MTV VMA Recap: Miley Twerking and All the Highlights Of the Night

Through the years, the MTV Video Music Awards have largely been defined by idiotic moments. In 1992, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic brained himself with his own bass and stumbled off the stage in a stupor. In 1995, a wasted Courtney Love crashed a Madonna interview, leading to some delightful cat fighting. And of course, Kanye West certainly did not let Taylor Swift finish her acceptance speech in 2009. The VMAs have almost always been a hot mess, which is why so many people tune in every year. We love seeing stars get drunk, fight, and make terrible decisions.

But with the exception of Miley Cyrus (who easily wins the 2013 Idiot award for grinding up on Robin Thicke), this VMAs was a tame affair. The stars got onstage, sang, danced, and thanked each other. Katy Perry performed a new anthem; Drake smiled a lot; Taylor Swift danced awkwardly. If the 2013 VMAs taught us anything, it’s that our biggest music stars are getting way more professional but way less interesting.

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But no one represents the flattening and dull-ification of the pop world more than Macklemore, an earnest Seattle rapper who took home two broadcast awards along with his even more flavor-less DJ, Ryan Lewis. Macklemore’s performances and public appearances come entirely risk-free: he’s eloquent, well-dressed, and likeable. His huge presence at the awards pretty much guaranteed that good, boring behavior would rule the day.

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