Why MTV doesn't want a kinder, gentler Kanye at the VMAs
OPINION - His talent is inarguable but his actions and attitude keep his public perception teetering on the edge of collapse...
Expect Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and others to grab their fair share of attention during Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards. But all eyes will be on Kanye West, and the question on everybody’s mind is; what will West do next?
His instantly infamous stage crash and interruption of Taylor Swift’s award acceptance to awkwardly declare Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” video “one of the best of all-time,” during last year’s show only cemented his polarizing status. His talent is inarguable but his actions and attitude keep his public perception teetering on the edge of collapse.
Nearly a year later, it’s safe to say all the calls to boycott West were a failure because Kanye’s still grabbing headlines. His recent Twitter confession on the incident and the subsequent ordeal seemed to give people a better understanding of his mental state and proved to be a special moment in social media, if not a small step towards redemption for West.
While watching West’s steps toward redemption may be intriguing television but who, really, stands to benefit from a kinder, gentler Kanye West? It’s certainly not MTV.
The VMA’s have been down the comeback road before with artists like Britney Spears. That was cute and all but you have to wonder if the network is secretly hoping for similar fireworks during tonight’s show and if other stars will go out of their way to try and create a signature moment. Host Chelsea Handler won’t have any problem getting sparks flying but even on this year’s VMA About page they mention last year’s Swift-West episode as a reason to watch now.
MTV’s shift in programming priorities makes it hard to really justify an awards show just for music videos without the surprises people expect when they’ve long since moved away from dedicating airtime on their main channel to music videos in favor of reality shows.
What’s weird is the VMA’s current existence is a testament to the fact that music videos still matter. Maybe not to advertisers, who dictate whether it’s financially viable to put something on air, but to fans who view each and everyone video on YouTube and MTV.com by the millions.
Let’s face it though, with the same handful of videos receiving repeated nominations in multiple categories, the pressure’s on MTV, who probably should have considered shaking things up with the actual awards to include cool videos from indie acts or viral offerings a long time ago, to make it a spectacle. Until that happens though, the show is completely dependent on its star power to keep people interested and West’s star is bright enough to do just that.While he’s not nominated for any awards, he is scheduled to perform during tonight’s show and that’s where the potential for drama is focused.
It would be public relations gold to have him present an award or perform with Taylor Swift, babbling some soft natured, pre-written banter between the two of them that presents their relationship as friendly and reconciled and the incident as in the past.
Maybe he could go the comedic route with a corny but self-aware, staged interruption, where he flashes the acting chops most musicians swear to have, only to tell someone they completely deserve their Moonmen. The options for West really are endless and butts will be glued to the couch to see what he does.
Sure, taking the high road and winning over the easily swayed viewing pubic with a well written diatribe against who we thought he was, that is both humble and witty, is a smart route to garner goodwill with his fifth studio album on the way later this year, but that’s so anticlimactic and so un-Kanye.
How awesome would it be if threw us all a curveball and embraced being the villain. Taking a page from LeBron James’ book to break the hearts of all his fans clinging to their awe shucks, Midwestern values by bypassing the nice guy routine in favor of being the talented prick that’s so good he can do whatever he wants and still sell. What better way to flex his chart-topping dominance than to prove that even the people who hate his guts, will still be dying to hear his album.
I’m sure there’s a shrink somewhere cringing at the possibility.
Whatever road he takes, what everyone will be tweeting about tonight and over-analyzing tomorrow will be the inevitable twist. What will be this year’s Michael Jackson and N’Sync moment? Who’ll create the 2010 Madonna and Britney Spears moment? Can anything ever feel like Biggie and Tupac’s mothers’ moment? Will West even provide it? So many questions, my money is on West to answer.
