NEW YORK, NY (MTV Networks) -
Radio City
Music Hall transformed into Video City
Music Hall with imagery projected all over the walls of the theater throughout the entire night. With a dramatic kick off atop the observation deck of The Top of the Rock,
Jay-Z welcomed the VMAs back to New York City. The biggest night in music opened with Justin Timberlake's sizzling performance of his hit single, "SexyBack." Host Jack Black, dressed as the bad Moonman and Elvis, followed with a comical rock performance featuring
Tenacious D band mate Kyle Glass that brought the thunder to the audience, setting the stage for a spectacular musical extravaganza.
For the first time ever, VMA viewers were able to vote on all general awards categories reflecting and celebrating the most eclectic group of artists today. Panic! at the Disco nabbed "Best Video of the Year" for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies." Avenged Sevenfold won "Best New Artist Video" for their music video "Bat Country." Beyonce took home a Moon Man for "Best R&B Video" for her music video "Check on It." A.F.I. grabbed a Moon Man with "Miss Murder" winning for "Best Rock Video." Pink hauled in "Best Pop Video" for her music video "Stupid Girls."
While the VMAs aired live on MTV, MTV.com streamed "VMA Live: Backstage Uncensored," an unprecedented live simultaneous view of ALL the action behind the scenes and backstage that viewers have never gotten to see. Fans followed talent such as Ludacris, OK Go, and T.I. as they traveled from dressing rooms to the stage for their performances. In addition to the television and broadband experiences, MTV Mobile offered updates and recaps of the VMAs across all wireless carriers. The VMAs were also celebrated across all of MTV's platforms including MTV2, mtvU, MHD, MTV World, and Urge.
The end of the summer bash was jam packed with memorable performances. Shakira, along with Wyclef Jean, performed a jaw dropping and hip-shaking "Bollywood" rendition of "Hips Don't Lie." Ludacris and Pharell, joined by the sultry Pussycat Dolls, got the audience out of their seats with an energetic performance of "Money Maker." For the first and only time, OK Go performed their treadmill dance live on stage reaching their target heart rate and impressing all with their physical prowess. The All-American Rejects blew the roof off the house with a rocking rendition of their song "Move Along," as thousands of kids surrounded them on stage and were projected on the walls of the house. The night continued with Beyonce's highflying performance of "Ring the Alarm," as she descended 65 feet to the stage from the ceiling in a flowing coat and ending her performance rising 20 feet into the air above the crowd. T.I. joined by Young Dro and a chorus of children performed a medley of his hits "Shoulder Lean" and "What You Know." Panic! at the Disco kept the energy up with their performance of "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," visually inspired by Tim Burton with Victorian influences. Christina Aguilera performed a heart-wrenching rendition of her ballad "Hurt" with Linda Perry accompanying her on the piano. The show came to a climatic end when Axl Rose introduced The Killers' debut performance of their new single "When You Were Young."
The Raconteurs kept the flow going the entire evening as they provided the live musical accompaniment to the show and were joined by rock legend Lou Reed in a surprise appearance, as well as Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top who performed at the very first VMAs.
Other highlights included:
Lil' Kim entering the stage in an orange prison suit and declaring herself free.
Sarah Silverman taking good natured jabs at everyone from Lance Bass to Paris Hilton. Silverman had the audience laughing while she left celebrities guessing who was going to be her next target of sarcasm.
In a self-deprecating taped moment, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline earned some laughs when they announced the winner for Best R&B Video.
The tone turned more serious when Queen Latifah introduced former Vice President Al Gore to the stage. In the spirit of "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore brought a message of urgent importance concerning the world community to the VMA audience. In a unique and groundbreaking moment, he projected the plight of the environment onto the actual walls of the theater. To highlight that caring about the environment is the new norm, MTV unveiled new Break the Addiction PSAs during the MTV Video Music Awards. The spots' approach is that if you're not actively combating global warming every day, you're behind the times. They heralded "There's a new PC out there - EC (Environmentally Correct)." Break the Addiction is MTV's year-long campaign and 12-step program, launched on Earth Day 2006, to educate and empower young people to make daily choices that improve their life and simultaneously curb the impact of global warming and preserve our environment.
Kanye West presented groundbreaking music video director Hype Williams with a Video Vanguard Award in recognition of his continuous contribution to the music video medium. Hip-hop artists Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes, the stars of Williams' most celebrated work, also took the stage to pay tribute to Williams with first time performances of "Supa Dupa Fly," and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See."
The star studded show also included appearances by Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Chris Brown, Fall Out Boy, Rihanna, Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars, Shaun White, Ne-Yo, the cast of Jackass Number 2, Amy Lee of Evanescence, Lil Jon, Axl Rose, Diddy, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, The Rock, Nicole Richie, Abigail Breslin, Paris Hilton, and Nick Lachey.
2006 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS:
Winners for "Viewer's Choice" were not determined at the issue of this release.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Panic! At The Disco
"I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
decaydance/Fueled By Ramen
Director: Shane C. Drake
Producer: Brandon Bonfiglio
Production Company: Red Van Pictures
BEST MALE VIDEO
James Blunt
"You're Beautiful"
Back To Bedlam
Custard Records/Atlantic Records
Director: Sam Brown
Producer: Kat Armour-Brow
Production Company: Flynn Productions
BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Kelly Clarkson
"Because of You"
Breakaway
RCA
Director: Vadim Perelman
Producer: Rhonda Vernet
Production Company: Tate USA
BEST GROUP VIDEO
The All-American Rejects
"Move Along"
Move Along
Interscope Records/Doghouse Records
Director: Marc Webb
Producer: Marcienne Friesland
Production Company: DNA
BEST RAP VIDEO
Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone
"Ridin'"
The Sound of Revenge
Chamillitary/Universal Music
Director: Life Garland
Producer: Hagai Shaham
Production Company: Lotus Filmworks, Inc./Terrero Films
BEST R&B VIDEO
Beyonce featuring Slim Thug & Bun B
"Check On It (Pink Panther)"
Destiny's Child No 1's
Music World/Sony Urban/Columbia
Director: Hype Williams
Producer: Matthew Stillman
Production Company: Stillking Productions
BEST HIP HOP VIDEO
The Black Eyed Peas
"My Humps"
Monkey Business
A&M Records
Director: Fatima Robinson and Malik Sayeed
Producer: Tony McGarry
Production Company: Black Dog at RSA Films
BEST DANCE VIDEO
Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg
"Buttons"
PCD
A&M Records
Director: Francis Lawrence
Producer: Lynn Zekanis
Production Company: DNA
BEST ROCK VIDEO
A.F.I.
"Miss Murder"
Decemberunderground
Interscope Records
Director: Marc Webb
Producer: Marcienne Friesland
Production Company: DNA
BEST POP VIDEO
Pink
"Stupid Girls"
I'm Not Dead
LaFace/Zomba Label Group
Director: Dave Meyers
Producer: Joseph Sassone
Production Company: Radical Music
BEST NEW ARTIST IN A VIDEO
Avenged Sevenfold
"Bat Country"
City Of Evil
Warner Bros. Records
Director: Marc Klasfeld
Producer: Rachel Curl
Production Company: Rockhard Films
BEST DIRECTION IN A VIDEO
Gnarls Barkley
"Crazy"
St. Elsewhere
Downtown/Atlantic Records
Director: Robert Hales
Producer: Coleen Haynes
Production Company: HSI Productions
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean
"Hips Don't Lie"
Oral Fixation Vol. 2
Epic Records
Director: Sophie Muller
Producer: Grant Jue
Production Company: Oil Factory
Choreographer: Shakira
BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A VIDEO
Missy Elliott
"We Run This"
The Cookbook
From Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment's "Stick It"
Hollywood/Gold Mind/Atlantic Records
Director: Dave Meyers
Producer: Barbara Benson
BEST ART DIRECTION IN A VIDEO
Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Dani California"
Stadium Arcadium
Warner Bros. Records
Director: Tony Kaye
Producer: Rachel Curl
Production Company: Above The Sea
Art Director: Justin Dragonas
BEST EDITING IN A VIDEO
Gnarls Barkley
"Crazy"
St. Elsewhere
Downtown/Atlantic Records
Director: Robert Hales
Producer: Coleen Haynes
Production Company: HSI Productions
Editor: Ken Mowe
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
James Blunt
"You're Beautiful"
Back To Bedlam
Custard Records/Atlantic Records
Director: Sam Brown
Producer: Kat Armour-Brow
Production Company: Flynn Productions
Cinematographer: Robbie Ryan
MTV2 AWARD
30 Seconds To Mars
"The Kill"
A Beautiful Lie
Virgin Records America
Director: Bartholomew Cubbins
Producer: Alexander Moon and Douglas Friedman
Production Company: A Common Thread, Inc.
BEST VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACK
Marc Ecko's Getting Up (Atari)
BEST VIDEO GAME SCORE
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Jeremy Soule)
RINGTONE OF THE YEAR
FortMinor "Where'd You Go"
Salli Frattini and Dave Sirulnick were the Executive Producers for the "2006 MTV Video Music Awards." Ian Stewart and Summer Strauch were Producers. Hamish Hamilton was Producer/Director. Kathy Flynn was Event Producer.
The "2006 MTV Video Music Awards" will be available to a potential viewing audience of more than 1.3 billion people via MTV's global network of 50 channels reaching 481.5 million households around the world as well as through syndication. Its convergent and original online programming will reach the entire interactive community, via MTV's 43 Web sites around the world.
The official sponsors of the "2006 MTV Video Music Awards" are Acuvue, Chevrolet, Dodge, Herbal Essences, JCPenney, Pepsi, Taco Bell and Virgin Mobile USA.
