This year's host is Ludacris, who again brings the swagger, charisma and Dirty South to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. But he's not alone; for the first time, another host is in the mix, and it's Chrissy Teigen, one of the most hottest models on Earth, a darling on social media and wife of R&B crooner John Legend. A triple threat if I've ever seen one.
I liked Luda as host last year; he wasn't boring--he didn't get too excited and kept the flow going throughout the show. So I didn't mind him coming back; In fact, I'm glad he came back. So I think that he and Chrissy would be a good match together as co-hosts, right?
Well, before I get to the performances, I'll get to the hosts: While Luda was still great (not to gush about, but held it down great), Chrissy seemed great. She had the energy, charm and cadence to host, and she was great when it came to introducing performers and award presenters, but when it came time to jokes, it all went downhill from there.
I mean, I know those were jokes, but they were cringing and a little gross (and I had a few jokes of my own as well) like this:
--"And here's the man I banged!" (paraphrasing)
---I know you bang him, but did you HAVE to mention this on live television? We already have "All of Me" for implications.
--"...whose...like a little brother to me"
---Oh yeah? Well, I hope you enjoy the incest you guys got going on, then.
Whoever wrote these nasty jokes shouldn't be hired to write for the show again next year.
Other than that shit, I thought both hosts did great, whether together or individually, and I would be glad if they return as hosts next year (although mostly Luda, because those jokes were shit).
Van Halen kicked off the show with one of their classic hits "Panama". These guys never missed a beat, and brought the house down. If I was there, I'd try to chain-reaction say "You still got it" with everyone else joining in. Because... They still got it. That's all I can say.
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Fall Out Boy performed one of my favorite song of theirs right now, "Uma Thurman". It's catchy, groovy and the sample of the theme song of The Munsters made me fall in love with it immediately. Then Wiz Khalifa comes in for his verse from the song's remix...and I like it. He was great and bumped this song up even more. Both were fantastic. And the dancers on stage were awesome dancing like Ms. Thurman in Pulp Fiction.
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Nick Jonas brought the 80s with him (or at least what the 80s looks like in video compilations of TV network on-air graphics people put on YouTube) to the MGM Grand with his performance of "Jealous". I loved the set-up...but I feared that if people with epilepsy watched it, they might get seizures, because of the bright, flashing lights (I'm not joking--well, I was when I watched live). Other than that, it was a great one, Jonas sang nice, but I felt it was strained in a few places. That guitar solo, though, was fucking SICK.
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Meghan Trainor has a lovely voice and would've proved it well without "All About That Bass" being her debut. Anyway, she still proved it when she sang "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" with her guest (her little brother, as Teigen called him--augh!) John Legend. Both singers sounded lovely and matched each other quite well, although I thought Legend would top Meghan on vocals like he's a male Diana Ross. Must've been her softer vocals in comparison.
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Mariah Carey retuned to the BBMA stage after 17 years (!) to perform two of her big hits: her first hit, 1990's "Vision of Love", and her latest, "Infinity". She was as great as ever, but her singing from the low points was, while sultry and sexy, was a little disappointing. But I still enjoyed it. That is, until she sung "Infinity", which I see as a partial diss track to ex-husband Nick Cannon, which I hated.
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Wiz returned to perform the #1 song on the charts at the moment (and the tribute to franchise star Paul Walker--may he Rest in Peace) "See You Again" with Charlie Booth
I mean Puth. (sorry) As with all other performances I've seen, it was lovely and wonderful. But what made this even better was when violin goddess Lindsey Stirling performed along with Wiz and Puth, making this one even better than before. That was lovely.
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After an introduction by Taraji P. Henson, one of the stars of the hit Fox drama, her co-stars Jussie Smollett and Bryshere "Yazz" Gray performed songs from Empire, "Conqueror" with Estelle and "You're So Beautiful". Both songs are great in their own ways--Conqueror as a sulry and grown song about self-empowerment and "Beautiful" as a hot, sexy song about love no matter how you look. All three actors/singers did great with their vocals and had me smiling. I love and enjoy Empire and I can't wait for Season 2 in September for more drama, more music and more Jamal and Hakeem.
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Straight after was Hozier with his dark, brooding, haunting, sad--whatever you call it--debut track "Take Me to Church". I love when he performs it live, which is much more sadder in tempo and tone than the original. It just makes me feel (ironically)...HAPPY. He sings without the second verse this time, for some reason, but I still enjoyed it. Great job, Andrew Byrne.
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Little Big Town hit the stage for "Girl Crush" (you can already tell what it's about from the title), their hot song about Lesbian crushes. And boy was it hot.
I love how subtle it sounds, despite how wide open it is about the subject. It's like it's screaming "I THINK I LIKE GIRLS!!", but it's whispering "I love you, but I may have a crush on another woman", which is really nice. The group's vocals are beautiful and meshed amazingly, and make this one of my favorites of the show.
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Pitbull (Mr. 305, Mr. Worldwide, Mr. I-Love-Money-Like Water, Mr. Speaks-Like-He's-Homer-Simpson-Whispering, whatever you call him) teamed up with Chris Brown
for their song "Fun" (not to be confused with the band of the same name; that ends with a .). I really liked the beat; it's very party-pop/copa cabana 80s, and the chorus seems very catchy. I can definitely see this track as a summer hit.
(Also, the hug the two shared at the end was really sweet.)
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Ed Sheeran performed one of my favorite songs from X (multiply), "Bloodstream". The dude is awesome on guitar and has a great voice, so add in a machine that will record a voice at a certain point in a song, and use that for later, and you have one of my favorite performances. The best part came during the part where he sang
"All the voices in my mind/Calling all across the line". The voices that layer the last as they play one by one, is fantastic and gives me feels. And I'll get even more feels from him next month at the Much Music Video Awards. This guy is awesome.
--
Ugh
Britney Spears took the stage and continues to do what she shouldn't be doing in about a few years: singing like a teenager with a head cold and dancing like a stripper at a fledgling nightclub. With her latest single "Pretty Ladies" with Iggy Azalea, she seems like won't stop then.
This song is very meh. The beat is like "Fancy"; it's boring, it never changes, and it sounds like someone making a bass-lased recorded version of raspberries. Unlike "Fancy", the beat is the same notes over and over. I don't think I'll listen to this anytime soon. Or later. I like the 80s look of the set-up, bright, colorful and vibrant. And that's it.
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Nicki Minaj performed two new songs, "The Night is Still Young" and "Hey Mama" with David Guetta.
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Tori Kelly, the "One to Watch" by Kia Motors performed her debut hit "Nobody Love". I really enjoy this song. Ever since the very first time I've heard it, I've fell in love with it. The beat is super nice, the lyrics are real and catchy, and Tori's vocals are wonderful. This performance was just great.
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Simple Minds. Heard of them? You may have if you watched The Breakfast Club. Their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is stuff of soundtrack legend. And they get to perform it live in tribute of the film's 30th Anniversary. And what can I say? It was AWESOME!! Like Van Halen earlier, the band has still got it, and they're still great after all these years.
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Kelly Clarkson just continues to be an awesome singer, with her performance of "Invincible". The song is a wonderful song of self-empowerment, and Kelly's vocals are just as great and beautiful as they always were. Kelly is just an amazing singer and an amazing lady in life.
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Imagine Dragons took the time to also pay tribute to another legend, Ben E. King. They performed his ever-iconic "Stand by Me". This was a very lovely tribute by one of the greats in Rhythm & Blues. Made me tear up hard.
I really wouldn't mind very much it if this was the final performance of the show. But it wasn't...this was.
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Kanye West ended the show with his performance of "All Day". Or at least I read it off as that, because the performance was censored so hard I might have thought I pressed the Mute button on my TV. And I lost the remote MONTHS AGO!!. Oh well, i didn't care for that and I'm glad I didn't hear the song at first.
Random Thoughts:
-Taylor Swift looks white-hot. Just putting that out. And had I still hated her as a musician during her 1989 era, I would've been furious with her 8 wins of the show. Fortunately, I'm not, as I realize there shouldn't be a lot to hate her for. She's a smart, sweet lady, and her music isn't bad, so I'm happy she won, and I'm not ashamed that I like the single from 1989. Well, except "Bad Blood"; I can very well do without that.
-During the broadcast, there was a short tribute to Blues God, BB King. This was a lovely tribute to him, and it made me tear up. One of the best moments of the night.
-Sam Smith had the best acceptance speech of the show. No voice, just cue cards. And they still brought me down.
-From the moment I saw her on stage, I knew it was Lindsey Stirling. She was awesome.
-Molly Ringwald is hot. I think her acting career did had a thing to do with that.
-Before Kanye West gave his...performance, his sister-in-law(-for-life) Kendall and Kylie Jenner introduced him. While doing so, they were booed by the audience. I don't hate them; they aren't as annoying and they don't put out as much as their big sister Kim, I found it funny that they got booed, and that many people in America don't care for them or the Kar-trash-ians anymore (except for Bruce Jenner; he deserves it).
Goodnight!
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