The Best and Worst of the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards-Pictures

 Nicki Minaj hid Taylor Swift from us.

 

Nicki Minaj opened the ceremony with a bombastic performance of "Trini Dem Girls"/"The Night is Still Young." The Julie Taymor-type spectacle was rousing enough, but then Taylor Swift jumped up out of nowhere for a few bars of "Bad Blood." I guess they're besties now? Fine.

Demi Lovato was working her underrated semi-hit "Cool For The Summer" on the VMAs' outdoor stage when something incredibly unfortunate happened. Not only did Demi invite Iggy Azalea to drop by, but the Aussie hip-hop artist delivered an incoherent rap that was barely recognizable as English. Well, at least the confetti looked good at the end of the number.

Kanye West's acceptance speech for the career-honoring Video Vanguard Award was twelve minutes of wild accusations about the Grammys, his own career, and his impact. It was shockingly heavy-handed, especially when you consider how jovial he seemed to be throughout the rest of the ceremony. Best part? When he declared himself a millennial: But all I can say to my fellow artists: "Just worry how you feel at the time, man. Just worry how you feel.' I’m confident. I believe in myself. We the millennials, bro. This is a new mentality."

worst- Justin Bieber

"What Do You Mean" may be a serious earworm, and Justin Bieber may have given a seriously good performance of it at the VMAs, but his head-scratching (and tearful?) pouting after his performance felt strange and uncomfortable. You root for Justin's sanity. This didn't seem like a step in the right direction

Though the telecast teemed with superstar performance, up-and-comer Tori Kelly upstaged many of her contemporaries with a great, energized performance of "Should've Been Us."

BEST: Nicki Minaj's shady VMA speech

Nicki Minaj picked up the Best Hip-Hop Video trophy for "Anaconda," and in her speech she seemed to be mocking other pop divas (namely Taylor Swift, if I was reading her right) with high-pitched delivery. She thanked her fans for being "epic," which seemed pretty mocking too. Whatever it was, it was heaven. And she even got in a snarl at host Miley Cyrus, who took it in stride
                                                           

BEST: The Weeknd's face is still numb

No matter how many times we hear "Can't Feel My Face," it doesn't get old. The Weeknd scorched the VMAs with a vocally flawless version of the (official?) song of the summer. Miley Cyrus even had to pause to acknowledge the genius on display.