Was it a lighthearted spectacle or an award show? Thursday’s inaugural My VH1 Music Awards was a little of both.
It really didn’t matter, to some, who actually won as much as the hijinks that took place on stage at L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea, walked onto the stage on his hands donning a punker T-shirt and later spit into the camera, Reuters reports.
Then Latin pop star Ricky Martin wasn’t available to accept an award, an actor with a huge pink foam buttocks over his head accepted it for him. And check out some of the categories: Booty Shake (Ricky Martin won, who else?), Most Entertaining Public Feud (Eminem won for his fallouts with his wife and mom), Your Song Kicked Ass But Played Too Damn Much (Santana for “Smooth”), Legend in Action (Sting) and Sexxxiest Video (Faith Hill for “Breathe”).
The event was highlighted with performances by Christina Aguilera, U2, Bon Jovi (who won for Video of the Year for “It’s My Life”), No Doubt and Creed, who took home the most prizes including Song of the Year (”Higher”), Welcome to the Big Time, Group of the Year and 2 for 2, the last category reflecting the success of the group’s second album, “Human Clay.” Even rockers Metallica got into the spectacle by performing outside the venue for fans who couldn’t get inside and also picking up awards for Best Stage Spectacle and Gods of Thunder.
Red Hot Chili Peppers also were big winners, taking home prize in the Pushing the Envelope and Must-Have Album categories for ”Californication”. The categories and winners were decided by nearly 5 million online voters. The show was the first of its kind in which the outcome was decided upon viewers on the Internet.
In other Red Hot Chili Peppers news, Flea told Reuters backstage at the My VH1 Awards that the band is scheduled to go back into the studio in February to start work on a follow-up album to “Californication.” Although they have not officially decided on who will produce, Flea said he could not imagine working without Rick Rubin, the producer who worked on the Chili Peppers’ last three albums. No word yet by the band as to what the new album will be called or what it’ll sound like.
“We always go on different projects that we do with no plan or anything like that … We feel like if we try to plan on something that it can never be as great as the spontaneity that happens, because that’s really where the magic of music is at,” Flea says.
Meanwhile, Chili Peppers guitarist, John Frusciante, will release his third solo record, “To Record Only Water For 10 Days,” in January. The album is truly a solo project, with Frusciante playing the guitar, synthesizers and programming the drums himself.
ALL THEY WANTED WAS THEIR EXTRA TIME AND THEIR… ATTENTION:. That’s exactly what a poster of a naked Prince did at Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport, the Associated Press reports. The promotional poster, featuring the singer clad only in his guitar, is meant to plug the artist’s upcoming show at the Aladdin’s Theatre for the Performing Arts. But the poster was deemed inappropriate by FFE Display Services — which manages McCarran’s indoor advertising — and was yanked from the walls.
