The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2008 to June 2009, were presented on September 13, 2009, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and televised by MTV. The ceremony was hosted by Russell Brand.
Beyoncé, Green Day, and Lady Gaga were tied for the most-awarded acts of the night, winning three awards each. Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" won the award for Video of the Year, while Beyoncé and Lady Gaga were both tied for the largest number of nominations with nine, followed by Britney Spears with seven. In the aftermath of his June 2009 death, the show featured various tributes to Michael Jackson, including an opening act featuring a medley of Jackson's biggest hits and a special appearance by Janet Jackson to perform her duet "Scream", and the premiere of a trailer for the posthumous documentary film Michael Jackson's This Is It.
The ceremony was marred by an incident in which Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance of the award for Best Female Video, in order to proclaim that despite her victory, Beyoncé still had "one of the best videos of all time", referring to the aforementioned "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". When Beyoncé was eventually awarded Video of the Year, she acknowledged the moment when she had won her first VMA as part of Destiny's Child, and invited Swift back onstage to finish her acceptance speech. The incident was highly publicized, with Rolling Stone naming it the "wildest" moment in the history of the VMAs in 2013.
The broadcast was seen by a total of 9 million viewers, a 17% increase over 2008, making it the most-watched VMAs since 2004.
Performances[]
- This Is It Backup Dancers & Janet Jackson: Tribute to Michael Jackson - "Thriller" / "Bad" / "Smooth Criminal" / "Scream" (with Jackson)
- Katy Perry & Joe Perry - "We Will Rock You"
- Taylor Swift - "You Belong with Me"
- Lady Gaga - "Poker Face" (intro) / "Paparazzi"
- Green Day - "East Jesus Nowhere"
- Beyoncé - "Sweet Dreams" (intro) / "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
- Muse - "Uprising"
- Pink - "Sober"
- Jay-Z & Alicia Keys - "Empire State of Mind"
Winners and nominees[]
Video of the Year[]
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
- Eminem – "We Made You"
- Lady Gaga – "Poker Face"
- Britney Spears – "Womanizer"
- Kanye West – "Love Lockdown"
Best Male Video[]
- T.I. (featuring Rihanna) – "Live Your Life"
- Eminem – "We Made You"
- Jay-Z – "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"
- Ne-Yo – "Miss Independent"
- Kanye West – "Love Lockdown"
Best Female Video[]
- Taylor Swift – "You Belong with Me"
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
- Kelly Clarkson – "My Life Would Suck Without You"
- Lady Gaga – "Poker Face"
- Katy Perry – "Hot n Cold"
- Pink – "So What"
Best New Artist[]
- Lady Gaga – "Poker Face"
- 3OH!3 – "Don't Trust Me"
- Drake – "Best I Ever Had"
- Kid Cudi – "Day 'n' Nite"
- Asher Roth – "I Love College"
Best Pop Video[]
- Britney Spears – "Womanizer"
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
- Cobra Starship (featuring Leighton Meester) – "Good Girls Go Bad"
- Lady Gaga – "Poker Face"
- Wisin & Yandel – "Abusadora"
Best Rock Video[]
- Green Day – "21 Guns"
- Coldplay – "Viva la Vida"
- Fall Out Boy – "I Don't Care"
- Kings of Leon – "Use Somebody"
- Paramore – "Decode"
Best Hip-Hop Video[]
- Eminem – "We Made You"
- Flo Rida – "Right Round"
- Jay-Z – "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)"
- Asher Roth – "I Love College"
- Kanye West – "Love Lockdown"
Breakthrough Video[]
- Matt and Kim – "Lessons Learned"
- Anjulie – "Boom"
- Bat for Lashes – "Daniel"
- Chairlift – "Evident Utensil"
- Cold War Kids – "I've Seen Enough"
- Death Cab for Cutie – "Grapevine Fires"
- Gnarls Barkley – "Who's Gonna Save My Soul"
- Major Lazer – "Hold the Line"
- Passion Pit – "The Reeling"
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – "Heads Will Roll"
Best Direction[]
- Green Day – "21 Guns" (Director: Marc Webb)
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Director: Jake Nava)
- Cobra Starship (featuring Leighton Meester) – "Good Girls Go Bad" (Director: Kai Regan)
- Lady Gaga – "Paparazzi" (Director: Jonas Åkerlund)
- Britney Spears – "Circus" (Director: Francis Lawrence)
Best Choreography[]
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Choreographers: Frank Gatson Jr. and JaQuel Knight)
- Ciara (featuring Justin Timberlake) – "Love Sex Magic" (Choreographers: Jamaica Craft and Marty Kudelka)
- Kristinia DeBarge – "Goodbye" (Choreographer: Jamaica Craft)
- A. R. Rahman and The Pussycat Dolls (featuring Nicole Scherzinger) – "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" (Choreographers: Robin Antin and Mikey Minden)
- Britney Spears – "Circus" (Choreographer: Andre Fuentes)
Best Special Effects[]
- Lady Gaga – "Paparazzi" (Special Effects: Chimney Pot)
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Special Effects: VFX Effects and Louis Mackall V)
- Eminem – "We Made You" (Special Effects: Ingenuity Engine)
- Gnarls Barkley – "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Special Effects: Gradient Effects and Image Metrics)
- Kanye West (featuring Mr Hudson) – "Paranoid" (Special Effects: Wizardflex and Ghost Town Media)
Best Art Direction[]
- Lady Gaga – "Paparazzi" (Art Director: Jason Hamilton)
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Art Director: Niamh Byrne)
- Coldplay – "Viva la Vida" (Art Director: Gregory de Maria)
- Gnarls Barkley – "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Art Director: Zach Matthews)
- Britney Spears – "Circus" (Art Directors: Laura Fox and Charles Varga)
Best Editing[]
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Editor: Jarrett Fijal)
- Coldplay – "Viva la Vida" (Editor: Hype Williams)
- Miley Cyrus – "7 Things" (Editor: Jarrett Fijal)
- Lady Gaga – "Paparazzi" (Editors: Danny Tull and Jonas Åkerlund)
- Britney Spears – "Circus" (Editor: Jarrett Fijal)
Best Cinematography[]
- Green Day – "21 Guns" (Director of Photography: Jonathan Sela)
- Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Director of Photography: Jim Fealy)
- Coldplay – "Viva la Vida" (Director of Photography: John Perez)
- Lady Gaga – "Paparazzi" (Director of Photography: Eric Broms)
- Britney Spears – "Circus" (Director of Photography: Thomas Kloss)
Best Video (That Should Have Won a Moonman)[]
- Beastie Boys – "Sabotage"
- Björk – "Human Behaviour"
- Dr. Dre – "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang"
- Foo Fighters – "Everlong"
- George Michael – "Freedom! '90"
- OK Go – "Here It Goes Again"
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – "Into the Great Wide Open"
- Radiohead – "Karma Police"
- David Lee Roth – "California Girls"
- U2 – "Where the Streets Have No Name"
Best Performance in a Pepsi Rock Band Video[]
- Nerds in Disguise – "My Own Worst Enemy"
- Blaq Star – "Shining Star"
- One (Wo)Man Band – "Bad Reputation"
- The Sleezy Treezy – "Here It Goes Again"
- Synopsis – "The Kill"
Best Breakout Artist Awards[]
New York[]
- MeTalkPretty
- Red Directors
- The Shells
Bay Area[]
- Picture Me Broken
- The New Up
- Oona
Atlanta[]
- Holla Front
- Rantings of Eva
- Tone G
Chicago[]
- Andrew Belle
- The Lifeline
- Stoop Goodnoise
Boston[]
- Gentlemen Hall
- Air Traffic Controller
- Twin Berlin
Philadelphia[]
- DaCav5
- Atlantic Avenue
- Rushmore
Washington D.C.[]
- Frank Sirius
- 23RAINYDAYS
- RAtheMC
Los Angeles[]
- La Banda Skalavera
- No Way Jose
- South Central Skankers