STARS MAKE 1ST VEGAS VMA’S A SUPER STAGE SPECTACULAR
In the midst of the glitz, glamour and bedazzling bling that made the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards at the Palms an unforgettable weekend was the unexpected, the unusual and the unique - plus a near knock-out fight between stars and a comeback that most people said was a bust for the bewildered Britney!
*Kid Rock got charged with battery assault after an un-televised and certainly unscripted fight near the stage with arch-rival Tommy Lee – as ex-wife to both rockers, Pamela Lee, who arrived with a “The Beauty of Magic” co-star Hans Klok, looked on in amazement.
“Tommy Lee was sitting by Diddy and Kid Rock just walked up and decked him. They had each other at the necks they were practically strangling each other,” said two eyewitnesses. Security and Vegas cops dragged both rockers out of the Pearl Theater at the resort.
Viewers were unaware of the incident until actor and comic Jamie Foxx presented Best New Artist Award with movie co-star Jennifer Garner: “Stop all of this white on white crime. Tommy Lee and Kid Rock fighting like black folks – it’s hilarious. Who won? I was in the bathroom. Pamela Anderson has got a hard choice to make.”
Diddy joked while introducing the finale: “I was supposed to be doing this with Kid Rock, but you know, we got to stop the violence. See, it’s not just hip-hop artists that fight.” Kid Rock’s citation for misdemeanor battery against Tommy Lee, who received the only blows that landed, could mean a maximum of six months in jail.
*Train wreck Britney Spears, wearing the briefest possible sparkly black bra and matching panties, lip-synched her one and only opening number, “Gimme More” – and the highly anticipated magic illusions planned with Mindfreak magician Criss Angel simply disappeared into thin air. Instead of magic mirrors and levitating dancers, it came down to eight females dressed in skimpy styles on twirling stripper-poles descending from the ceiling. Critics and co-stars alike lambasted her lackluster, badly costumed comeback attempt.
“She was so lethargic it seemed she had been choreographed by a dance instructor for a nursing home. At times she stopped singing altogether as if even she knew nothing could save her performance. Bleary and unprepared, out of touch and embarrassingly out of shape, it became another example of how far she has fallen. Somewhere, Kevin Federline is laughing,” snorted the Associated Press reviewer.
“It would have been understandable if MTV’s show had crushed under the weight of that opening fiasco - yet it rebounded and flourished.”
People magazine’s reviewer added: “It could have used a lot more rehearsal.”
Chart-busting singer producer Akon commented: “You could tell from the expression on her face she seemed nervous. It definitely could have been a lot better. She needed to focus more.”
Rapper Common added: “There wasn’t any spark. It didn’t feel like life was there. It didn’t seem like she wanted to be there.”
Internet site TMZ, launching its own TV show this week, summed up: “The former Mrs. Federline sleep-walked her way through a critical performance and camera shots of Rihanna, 50 Cent and Diddy showed the crowd wasn’t really feeling it. Britney herself didn’t look too enthused - even seeming to forget the lyrics to her own song!”
I am reliably told that after leaving the stage she burst into tears and was crying backstage before fleeing to her suite. She also fired her hairdresser after the incident about the color of her hair for the show.
*Sassy comedienne Sarah Silverman ripped Britney in the show’s opening monologue that followed: “Wasn’t that incredible. She’s 25 years old and has already accomplished everything she’s ever going to accomplish in life. ”
Sarah followed that sarcastic insult with even more crude x-rated comedy that was viciously funny. She called Britney’s sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James celebrating birthdays this week, “The most adorable mistakes you will ever see. They are as a cute as the hairless xxxxx they came out of.”
*Eye-shadowed singer Pete Wentz and his Fall Out Boy group ended their segment in the Palm’s Fantasy Tower, $25,000 a night Celebrity Suite by trashing their instruments and the furniture live on camera. Reminiscent of old rock band suite-trashing parties, this deluge of damage wasn’t quite as bad prior escapades. Palms owner George Maloof shrugged it off, “Good excuse to redecorate anyway!”
*Strangest introduction of the telecast came from Pamela Anderson, who insinuated that she and Kanye West had once had a romantic rendezvous in the desert outside of Vegas.
Strangest warning of the night came from a MTV director who screamed at guests before Chris Brown performed his electrifying table top routine, “Don’t dare stand up. You will be decapitated. Remove drinks, move back off the table - otherwise you and they will go flying.”
Strangest near-wardrobe malfunction was with Beyonce, who almost toppled out of her low-cut shimmering gold dress. The second she’d got her trophy she summoned wardrobe to fix it to avoid any further mishaps.
*Biting the hand that feeds him? Justin Timberlake took MTV to task twice during the telecast during his acceptance speeches for the four awards he won, challenging the network to dump its “Simpson’s programming slate of reality shows” and return to showing videos. “Play more video’s!” he urged.
*Happiest moment of the night belonged to Ludacris, celebrating his birthday. Not only did he and I talk at his Café Martorano 30th birthday party in the Rio about his desire to win “Female Artist of the Year” for his Fergie album - but we ran into each other in the men’s room shortly before the award announcement. His Fergie album “The Dutchess” and the song “Glamorous,” which includes a lengthy shout-out to me, was competing against Beyonce, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna with Jay Z, and Nelly Furtado. We’ll have more of our Ludacris interview and his 30th birthday bash tomorrow in our full party roundup - but suffice to say for now, he won! That made the two of us very happy!
*Just how much would you have paid for a prized ticket to the awards show? The ducats were tougher to come by than any Emmy, Oscar or Grammy show. In fact, even the VIP’s were only allocated one apiece. Hotel host George Maloof admitted to me: “I got one and couldn’t bring a date. My brothers and mother only got one each too.”
He wound up escorting Paris Hilton with her one ticket, too! No sooner had I picked up my one ticket than I was accosted by scalpers who offered me $25,000 for the seat not caring how far back from the stage I was. For the record I turned down the offer!!
*Highlights of the night included the amazing dance performance by 18-year-old non-smoking, non-drinking, non-gaming Chris Brown and the exciting keyboard playing and vocals by Alicia Keys.
Chris hopped from table-top to table-top throughout the Pearl in a spectacular series of dance moves that even had hard-boiled music executives cheering - particularly with his semi Michael Jackson Billie Jean impersonation. Even bigger cheers went up when Rihanna danced into his act with a black and white kaleidoscopic version of her Umbrella song, which later went onto win as “Monster Single of the Year.”
Alicia fired up the crowd playing a number of different electronic keyboards set up around the theater and on stage when she debuted her new song “No-One,” which wound up merging into a choir-backed version of George Michael’s “Freedom” hit.
*Most interesting pairing of the awards show came when allegedly bitter-rivals, Kanye West and 50-Cent squared off on stage to present the night’s best music collaboration. Both soul-men have their new albums competing for the no.1 spot on the Billboard charts when released tomorrow. They’ve each said they’ll quit the business if the other singer hits no.1 first!
Everybody agreed the marriage between the Palms, MTV, Vegas and the VMA’s was a spectacular success that made the amazingly ambitious production a worldwide viewing ratings winner. MTV affiliates from as far away as New Zealand, Russia, Japan and Sweden sent crews to cover the event. Over 150 different worldwide media outlets sent camera crews, reporters and photographers to cover the show.
“It’s the most glamorous celebrity studded event that Vegas has ever experienced in its entire history,” said George Maloof. “The Palms and Vegas will never be the same again. This was just plain terrific and couldn’t have been bigger, better or bolder. It was the largest logistical and technical challenge the city has ever faced for a one-time only, two hour live broadcast. Planning began back in April and everything went off with perfect precision and clockwork efficiency.”