I didn't even watch the VMAs other than the Michael Jackson tribute that opened the show. But right before I went to bed, Facebook went crazy on Kanye West, who played the damn fool as the whole world now knows. I was worried that people were going to turn this into a black/white thing, luckily that didn't happen. And I'm glad that the hip-hop community hasn't supported Kanye on this. They may not be too familiar with Taylor Swift's music (nor am I) but she just seems too nice for that kind of treatment. But some people feel like Beyonce really did get robbed. So here's a few reasons why I think Taylor won (I don't own albums by either lady, and I have never seen either of them in concert, but I do enjoy songs by each - I'm pretty unbiased on this one).1 - MTV plays "hip" with their promos and image, but MTV is really for high school and early college kids. Beyonce is probably almost 30, and her song "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" probably doesn't resonate with kids that age. Taylor Swift's song is about a girl in the school band who digs a football guy who digs a hot cheerleader. In the video (spoiler alert!) the nice girl gets the guy at the end (Taylor plays both girls, but the nice one more closely resembles her). Taylor is 19, and probably seems a bit more like younger girls. Beyonce never shows weakness, her video features choreography that most girls could never hope to copy, and of course B is impossibly good looking.
2 - Although the VMAs is not a political event, nearly every artist who performed endorsed Barack Obama in the last election. Even the host, a British guy, gave The President -- and even his health care plan! -- some major props during his opening monologue. To me, and lots of people I know, and most people who work at MTV, that's all good and almost expected. The thing is, MTV is supposed to appeal to all young people, not just the ones who voted for (or wanted to vote for) Barack Obama. I bet Taylor Swift voted for Obama also - but she didn't get politically involved in the election, so middle America is comfortable with her. Inviting her to be a part of the VMAs was clever marketing. Which is the entire purpose of the VMAs - don't get it twisted.
3 - Like I said, Beyonce is probably almost 30, Taylor isn't even 20. MTV is all about "in with the new." And while it might make some people uncomfortable hearing this, Beyonce is getting a bit old for MTV. Sorry! It happens to everyone. To me, Kanye West complaining about Taylor just make him look old. REALLY OLD!!!! (caps and !'s in tribute to the man's twitter style). Again: sorry.
4 - And by the way, it's not like Beyonce got dissed. I know "Single Ladies" got Video of the Year - the voters (a small group of MTV execs) decide on all the results at once, so they know that B was getting something later in the night. But to address Kanye's claim that "Single Ladies" is one of the best videos of all time: it isn't even in Beyonce's top five. If you think I don't know what I'm talking about because I don't cover her on this blog, I submit: "'03 Bonnie & Clyde," "Crazy In Love," "Work It Out" (yeah, the Austin Powers jam), plus Destiny's Child's "No, No, No," "Bootylicious," "Soldier," "Lose My Breath," "Survivor," "Jumpin' Jumpin'" and I'm probably forgetting some other ones.
In closing, Kanye is a douche. I have to admit: I liked when he was douche and took aim at bush. But really, come on dude. On the other hand, The College Dropout and Late Registration are still great, and Graduation had some good jams too. And that was very nice of Beyonce to give Taylor her speech back. It's not like she donated her kidney to Taylor (some people seemed to think this made B a saint), but it was a gracious move and the right thing to do.
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