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The inaugural YouTube Music Awards have come and gone; and what an affair it was.
The awards, hosted by Jason Schwartzman (Moonrise Kingdom) and comedian Reggie Jones, were streamed live on Sunday (November 3) from a dark performance space in New York’s Pier 36, and were overseen by film director and music producer, Spike Jonze.
The ceremony was far less than broadcast quality. It was also marred by stop start video and audio, malfunctioning microphones, censorship and, sadly for Schwartzman and Jones, two hosts that rarely seemed to know what was going on.
Beginning at 6pm and lasting for just under 90 minutes, over 220,000 people were simultaneously livestreaming the event at its peak.
Twitter was the place to be for anyone watching the mostly odd ceremony with many viewers calling it “weird,” “unprofessional,” “a mess” and “embarrassing;” with some even voicing their opinions further likening it to an awards show parody.
Arcade Fire kicked off the proceedings performing their latest offering “Afterlife,” followed by Lady Gaga debuting “Dope,” off her upcoming album ARTPOP, in a haunting and emotional acoustic performance.
The big winners for the night were Eminem, taking the Artist of The Year award, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for YouTube Breakthrough.
In what was perhaps the most awkward moment of the evening (and believe me there were plenty to choose from), Win Butler, the lead singer from Arcade Fire stole the microphone from Schwartzman to protest Taylor Swift’s win in the YouTube Phenomenon category for “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and declaring that “The YouTube phenomenon of the year was the “Harlem Shake,” everyone knows that;” in what was no doubt an attempt at humour in reference to the now infamous Kanye West incident at the 2009 MTV Video Awards.
The complete list of winners are:
Artist of the Year
Eminem
Video of the Year
“I Got A Boy,” Girls’ Generation
Response of the Year
Lindsey Stirling & Pentatonix, “Radioactive”
YouTube Phenomenon
“I Knew You Were Trouble”
YouTube Breakthrough
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Innovation of the Year
DeStorm, “See Me Standing”
The entire night’s proceedings have been archived over at YouTube for your viewing (dis)pleasure, should you wish to fill a 90 minute hole in your day.
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