The 2002 MTV Video Music Awards honoring the best in music video, was flooded with celebrities at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Thursday, August 29. Jimmy Fallon hosted the ceremony where he wowed the audience with his charm, his melodies, and his comedic abilities.
Eminem topped the list of winners with his music video for "Without Me", nabbing Best Video of the Year, Best Male Video, and Best Direction In A Video. The White Stripes won three Video Music Awards for their music video for "Fell In Love With A Girl", clinching Best Special Effects In A Video, Best Editing In A Video, and Breakthrough Video. Pink garnered two Moon Men for her music video "Get The Party Started," winning Best Female Video and Best Dance Video. Winning two Music Video Awards, No Doubt featuring Bounty Killer nabbed Best Group Video and Best Pop Video for their music video for "Hey Baby". At press time, the Viewer's Choice Award and the MTV2 Award were yet to be determined.
The night climaxed with a shocking surprise performance by a reclusive Guns N' Roses who haven't performed in the U.S.A. since the mid-nineties. They wowed the crod with a medley of "Welcome to the Jungle," their new song "Madagascar" and closed with a heart-stopping version of "Paradise City."
The night climaxed when James Gandolfini introduced Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band who opened the show with a moving rendition of their song "The Rising" from the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum for National History. Then back at Radio City Music Hall, with the help of a choir, Jimmy Fallon took the celebration on a humorous turn as he did a gut-busting musical parody of several of this year's nominees ranging from Eminem to the White Stripes to Avril Lavigne to Dave Matthews to Enrique Iglesias. His song and dance culminated with a surprise appearance from the energetic and soulful James Brown. Brown then introduced Britney Spears who had the audience wishing Michael Jackson a happy birthday as she presented him with a birthday cake, as well as a birthday present.
After such a memorable opening act, Pink continued to keep the audience in their seats with her powerful performance of her song "Just Like A Pill." To keep the momentum going, Ja Rule and Ashanti performed "Down 4 U" as Nas joined them on stage with his song "One Mic." The stage began to sizzle as Shakira impressed the audience with her sexy hip moving performance of her song "Objection (Tango)." Then Eminem once again outdid himself with his medley performance of his songs "Cleanin Out My Closet" and "White America" as mock US senators joined him on stage. As if the night couldn't get any better, P. Diddy featuring special guests Busta Rhymes, Usher and Pharell of The Neptunes, performed a medley of songs "Bad Boys For Life," "I Need A Girl (Part 1 and 2)," and "Pass the Courvoisier" among a slew of bungee jumpers and stilt walkers all jumping to the beat.
The night continued with Jennifer Lopez and surprise guest Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of NYC, as they celebrated the essence of New York City, Lopez and Giuliani introduced Sheryl Crow who gave a poignant performance of her song "Safe and Sound," which was interspersed with imagery of all things New York City - the people, the streets, the NYFD, the subways, the NYPD, and skyscrapers. Then the audience was brought to their feet as the MTV2 breakthrough artists The Hives and The Vines performed back-to-back on stage. The Hives performed a hard rocking performance of their song "Get Free." Just as the audience thought the night couldn't get any better, Justin Timberlake proved he could hold his own on stage as he gave his first ever televised solo performance of his song "Like I Love You."
Fallon proved that he is a master of live television as he kept the audience on the edge of their seats wanting more of his antics throughout the night. He impersonated "American Idol" hosts Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman in a parody that would even make Simon Cowell smile. Fallon also had the audience rolling as he impersonated Lance Bass in space in his introduction of *NSYNC and the Last Fan Standing.
Live from the stage, Carson Daly and TLC's T-Boz and Chili announced a $25,000 AIDS educational sholarship in honor of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. As part of MTV's Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself campaign, the Lisa Lopes AIDS scholarship will be awarded to one young person who has shown dedication and leadership in the fight against AIDS - whether through comforting the sick, educating the uninformed, researching a cure, or any other action. The selected individual will be granted $25,000 to be applied towards his or her own education, with an emphasis on the continuation on his or her work in fighting AIDS.
The star-studded talent list included Christina Aguilera, American Idol Judges (Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson), American Idol Finalists (Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini), B2K, Brandy, Busta Rhymes, Clipse, Carson Daly, Kirsten Dunst, James Gandolfini, Sammy Hagar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kate Hudson, Enrique Iglesias, Anthony Kiedis, Jackass' Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and Bam Margera, Avril Lavigne, Heath Ledger, Linkin Park, Kylie Minogue, Moby, Mike Myers, Brittany Murphy, Nelly, *NSYNC, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Kelly Osbourne, P.O.D., Lisa Marie Presley, David Lee Roth, Run DMC, Horatio Sanz, Britney Spears, Steve-O, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, and Usher. |
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