2009 MTV Video Music Awards
annual US music awards ceremony
The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2008 to June 2009, were presented on September 13, 2009, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and televised by MTV. The ceremony was hosted by Russell Brand for the 2nd consecutive year.
Beyoncé, Green Day, and Lady Gaga were tied for the most-awarded acts of the night, winning three awards each. Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" won the award for Video of the Year, while Beyoncé and Lady Gaga were both tied for the largest number of nominations with nine, followed by Britney Spears with seven. In the aftermath of his June 2009 death, the show featured various tributes to Michael Jackson, including an opening act featuring a medley of Jackson's biggest hits and a special appearance by Janet Jackson to perform her duet "Scream", a eulogy from Madonna, and the premiere of a trailer for the posthumous documentary film Michael Jackson's This Is It.
The ceremony was marred by an incident in which Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance of the award for Best Female Video, in order to proclaim that despite her victory, Beyoncé still had "one of the best videos of all time", referring to the aforementioned "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". When Beyoncé was eventually awarded Video of the Year, she acknowledged the moment when she had won her first VMA as part of Destiny's Child, and invited Swift back onstage to finish her acceptance speech. The incident was highly publicized, with Rolling Stone naming it the "wildest" moment in the history of the VMAs in 2013.
The broadcast was seen by a total of 9 million viewers, a 17% increase over 2008, making it the most-watched VMAs since 2004.
Performances
House band performances
Rapper Wale and go-go band UCB served as the house band for the show, performing right before, during, and right after commercial breaks. Throughout the show they also had various special guests and performed the following songs:
Wale and UCB – "Breakdown"
Wale and UCB – "Chillin"
3OH!3, Wale and UCB – "Don't Trust Me"
Wale and UCB – "Viva la Vida"
Pitbull, Wale and UCB – "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)"
Solange, Wale and UCB – "Use Somebody"
The All-American Rejects, Wale and UCB – "Gives You Hell"
Kid Cudi, Wale and UCB – "Remembering DJ AM"
Wale and UCB – "Pretty Girls"
Winners and nominees
Winners are in bold text.
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