MTV’s 2008 Video Music Awards: Same Stuff, Different year

Foreign host and Britney Spears bring nothing new to the game

While a change of venue that brought Video Music Awards over to the West Coast hoped to infuse a bit more excitement, viewers of the 2008 MTV extravaganza were treated to much of the same parody and off-color jokes as in years past. In the opening minute it was none other than Britney Spears (again) who was given the opportunity to salvage a recently tabloid-torn career. Appearing counter to Superbad star Jonah Hill, fans were treated to a skit that seemingly was put together at the last minute.

British star Russell Brand was brought in overseas to direct the madness, only to fall short in his American debut with shaky commentary and a political agenda pushing for Barack Obama.

“”Sarah Palin’s daughter is pregnant. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? No, it’s a PR stunt, let’s be honest.”

Many of those in the crowd actually cheered when Brand plugged for Obama, but as the camera focused on an un-amused Spears, the British comedian had clearly hit a nerve with many of the audience, and even more with those watching across the country.

The first performance of the night brought about Rihanna daintily clad in a lace outfit, atop a huge metal wedding cake. Moving to her hit single, “Disturbia,” dancers came about Michael Jackson style, fully believing in their zombie characters. T.I. played along in his Guys and Dolls routine, performing “Whatever You Like.”

Resident musicians for the night featured DJ AM on the turntables and Travis Barker of Blink 182 on the drums, bringing with them remixes of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” During commercial breaks, various artists performed alongside the duo who recently released their Fix your Face collaboration. Katy Perry unenthusiastically voiced over her version of Madonna’s classic “Like a Virgin,” with Tokio Hotel performing their hit “Ready, Set, Go!”

Mariah Carey appeared for a few seconds onscreen as the first nomination of the night was for Best Female Video. She was definitely robbed of her title as Spears escaped with the award. Lil Wayne suffered the same fate as Carey, ultimately giving up the award to Chris Brown for “With You.” Other notable award takers include Linkin Park with “Shadow of the Day” and eventually Weezy’s “Lollipop” for Hip Hop Video of the Year.

Still, the night belonged to Spears as she swept her nominations and went home with a three-pack of chrome moon-men trophies. “Piece of Me” beat out other nominees in a weak field for Song of the Year. It may be her secret retribution after a disastrous showing at last year’s VMA.

Closing out the night was a hyped-up performance by Kanye West, in his never before heard track “Love Lockdown.” In his own stage set outside in the Paramount Studios premises, West’s set seemed to pay tribute to Daft Punk’s style, bursting with colored beams of light and thick smoke. Proudly vowing to never return to the VMA’s after performing in a hotel suite last year, West made no mention of it all in after-party interviews.

Without any real focal point or theme for the show, 2008’s MTV Video Music Awards will easily be forgotten (after MTV ends its daily replaying). On the eve of the show’s 25th anniversary, producers will have to dig deep into their bag of tricks to remove the foul taste of a conventional show.

Other notable spaceship man awards:Best Female Video “Piece of Me” – Britney SpearsBest Male Video “With You” – Chris BrownBest Dancing in a Video “When I Grow Up” – Pussycat DollsBest Rock Video “Shadow of the Day” – Linkin ParkBest Hip Hop Video “Lollipop” – Lil WayneBest New Artist “Ready, Set, Go!” – Tokio HotelBest Pop Video “Piece of Me” – Britney SpearsVideo of the Year “Piece of Me” – Britney Spears