2010 MTV Video Music Awards


The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Chelsea Handler hosted the event, the first woman in sixteen years – since the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards – to do so.
Being nominated 13 times, Lady Gaga became the most-nominated artist in VMA history for a single year and subsequently became the first female artist to receive two nominations for Video of the Year when both "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" were nominated for the award. She was also the top winner of the night when "Telephone" won Best Collaboration and "Bad Romance" won seven separate awards including Video of the Year, bringing her total number of moonmen to eight. When she accepted her award for Video of the Year, she also announced the title of her second studio album, Born This Way and sang an excerpt from the title track. She accepted the award while wearing a dress complete with a hat, purse, and shoes all made entirely from cuts of raw meat, which drew backlash from PETA.
Overall, the show grabbed 11.4 million viewers – the largest audience for a Video Music Awards show since 2002.

Performances

The house artist was Deadmau5. The following performed along with him:
  • Travie McCoy – "Billionaire"
  • Jason Derulo – "Ridin' Solo"
  • Robyn – "Dancing on My Own"
Outside in the parking lot there were the following performances:
  • N.E.R.D. and Ciara – "Hot-n-Fun"
Source:

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold text.
Video of the YearBest Male Video

  • Eminem – "Not Afraid"
  • * B.o.B – "Airplanes"
  • * Jason Derulo – "In My Head"
  • * Drake – "Find Your Love"
  • * Usher – "OMG"
    • Best Female VideoBest New Artist
  • Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • * Beyoncé – "Video Phone "
  • * Kesha – "Tik Tok"
  • * Katy Perry – "California Gurls"
  • * Taylor Swift – "Fifteen"
  • Justin Bieber – "Baby"
  • * Broken Bells – "The Ghost Inside"
  • * Jason Derulo – "In My Head"
  • * Kesha – "Tik Tok"
  • * Nicki Minaj – "Massive Attack"
    • Best Pop VideoBest Rock Video
  • Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • * B.o.B – "Nothin' on You"
  • * Beyoncé – "Video Phone "
  • * Kesha – "Tik Tok"
  • * Katy Perry – "California Gurls"
  • Thirty Seconds to Mars – "Kings and Queens"
  • * Florence + the Machine – "Dog Days Are Over"
  • * MGMT – "Flash Delirium"
  • * Muse – "Uprising"
  • * Paramore – "Ignorance"
    • Best Hip-Hop VideoBest Dance Music Video
  • Eminem – "Not Afraid"
  • * B.o.B – "Airplanes"
  • * Drake – "Forever"
  • * Jay-Z – "On to the Next One"
  • * Kid Cudi – "Pursuit of Happiness"
  • Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • * Cascada – "Evacuate the Dancefloor"
  • * David Guetta – "Sexy Chick"
  • * Enrique Iglesias – "I Like It"
  • * Usher – "OMG"
    • Best CollaborationBreakthrough Video
  • Lady Gaga – "Telephone"
  • * 3OH!3 – "My First Kiss"
  • * Beyoncé – "Video Phone "
  • * B.o.B – "Airplanes"
  • * Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – "Empire State of Mind"
  • The Black Keys – "Tighten Up"
  • * Dan Black – "Symphonies"
  • * Coldplay – "Strawberry Swing"
  • * Gorillaz – "Stylo"
    • Best DirectionBest Choreography
  • Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • * Eminem – "Not Afraid"
  • * Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – "Empire State of Mind"
  • * Pink – "Funhouse"
  • * Thirty Seconds to Mars – "Kings and Queens"
  • Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • * Beyoncé – "Video Phone "
  • * Lady Gaga – "Telephone"
  • * Janelle Monáe – "Tightrope"
  • * Usher – "OMG"
    • Best Special EffectsBest Art Direction
  • Muse – "Uprising"
  • * Dan Black – "Symphonies"
  • * Eminem – "Not Afraid"
  • * Green Day – "21st Century Breakdown"
  • * Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • Florence + the Machine – "Dog Days Are Over"
  • * Beyoncé – "Video Phone "
  • * Eminem – "Not Afraid"
  • * Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • * Thirty Seconds to Mars – "Kings and Queens"
    • Best EditingBest Cinematography
  • Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • * Eminem – "Not Afraid"
  • * Miike Snow – "Animal"
  • * Pink – "Funhouse"
  • * Rihanna – "Rude Boy"
  • Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – "Empire State of Mind"
  • * Eminem – "Not Afraid"
  • * Florence + the Machine – "Dog Days Are Over"
  • * Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
  • * Mumford & Sons – "Little Lion Man"
    • Latino Artist of the Year-
  • Aventura
  • * Camila
  • * Daddy Yankee
  • * Pitbull
  • * Shakira
  • * Wisin & Yandel
    		• -

    Artists with multiple wins and nominations

    NominationsArtist
    13Lady Gaga
    8Eminem
    5Beyoncé
    5B.o.B
    4Florence + the Machine
    4Jay-Z
    4Thirty Seconds to Mars
    3Kesha
    3Usher
    2Dan Black
    2Drake
    2Jason Derulo
    2Katy Perry
    2Muse
    2Pink

    Appearances

    Pre-show

    Source:

    Controversy

    will.i.am's blackface criticism

    Some viewers took offense to the producer/ rapper will.i.am's outfit, especially the dark makeup, which, to some fans, was reminiscent of the antiquated, racially charged practice of blackface. After fans blasted the rapper online, he took to Twitter to defend the look as artistic expression and not an embrace of the controversial maquillage typically used to lampoon African-Americans. Will.i.am responded to the backlash on his Twitter stating "1st. just because I where all black including head mask as expression and emphasize my outfit, it shouldn't be looked at as racial," Will tweeted. "Let go of the past. there are far more important things 2 bark about. not a black man wearing all black everything." Will.i.am insisted the face paint was a harmless costume choice and that fans concerned with the image Will's look projected should focus on larger issues.

    Lady Gaga's meat dress

    While accepting her award for Video of the Year, presented by legendary singer and actress Cher, Lady Gaga wore a dress made entirely from cuts of raw meat. The dress bore a resemblance to an artwork, Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, created by Canadian artist Jana Sterbak in 1987. Along with the dress, her hat, shoes, and purse were all made from meat as well. PETA president Ingrid Newkirk issued a statement concerning the controversial outfit. After questioning whether the meat was real or not, Newkirk was quick to disparage Gaga saying, "Meat is the decomposing flesh of a tormented animal who didn't want to die, and after a few hours under the TV lights, it would smell like the rotting flesh it is and likely be crawling in maggots--not too attractive, really." Franc Fernandez, the designer of the meat dress, said later in an interview with MTV, "...it's not a sticky meat. It's not a messy dress at all, surprisingly. It's actually very clean meat, very sturdy and strong and doesn't run at all. The meat dries out, rather than rotting. It becomes jerky." Gaga later explained to Ellen DeGeneres that the outfit exhibited her disapproval with the United States military's Don't ask, don't tell policy and further clarified, "If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a piece of meat." She also commented on the outfit's nature, "...it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgment-free human being on the earth." Afterwards, DeGeneres, who is a vegan, jokingly gave Gaga a bikini and skirt made from lettuce and other various vegetables.