Justin Timberlake won big on Sunday at MTV’s annual Video Music Awards (VMAs), taking home the top prize for video of the year for Mirrors and a special achievement honour, and also led a much-anticipated onstage re-union of the boy band ‘N Sync.
Hip-hop artists Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars were among other top winners, with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis taking home three awards, including best hip-hop video.
But even top VMA nominees had been overshadowed in recent days by the rumoured ‘N Sync re-union, their first performance since 2002, which took place in the midst of Timberlake’s lengthy medley of hits ahead of his accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
As the star wound down his solo performance, the band’s other members rose up through the stage and slowly turned to face the audience, spotlights shining from above. The ‘N Sync members then performed another extended medley of hits.
“I don’t deserve this award,” Timberlake, 32, said after TV talk show host Jimmy Fallon presented it to him. “But I’m not going to give it back.”
He noted that half of the many VMAs he had won were “with these four guys right here,” referring to ‘N Sync singers JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick. “I’m going to share this award with them,” Timberlake said.
Lady Gaga opened the live broadcast with a splashy rendition of her new single Applause, appearing in a series of outfits ranging from a riff on a nun’s habit, with pearls, to a seashell-and-string bikini.
Other performance highlights of the evening broadcast from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center included Miley Cyrus backed by a line-up of dancers outfitted as giant teddy bears as she sang We Can’t Stop. She was then joined by Robin Thicke as the pair led into a duet of Good Girl.
Kanye West, who at the 2009 VMAs notoriously snatched the microphone from Swift as she accepted her award, sang Blood On The Leaves in theatrical fashion as he was lit in dramatic silhouette.
This year, when Swift won best female video for I Knew You Were Trouble, West left her alone.
“I want to thank the fans,” Swift said, adding “I tweeted about this a lot. I really wanted this and thank you so much for doing this for me.”
Macklemore won best hip-hop video along with Ryan Lewis for Can’t Hold Us while One Direction won an award for best song ever. Other winners included Thirty Seconds to Mars’ Up In the Air, which won best rock video, Pink featuring Nate Ruess’ Just Give Me a Reason for best collaboration, Selena Gomez’s Come & Get It won best pop video and Bruno Mars won best male video for Locked Out of Heaven.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2013.
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