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10-09-01 news BY TALIA SOGHOMONIAN
U2's MTV VMA Report 2001...

The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City's Lincoln Center was as far from opera as it could get as it played host to the 2001 edition of the MTV Video Music Awards on September 6.

The show was on outside before it began inside as stars arrived on the red carpet. P. Diddy, The Artist Formerly Known As Puff Daddy, made the most spectacular entrance as he arrived on top of an 18-wheeler truck rapping his appropriately-titled hit 'Bad Boys For Life'.

Other artists - namely Alien Ant Farm, City High and Eve - also performed outside, giving the fans a taste of the upcoming events of the evening.

When U2 arrived, The Edge commented on the event - "this kind of laid-back setting" - was where the band could relax.

Hosted by Jamie Foxx, whose choice of some vocabulary words was bleeped by MTV, the star-studded event included surprise performances, the inevitable self-promotions, tributes and standing ovations.

The Backstreet Boys, looking more like men, presented the evening's first award (Best Hip-Hop Video). AJ McLean took the opportunity to thank MTV and their fans for their support during his his alcohol disintoxication ordeal.

"Today is 64 days sober, and I'm proud of it." A sober moment followed when a tribute was paid to the late R&B singer/actress Aaliyah by fellow artists. "In this time of love, I draw upon her example of faith that we will be together again," said Janet Jackson.

Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, accompanied by Ginuwine and Timbaland, also drew lessons from Aaliyah. "I think what we've got to learn out of this is to appreciate each other while we're here on earth."

The final words of homage came from Aaliyah's brother, Rashad Haughton, who had stood next to his sister on the stage of last year's MTV Awards as she accepted an award.

Throughout the night, she was not forgotten. Elliott dedicated her performance (where she was joined by Nelly Furtado, among others) to her, and Usher, who presented an award, was wearing an Aaliyah T-shirt.

Many awards and performances followed. J-Lo, The Artist Formerly Known as Jennifer Lopez, was joined by rapper Ja-Rule for her performance of a latino/hip-hop medley of 'Love Don't Cost a Thing' and her latest single 'I'm Real'.

'N Sync's technicolor performance - introduced by Christopher Walken - of the MTV Award-winning 'Pop' concealed the biggest surprise of the evening.

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, joined the band onstage and showed the world that his mechanical dance moves were still unparalleled. 'Pop' picked up several awards, even beating U2. "U2 was robbed this time," Justin Timberlake said.

The only Irish act in competition this year, U2 were nominated in five categories, including Best Video (for 'Beautiful Day') and Best Video From A Film (for 'Elevation'). While they lost to 'N Sync, Fatboy Slim and the Ladies Marmalade, they did pick up a Moonman for the most coveted award of the evening, the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for lifetime achievement.

"So MTV weren't paying their electricity bill," Bono said as he was accepting the award, in reference to the technical problem encountered at the beginning of the band's performance of 'Elevation/Stuck in a Moment', forcing MTV to cut into a commercial break until the problem was fixed.

MTV's own Carson Daly, who presented the award, recalled how back in 1982, U2 had responded "Watch us and see" to the question "What do you have that's different?".

He added that U2's secret to staying alive as a band was relevance. Their music and videos have indeed expanded throughout the years, as have their haircuts. "We have made a lot of dodgy videos...a lot of dodgy hairdos," quipped Bono. "Without MTV, we could've kept the mullet to being a regional phenomenon."

U2's early hairdos seem to have had an effect on Bono, who had come to the ceremony with his wife Ali. In an interview prior to the show, he referred to the early U2 videos as the "neo-primitive school of Irish film-making," adding that they were "celebrating a lot of dodgy haircuts."

But the Vanguards of 2001 celebrated U2's biggest influence when they shared their award with the band "who are going to appear in a very un-punk rock situation right now."

As the three remaining members of the legendary punk band The Ramones appeared on stage, Bono said,"They lost Joey Ramone and I would like to give an award to the remaining Ramones."

It was also a tribute to the Big Apple. "New York City has given us a lot of things, but the best thing it ever gave us was a punk rock group called The Ramones."

Other multi-nominated artists who won no awards were Eminem, last year's star of the VMA's, and Janet Jackson. But the big winner of the show was certainly Fatboy Slim for the excellent video 'Weapon of Choice', picking up the most Moonmen.

Another Brit who won an award was Robbie Williams' 'Rock DJ' for Best Special Effects. Louis Walsh had complained last year that only American artists had won at the MTV Europe Music Awards; the American edition of the awards show appears to have been more balanced.

Heavy metal band Mudvayne beat Craig David for the MTV2 Award spotlighting emerging artists. They appeared in gory make-up that could rival that of any horror film character but sounded surprisingly like the boys next door. They perhaps quipped the best speech when they said "Art is not competition." Artists need, however, to promote their work, and the evening was full of self-marketing tactics.

Macy Gray went as far as making a billboard of herself. While presenting the award for Best New Artist, she urged the audience "to take a moment and focus on my dress", which advertised her upcoming album: "My new album drops Sept.18, 2001" on the front and "Buy it" on the back.

Mark Walhburg, who presented an award with DMX, promoted his new movie 'Rock Star', while the rap star informed fans that his album 'The Great Depression' was being released on October 21. Prior to the show, Will Smith, accompanied by his son, showed some exclusive footage of his upcoming film 'Mohammed Ali', which also stars Foxx. "I don't even know how to stand at a podium," said Alicia Keys as she accepted the award for Best New Artist. But she certainly knew how to sing, her earlier performance of 'Fallin' having drawn a standing ovation.

Collaborating with Gwen Stefani proved to be a good move for both Moby and Eve. They won the awards for Best Male Video and Best Female Video respectively, and all three presented an award together later during the show.

Another successful collaboration was that of the four Ladies of Marmalade. "Big hair paid off," quipped Christina Aguilera as they picked up the award for Video of the Year. Britney Spears was even less dressed than last year as she lip-synched to her new song 'I'm a Slave 4 U'.

The stage was shortly transformed into a jungle with cheetas and a snake, boldly used by Spears as a scarf for about five seconds. Other performers included Staind, Linkin Park and Jay-Z. Among the many presenters were Destiny's Child, P.Diddy with a very funny Ben Stiller, Jon Bon Jovi with Jewel, Will Smith, Sheryl Crow, Busta Rhymes and Kid Rock, who presented a presenter - Mick Jagger, probably the oldest representative of the music business attending the ceremony.

MTV kicked off the 2001-2002 awards season with panache. Its sister channel, MTV Europe, will hand out awards in November.

Here is the full list of winners:

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