VMA

MTV and NYC Celebrate the VMA’s Return to Radio City Music Hall

It’s official: The Moon Person has landed on East Coast soil. On April 17, New York City officials and MTV celebrated the return of the MTV VMAs to New York’s Radio City Music Hall—home of the inaugural VMA ceremony in 1984.

A symbolic “moon landing” was held on Manhattan’s Avenue of the America’s under the venue’s marquee to commemorate the reunion of MTV and NYC.

“New York City’s creative energy has always fueled those who live and work here. This is where music, film, and art collide and where the Video Music Awards were born,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “There is no better place to host the MTV VMAs than in New York City at one of the most iconic venues in the world.”

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Viacom Stands Out On 2017 Year-End Lists, Owns Half of Billboard’s 10 Best Award Show Performances

Viacom wrapped 2017 with a strong showing on the flurry of industry best-of compilations assembled by top media and entertainment press.

Critics lauded Viacom’s premium content: Vice included South Park’s Put It Down episode on its list of memorable TV moments, while BET’s The Rundown With Robin Thede – which stars the only African-American host in late-night television – made Deadline’s list of top 10 new TV shows of 2017. And The Advocate praised VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race for its positive representation of the LGBT community, commending it with several mentions on their list of the 15 most important LGBT TV moments of 2017.

Most striking, however, is that Viacom’s culturally resonant awards shows staked out half the slots on Billboard’s 10 Best Award Show Performances of 2017: Critics’ Picks. Keep in mind that there were roughly 45 music award shows across the industry in 2017.

These poignant musical moments stood out to Billboard critics: Kendrick Lamar’s raw, rapid-fire delivery of DNA and Humble at the VMAs; the moment when Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid sang out for suicide prevention (also at the VMAs); New Edition’s epic reunion performance at the BET Awards (a swaggering fusion of OG members and the cast of BET’s biopic, The New Edition Story), Camila Cabello’s EMA performance of Havana; and Missy Elliot’s old-school rendering of her classic banger She’s a Bitch at the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors.

Let’s take another look at these phenomenal performances. Here are Billboard’s top Viacom picks:

Kendrick Lamar, “DNA.” / “HUMBLE.” (MTV VMAs)

​Logic feat. Alessia Cara and Khalid, “1-800-273-8255” (MTV VMAs)

New Edition Medley (BET Awards)

Camila Cabello, “Havana” (MTV Europe Music Awards)

👀HAVANA👀 #mtvEMA numero 3

A post shared by camila (@camila_cabello) on Nov 13, 2017 at 5:36pm PST

Missy Elliott, “She’s a Bitch” (VH1 Hip-Hop Honors)

There were plenty more noteworthy Viacom performances Billboard’s shortlist. My favorite acts from Viacom’s 2017 shows included Lorde’s muted modern dance at the VMAs and musical trio Hayley Kiyoko, Alex Newell, and Wrabel‘s exhilarating True Colors cover at Logo’s Trailblazer Honors during Pride Month in June.

Watch the performance:

With the upcoming launch of the Paramount Network on Jan. 18, returning hits like CMT’s Nashville and Comedy Central’s Detroiters, VH1’s latest addition to fan-favorite franchise Love & Hip Hop: Miami and a ravishing slate of upcoming live events, Viacom promises to deliver another year of eminent content and groundbreaking experiences for our fans.

Viacommunity, MTV VMAs Intern Correspondent Contest Winner Casey Wasklasky On His Red Carpet Debut

For the first time ever, Viacom’s social impact umbrella Viacommunity held a company-wide intern contest to choose the Viacommunity correspondent at MTV’s 2014 VMAs! Interns wrote to Viacommunity about the importance of talking with celebs about giving back to raise the volume on social causes. It was a timely effort, as the 2013 VMA show-stealing Miley Cyrus dedicated her presence at this year’s show to social issues, by sending a homeless young man to accept her award on her behalf. 

 The winner, Casey Waslasky, describes his once-in-a-life time experience below, and we’ve included some footage from his interviews above. Thanks Casey for charming everyone on camera and off, and bringing attention to the importance of community involvement.
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VMAs 2014: Even More Than Miley

As conversations about last year’s twerk-tastic Video Music Awards wind down (though they will never erase from memory, entirely), the year’s biggest celebration of pop music returned this weekend, leaving us with fresh fodder for conversation and pop culture references. Among its many notable moments, there was a breathtaking performance from Queen Bey, who was joined by husband Jay Z and daughter Blue Ivy, giving us a touching glimpse of the First Family of Hip-Hop… a moving moment when Common, presenter of the Moonman for Best Hip Hop video, talked about Ferguson and asked the audience to take a moment of silence to remember Michael Brown… and a stirring performance from Usher, who was joined on-stage by Nicki Minaj. Read More

MTV, Brooklyn Artist Reimagines Moonman for 2013 VMA