote:
Originally posted by Oshiish
Nothing against Bey but some of the delusionals in here... but even JessieJ showed of her vocals better
Adele and Gaga
Bey had an okay performance nontheless |
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Bey had an okay performance nontheless
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Bey had an okay performance nontheless
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AN OKAY PERFORMANCE BY BEYONCE?
NEVAH
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