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Missy Elliott's Vanguard Performance at the 2019 VMAs Was Truly Iconic


Missy Elliott is arguably the most successful and iconic female rapper in music, full stop. She’s worked with everyone from Ciara to Madonna and has spent over two decades churning out chart-topping hits that span genres and styles. And tonight, August 26, she received a proper tribute at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. Elliott was the recipient of this year’s Video Vanguard Award, and she took the opportunity to show the world why she is—and always will be—a living legend.

Elliott delivered a show-stopping performance at tonight’s show, offering up a medley of her biggest songs, including “Work It” and “Lose Control.” Alyson Stoner, the dancer who appeared in Elliott’s music videos “Work It,” “Gossip Folks,” and “I’m Really Hot” as a young girl, made a cameo during the performance that set the Internet ablaze. Cardi B then came on stage and gave a speech outlining just how impactful Elliott has been on the entire music industry before the legend herself came out to accept her Vanguard award.

“I promised I wouldn’t cry this time,” Missy Elliott said on stage. “This means so much to me. I have worked diligently for over two decades, and I never thought that I would be standing up here receiving this award…I’d like to thank my mother, I love you. I know you’re watching this. Janet Jackson, I know you are watching, I love you. Thank you for being such a great friend.”

She thanked several artists in her speech, including Busta Rhymes, Jackson, and Madonna for inspiring her. She then added, “Aaliyah, I love you. We miss you,” in reference to the R&B singer who died tragically in a plane crash in 2001.

“Lastly, I want to dedicate this award to the dance community all around the world,” Elliott said to close out her speech. “When y’all get on the stage with these artists, you are not props. You are the icing on the cake. You are the beats to the heart.”

See some of the best reactions to Elliott’s performance for yourself, below:



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I'm Sweating After Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes' 2019 MTV VMAs Performance


That being said, Cabello did say in this same interview that her new album was made in a period of time when she was falling in love. If she’s not referring to Mendes, then who is she talking about?

“Falling in love is like an infinite amount of levels and layers and angles,” she said. “I fell in love and just opened up. Everything was written in present moment.”

Of course, photos speak louder than words, and Mendes and Cabello have been photographed getting their PDA on several times now. But it looks like these two are keeping mum on what’s real and what’s not. The speculation continues!



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Normani Is Here to Save Us With Her 2019 MTV VMAs Performance


In these sad, trying times, there’s only one ray of light our world has: Normani. The former Fifth Harmony member turned Queen of Pop delivered a knockout performance of her new song “Motivation” at the 2019 MTV VMAs Monday night (August 26), and by the end of it I realized she’s going to save us all. Not only will she save music (that’s a given), but she’ll save the environment, the 2020 election—everything. We’ve found it people: the cure to all our problems. And her name is Normani Kordei Hamilton.

Why, you ask? Just look at tonight’s VMAs performance. The vocals! The precise dancing! The unexplainable X-factor! We haven’t encountered a pop star like this since Britney Spears, Beyoncé, or Lady Gaga. Those three legends have singlehandedly kept the world in order with their bops and wigs and tours. But they can’t do it alone. They need a new pop icon to help maintain our planet’s balance, but no one has been up for the task. No one until Normani.

Normani has it. She has the dancing chops to keep gas prices at an all-time low; the vocals to ensure everyone recycles; and a fire in the eyes that will compel every child in America to eat their vegetables. What? Did you think it was our elected officials who made this country a success? Pfft! It was pop girls. It’s always been pop girls.

Check out Normani’s performance for yourself, below. Consider this her 2020 presidential campaign announcement. (I kid, but, ugh, can you imagine?!)

Obviously, fans on the Internet are just as entranced, bewildered, and gobsmacked as I am.

I know Ariana Grande said God is a woman, but I didn’t think we’d learn her name in our lifetime. But we have! Repeat after me: Normani, Normani, Normani.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.



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8 Things You Never Noticed About the Britney-Madonna Kiss Performance at the 2003 VMAs


Let me take you back to an important moment in our nation’s history: the 2003 MTV VMAs, when Britney Spears infamously kissed Madonna and spawned an entire generation of gay men. Christina Aguilera, another queen of pop, was also there and also kissed Madonna⁠—but MTV panned to Justin Timberlake’s face during her kiss, so she missed her moment. (Remember, J.T. and Britney had just broken up, and MTV was clearly trying to cash in on that drama.) Mary J. Blige closed out the iconic performance with a few lines from her song “Work It”—another thing that’s grossly overlooked.

Also forgotten are the many celebrities in the audience whose reactions to Britney, Christina, Madonna, and Missy deserve to be hung in the Louvre. Ugh, to be a fly in the wall at Radio City Music Hall that night.

Thankfully, MTV just uploaded an HQ version of this crucial VMAs moment to its YouTube page. Now we can relive it over and over—and all the Easter eggs I’m referencing are crystal clear. Here are the greatest ones.

Getty Images

Bey is a notable big Brit fan. We love legends supporting legends.

Beyonce  at the 2003 MTV VMAs.
MTV

The textbook definition of moody goth girls not having any of the cheerleaders’ nonsense. (For context: I’m also a moody goth girl.)



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Marianne Williamson’s Debate Performance Divides the Internet


Tuesday’s Democratic debates allowed leading candidates—including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren—to go head-to-head on health care, climate change, and more. While outlets declared Warren and Sanders the standouts, self-help guru Marianne Williamson became the surprise focal point of conversations online.

During her last debate performance, whatever attention Williamson got was attributed to her, uh, eccentric answers on serious political matters. (At one point, she referred to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as “girlfriend.”) However, her second appearance won her some actual, legitimate praise. Last night she referred to Trump as a “dark psychic force.” She also made a cogent, passionate argument for reparations in black communities for the crimes of slavery. Slate called Williamson’s take “the clearest—and best—answer” on the topic.

“Well, first of all, it’s not $500 billion in financial assistance. It’s a $200 to $500 billion payment of a debt that is owed,” she began in her response last night. Then she launched into some of the numbers behind “the economic gap between blacks and whites in America” that comes “from a great injustice that has never been dealt with.”

“That great injustice has to do with the fact there were 250 years of slavery followed by another 100 years of domestic terrorism. What makes me qualified to say $200 to $500 billion? I’ll tell you what makes me qualified. If you did the math of the 40 acres and a mule, given that there were 4 to 5 million slaves at the end of the Civil War—they were all promised 40 acres and a mule for a family of four. If you did the math today, it would be trillions of dollars. And I believe that anything less than $100 billion is an insult, and I believe that $200 to $500 billion is politically feasible today, because so many Americans realize there is an injustice that continues to form a toxicity underneath the surface,” she said.

Online, people applauded her directness. By Wednesday morning, media reported that she had been the most-searched candidate during the broadcast. Memes piled up on Twitter, casting her as a peaceful left-field force. Others simply pointed out that she had a good showing.

“Marianne Williamson & Beto for Reparations. She gets another huge applause. I know people might not like hearing it, but Williamson is having a good night. Doesn’t mean she’s a good candidate, just saying she’s having good night. She seems comfortable and confident,” one person tweeted.

However, despite her performance, some social media users urged new fans to take note of Williamson’s damaging comments in the past about vaccines and mental health. (She once said antidepressants were overprescribed for issues of “normal human despair” and backtracked after “misspeaking” about what she had said were “draconian” vaccines.)



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Lizzo's Performance at the 2019 BET Awards Was So Good Even Rihanna Gave It a Standing Ovation


Lizzo continued her domination of summer 2019 with an incredible performance of her song “Truth Hurts” at the BET Awards Sunday night, where she appeared atop a wedding cake in a veil, bridal lingerie, a killer pair of sunglasses, and twerked while playing the flute. This comes on the heels of her MTV Movie & TV Awards performance of “Juice” that featured a tribute to the movie Sister Act.

Basically, Lizzo is giving us all the viral performance clips we need and even Rihanna—and her new red hair—could not deny her excellence last night, giving her a standing ovation. Could anything feel better than a Riri standing “O”? We’re guessing not.

Watch the performance for yourself below:

Now you know why Rihanna loved it—and the Internet went nuts for the moment. “Had to make a GIF of Rihanna applauding Lizzo, I now release the GIF into the wild, for the benefit of the human race,” one person tweeted.

Lizzo, herself, tweeted an image of Rihanna clapping and wrote, “That’s it… that’s the tweet ??‍♀️.”

But praise from Rihanna aside, Lizzo’s motivation for the performance was much deeper. There’s nothing I’d rather see than black girls falling in love with themselves on T.V.,” she tweeted. “Big girls— you are IT! YOU ARE ALWAYS the bride in a marriage of SELF-LOVE!”

The social media reactions from fans watching on television was incredibly positive. “Ok @lizzo you did that shit!! When you pull that flute bitch I jump out my chair!!!” Saturday Night Live’s Leslie Jones tweeted. “MY GIRL @LIZZO WILL GIVE YOU A PRODUCTION! THE ENERGY! THE NARRATIVE! THE COSTUMES! THE THIGHS! THE BUNDLES! THE DAGGONE FLUTE PLAYING WHILE TWERKING!” another Twitter user wrote. “@RIHANNA knows what it is everyone should be standing. The category issssss 100% THAT BISH!”

Do you think it’s too much to ask for a Lizzo and Rihanna collaboration—perhaps for RiRi’s new album?



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