LAS VEGAS, NV. (MTV) - "
Trouble" hit the main stage as
Britney Spears channeled "The King's" legendary '68 Comeback in the most important performance of her career at the 2007 MTV Video
Music Awards, from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Celebrating her long-awaited comeback, Spears commanded the stage with a sultry performance of her new song "
Gimme More" featuring a show-stopping extravaganza highlighted by sexy choreography and high-flying aerialists in an appearance that viewers will remember forever.
The biggest night in music was hotter than the Las Vegas desert as performers from every genre celebrated their musical achievements for 2007. This year's show rolled out four new categories: "Male Artist of the Year / Female Artist of the Year", "Monster Single of the Year," "Most Earthshattering Collaboration," and "Quadruple Threat." Justin Timberlake nabbed "Male Artist of the Year" for his incredible year of great videos and performances, as well as "Quadruple Threat of the Year," which honors him for conquering multiple worlds including music, fashion, acting, dancing and more. Fall Out Boy won "Best Group" for their music video "This Ain't A Scene, Its An Arms Race." "Monster Single of the Year" went to Rihanna for "Umbrella," the inescapable hit of the year. Beyonce and Shakira scored a Moon Man for "Most Earthshattering Collaboration" for their video "Beautiful Liar." Fergie triumphed with "Big Girls Don't Cry" winning for "Female Artist of the Year." And one of the biggest awards of the night went to Rihanna who nabbed "Video of the Year" for "Umbrella."
The night was jam-packed with memorable performances and jaw-dropping collaborations including Kanye West and 50 Cent presenting the award for "Most Earthshattering Collaboration" days before their albums compete for the No 1 spot on the Billboard charts.
Taking over the Fantasy suites in the Palms Casino Resort, the naughty spectacular continued all night with an eclectic mix of performances to satisfy the taste of all music fanatics from the hardcore head-banging rock fans to the rhyme obsessed hip-hop aficionados.
Fall Out Boy in the Celebrity Suite was the scene of several crazy musical unions that rocked fans, as they performed a remix of "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" with Lil Wayne and also teamed up with Rihanna on her hit "Shut Up and Drive." The group also delivered a rocking rendition of "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs." Lead singer Patrick invited buddies Gym Class Heroes on stage to perform their hit single "Clothes Off."
Kanye West showed just how good life can be in the two-story Sky Villa on the top of the Palms Casino Resort overlooking the Vegas strip. He rocked the crowd with his hit "Stronger" then joined Common for "Drivin' Me Wild." Kanye and Soulja Boy teamed up for "Crank That" and televised for the first time ever, Kanye and T-Pain reached new heights with a high octane performance of "The Good Life."
Justin Timberlake and Timbaland were ballin' and partying in the Hardwood Suite with VIP guests 50 Cent as they performed "Ayo Technology." Also, stopping by to heat things up was T.I. with "Big Things Poppin'."
The Foo Fighters tore up the Hot Pink Suite performing their new single "Pretender" and were joined by "metalhead" compadres Queens of the Stone Age and Serj from System of A Down. And performing a new twist on an old favorite, Cee-Lo joined the guys for a unique spin of "Darling Nikki."
Chris Brown blew the roof off the Pearl Theater as he and six dancers showed off their smooth moves dancing across the tables packed with celebrities like Diddy, Kid Rock and Beyonce for an unforgettable performance of "Wall To Wall." He then descended upon the main stage for an inspired homage to the "King of Pop" with a rousing performance of "Billie Jean," made the audience swoon with "Kiss Kiss," and ended with Rihanna for an explosive, never before seen rendition of her smash hit "Umbrella."
The Maestro Timbaland was everywhere running from the Pearl, to the suites, to the Palms nightclub, Rain where his beats started off a surprise performance by Linkin Park as their fans joined in on the crowd favorite "Bleed It Out."
Superstar songstress Alicia Keys stole the show and had the crowd on their feet with an incredible performance of her new song "No One" which transitioned into a soulful rendition of George Michael's classic "Freedom" accompanied by DJ Mark Ronson and a gospel choir.
The night came to a climactic end with a triple mash-up extravaganza from today's musical masters Justin Timberlake, the VMAs Maestro Timbaland and Nelly Furtado. Furtado started things off with "Do It" while Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson sizzled with "The Way I Are." Justin Timberlake took it to a whole new level with "Love Stoned" and then broke it down with his signature hard hitting dance moves culminating with an explosive performance where everyone does the Rick James funk classic "Give It 2 Me."
Producer, artist and DJ Mark Ronson kept the party jumping all night from his DJ booth in the Pearl Theater with his turntables and horn section, along with special guests Akon, Adam Levine and Daniel Merriweather.
And because the show aired one night only, MTV offered viewers unprecedented access and interactivity. After the live broadcast, fans could log onto VMA.MTV.com to catch never-before-seen performances from the Fantasy Suites and moments that didn't make it to the show. Artists performing in the suites started jamming early and went all night with friends and special guest. Viewers could go online to vote for their favorite of those songs which would then make it onto the "Viewer's Choice" remix - a special inspired by viewers' favorite moments airing on September 13 at 6pm (ET/PT).
For the first time ever, MTV Mobile aired a live simulcast of the main show on video-enabled Sprint Vision and Power Vision phones. Artists equipped with Sprint phones - such as Timbaland, Chris Brown, T-Pain, Lil' Mama, Boys Like Girls and even MTV's famed Moon Man - were Twitter-ing (sending text messages) so viewers could follow them during the show - and Twitter back.
Additional remixes airing the days following the live broadcast include the Celebrity Commentary edition featuring artists dishing about all the backstage gossip and their favorite moments from the night, which will air September 11 at 10pm (ET/PT), and another remix that spotlights all the hot performances that aired during the show as well as extended and unaired performances from the Fantasy Suites, Pearl Theater and the VMA pre-show set to air September 15 at 11pm (ET/PT)
The star studded show also included appearances by Diddy, Bill Hader, Sarah Silverman, Kid Rock, Jennifer Hudson, Robin Thicke, Pamela Anderson, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Seth Rogen, Cee-Lo, Megan Fox, Rosario Dawson, Akon, the cast of "The Hills," Nicole Scherzinger, Bill Hader, Eve and from the cast of "Entourage" Adrian Grenier and Kevin Connelly.
2007 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
RIHANNA featuring JAY-Z
"Umbrella"
Good Girl Gone Bad
Def Jam
Director: Chris Applebaum
Producer: John Hardin
Production Company: Reactor Films
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Featuring T.I.
"Let Me Talk To You/My Love"
Future Sex/Love Sounds
Jive Records/Zomba Label Group
Director: Paul Hunter
Producer: Veronica Zelle
Production Company: H.S.I. Productions
Featuring TIMBALAND
"Sexy Back"
Future Sex/Love Sounds
Jive Records/Zomba Label Group
Director: Michael Haussman
Producer: Nina Huang
Production Company: H.S.I. Productions
"Love Stoned/I Think She Knows Interlude"
Future Sex/Love Sounds
Jive Records/Zomba Label Group
Director: Robert Hales
Producer: Richard Weaver & Oualid Mousaness
Production Company: H.S.I. Productions
"What Goes Around ... Comes Around"
Future Sex/Love Sounds
Jive Records/Zomba Label Group
Director: Samuel Bayer
Producer: Veronica Zelle
Production Company: H.S.I. Productions
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
FERGIE
"Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)"
The Dutchess
Wil.I.Am Music Group/A&M Records
Director: Anthony Mandler
Producer: Gina Leonard
Production Company: Cyclops Productions
Featuring LUDACRIS
"Glamorous"
The Dutchess
Wil.I.Am Music Group/A&M Records
Director: Dave Meyers
Producer: Gina Leonard
Production Company: @radical.media
Featuring WIL.I.AM
"Fergalicious"
The Dutchess
Wil.I.Am Music Group/A&M Records
Director: Fatima Robinson
Producer: Dawn Rose
Production Company: Black Dog Films
BEST GROUP
FALL OUT BOY
"This Ain't A Scene, Its An Arms Race"
Infinity On High
Island Records
Director: Alan Ferguson
Producer: Jacqui Frisco
Production Company: Anonymous Content
BEST NEW ARTIST
GYM CLASS HEROES
"Clothes Off"
As Cruel As School Children
DecayDance/Fueled By Ramen
Director: Alan Ferguson
Producer: Jose Carlos Mangual
Production Company: The Kompany
MOST EARTHSHATTERING COLLABORATION
BEYONCE & SHAKIRA
"Beautiful Liar"
B'DAY Deluxe Edition & Video Anthology
Columbia Records
Director: Jake Nava
Producer: Ben Cooper
Production Company: Anonymous Content
QUADRUPLE THREAT OF THE YEAR
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE (Jive Records/Zomba Label Group)
MONSTER SINGLE OF THE YEAR
RIHANNA featuring JAY-Z
"Umbrella"
Good Girl Gone Bad
Def Jam
Director: Chris Applebaum
Producer: John Hardin
Production Company: Reactor Films
BEST DIRECTOR
Director: Samuel Bayer
Justin Timberlake
"What Goes Around ... Comes Around"
Future Sex/Love Sounds
Jive Records/Zomba Label Group
Producer: Veronica Zelle
Production Company: H.S.I. Productions
BEST EDITING IN A VIDEO
GNARLS BARKLEY
Editor: Ken Mowe
"Smiley Faces"
St. Elsewhere
Downtown/Atlantic Records
Director: Robert Hales
Producer: Coleen Haynes
Production Company: H.S.I. Productions, Inc.
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
Choreographer: Marty Kudelka
Justin Timberlake
"Let Me Talk To You/My Love"
Future Sex/Love Sounds
Jive Records/Zomba Label Group
Director: Paul Hunter
Producer: Veronica Zelle
Production Company: H.S.I. Productions
Jesse Ignjatovic is the Executive Producer, Den of Thieves for the "2007 MTV Video Music Awards." Dave Sirulnick is Executive Producer. Chris Choun is Co-Executive Producer. Jen Jones and Jane Mun are Co-Producers. Amy Doyle and Joanna Bomberg are Music Talent Executives. Robin Reinhardt-Locke is Celebrity Talent Executive. Garrett English is Executive in Charge of Production. Hamish Hamilton is Director.
The official sponsors of the "2007 MTV Video Music Awards" are Chevy, Herbal Essences, Neutrogena, Pepsi Smash, Rhapsody, Sprint and Taco Bell.
