The MTV Video Music Awards is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards, the annual MTV Video Music Awards ceremony has often been called the "Super Bowl for youth", an acknowledgment of the VMA ceremony's ability to draw millions of youth from teens to 20-somethings each year. By 2001, the VMA had become a coveted award.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the United States to record demo tapes. After signing with Def Jam in 2005, she soon gained recognition with the release of her first two studio albums, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006), both of which were influenced by Caribbean music and peaked within the top ten of the US Billboard 200 chart.
The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2006 to June 2007, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, and renaming many of the remaining awards. The 2008 awards restored most of the categories.
"Kiss Kiss" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring vocals and sole production from fellow American singer and rapper T-Pain from the former's second studio album, Exclusive (2007). Written by the two artists, the song was released as the album's second single on September 10, 2007 worldwide. It was later solicited to rhythm crossover radios in the United States on September 11, 2007. "Kiss Kiss" is composed as upbeat chanting record that incorporates elements of R&B and dance music. The song is written mainly about getting a woman's attention.
"Forever" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown. Brown co-wrote the song with Andre Merritt, Rob Allen, Brian Kennedy, and Jamal "Polow da Don" Jones; the latter two are also the producers. Initially created to be used for a Doublemint commercial, "Forever" was selected to be released as the lead single from the reissue version of Brown's second studio album Exclusive, titled the Forever Edition, and the fifth single overall from the album. It was first released for digital download on November 2, 2007, in a few countries, followed the next April with a retail single CD released in Europe.
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were announced on the MTV program FNMTV after being selected through viewer online voting at MTV.com. The remaining, professional categories were chosen by a panel of music industry professionals and announced via press release on August 27. When the nomination process was first announced, it mentioned a previously-unheard professional category named "Best Story;" however, this award did not come to fruition when the list of professional nominees was revealed the following month.
The Good Girl Gone Bad Tour was the second overall and first world concert tour by Barbadian singer Rihanna, in support of her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). The setlist was composed of songs mostly from Good Girl Gone Bad but also included some songs from her first two albums. Akon was selected as the opening act for the Canadian dates of the North American leg, while Ciara and David Jordan supported the UK dates of the European leg. Chris Brown joined the tour during the Oceanian leg.
"Paranoid" is a song by American musician Kanye West from his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008). The song features vocals from English musician Mr Hudson and background vocals from American singer Kid Cudi. West handled the production, with co-production from Jeff Bhasker and Plain Pat. The song was written by the producers alongside Kid Cudi and American rapper Consequence. It was serviced to top 40 radio stations in the United States on March 23, 2009, as the fourth and final single from the album. An upbeat new wave track, the song features electronic drum effects and pop synths. Its lyrical content is centered around West being pushed away by the mistrustful thinking of a woman that he is in love with.
The MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2006 were hosted by Mokomichi Hayami and Masami Hisamoto at Tokyo. The 5th annual show premiered live on MTV, Saturday May 27 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium. The awards show was filmed before a live audience of 8000. The event featured live performances from the far east and the west, including Japanese acts AI, Def Tech, Kumi Koda and Remioromen, along with international acts Hoobastank, John Legend, Kelly Rowland, Rihanna and Se7en from South Korea. The event also featured a special performance by Japanese R&B superstar Ken Hirai joining forces with John Legend. The award ceremony was also marked by appearance of the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson.
"Run This Town" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna and fellow American rapper Kanye West. Released on July 24, 2009, it was written by the artists alongside Athanasios Alatas, Jeff Bhasker, and No I.D., the latter producing it with West. "Run This Town" was released as the second single from Jay-Z's eleventh studio album, The Blueprint 3.
"Deuces" is a song written and performed by American singer Chris Brown featuring fellow American musicians Tyga and Kevin McCall. Produced by McCall, "Deuces" was released digitally on June 25, 2010, as the lead single from Brown's first collaborative effort with Tyga, titled Fan of a Fan (2010). The song is a slow, down-tempo R&B ballad featuring elements from the genres of house and pop music, while the song is lyrically about "breaking it off with a girl after failed attempts to make the relationship work". "Deuces" was later included on Brown's fourth studio album, F.A.M.E. (2011).
The 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards took place on 7 November 2010 at Caja Mágica in Madrid, Spain. The awards ceremony was presented by Eva Longoria and Justin Bieber was the official MTV EMA 2010 digital host. Nominations were announced on 20 September. Lady Gaga topped the list of nominations with ten, followed by Katy Perry with five, Eminem with four and Thirty Seconds to Mars & Muse with three apiece.
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced. Katy Perry received the most nominations this year at ten, followed by Adele, and Kanye West, who were both tied at seven. A Britney Spears tribute was held, consisting of adult and children dancers alike, they wore costumes based on the music videos of Spears. Hamish Hamilton directed the show.
"All of the Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). It was produced by West and features additional vocals from several other recording artists, including Drake, John Legend, The-Dream, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Elton John, Ryan Leslie, Charlie Wilson, Tony Williams, La Roux, Alvin Fields, Ken Lewis, Kid Cudi, and Rihanna, with the latter two being credited on the official music video and the official single, but not on the album version of the song. The song is often played along with its accompanying interlude “All of the Lights (Interlude)”
"Cheers (Drink to That)" is a song recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her fifth studio album, Loud (2010). The song impacted American mainstream and rhythmic radio on August 2, 2011, as the seventh and final single released from Loud. The song was written by Andrew Harr, Jermaine Jackson, Stacy Barthe, LP, Corey Gibson, Chris Ivery, Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards, Avril Lavigne, Rihanna and Scott Spock, while production of the song was completed by Harr and Jackson under their stage name, the Runners. The song also contains samples from Lavigne's song "I'm with You", which is featured on her debut album Let Go (2002). Lyrically, "Cheers (Drink to That)" is a party song featuring multiple references to drinking alcohol, including Jameson Irish Whiskey.
The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, took place on Thursday, September 6, 2012, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The awards were broadcast from the Staples Center arena at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles. Nominations were announced on July 31, 2012. Rihanna and Drake were the most nominated artists that year with five nominations apiece, followed by Katy Perry and Beyoncé, who received four.
"Diamonds" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her seventh studio album, Unapologetic (2012). It was written by Sia together with its producers, Benny Blanco and Stargate. The song premiered on September 26, 2012, during the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and was digitally released the following day as the lead single from Unapologetic. "Diamonds" is a mid-tempo pop, electronic and R&B ballad that features heavy synthesizers, orchestral sounds and electronic rhythms. The song's lyrics serve as a departure from the themes of unhealthy relationships that were on Rihanna's previous singles contrasted to the song's portrayal of lovers as "diamonds in the sky".
"FourFiveSeconds" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, American rapper Kanye West, and English musician Paul McCartney. It was written and produced by McCartney, Kanye West, Mike Dean, Dave Longstreth and Noah Goldstein with additional writing from Kirby Lauryen, Ty Dolla Sign, Dallas Austin, Elon Rutberg and Rihanna. Previewed by West at the iHeartMedia Music Summit on January 21, 2015, it was digitally released on January 24. "FourFiveSeconds" is a folk-pop and soul song with an instrumentation consisting of an acoustic guitar, organ and bass guitar.
"Famous" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, produced and co-written by fellow American hip hop artist/producer Havoc. It serves as the lead single from his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016). The song features vocals from Barbadian singer Rihanna and ad-libs from American hip hop artist Swizz Beatz, and enlists samples of Jamaican singer Sister Nancy's song "Bam Bam" and "Do What You Gotta Do" by American singer Nina Simone. The single was serviced to US urban and rhythmic contemporary radio stations on March 28, 2016, and was confirmed for release three days before. It was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio stations on April 15 by Universal.
