Glitterball Madonna kicks off MTV awards
The 47-year-old queen of pop rocked the Atlantic Pavilion on one of the music industry’s most important nights and said she still got a kick out of playing to a crowd.
“After I fell off my horse it was amazing to be able to get up and dance,” she said backstage, referring to a riding accident in August when she cracked three ribs and broke her collarbone and a hand.
She confessed she had feared that energetic performances like the one in Lisbon would no longer be possible because of the injuries.
“Being in front of all the people, waiting for it to come up, and waiting to see the audience, my heart was just pumping out of my chest,” Madonna said.
Madonna will be hoping Hung Up, the first single from her new album Confessions on a Dancefloor, puts her back on top of the charts after her last album failed to sell well.
“I’ve been making records for over 20 years. I’ve had an incredible run, highs and lows, but I keep going,” she said.
She was followed on stage by British act Coldplay, whose lead singer Chris Martin at one point leaned into the crowd and started singing into a fan’s mobile phone.
Hosting the event was spoof Kazakh television presenter Borat, a guise adopted by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G) who is renowned for his risque, politically incorrect humour.
His opening gag was no exception.
“It was very brave of MTV to start the show with a transvestite,” he joked, referring to Madonna.
He also deliberately mixed up his bands, introducing Coldplay as Green Day, the pop-punk icons who were also due to perform last night.
Leading the nominations this year were Coldplay and cartoon group Gorillaz who had five nominations each, ahead of Gwen Stefani with four and 50 Cent, Green Day, James Blunt, Snoop Dogg and U2 with three nominations apiece.
Among the early awards handed out was best album, to Green Day for American Idiot, which also won the best rock album category at the Grammys earlier in the year.
The band picked up a second gong for the best rock category.
Gorillaz “appeared” using hologram-style technology to beam three-dimensional, performing cartoon characters on stage.
Billed as the world’s most successful virtual band, the human artists behind Gorillaz traditionally appear at live gigs as silhouettes on a giant screen combined with images of their cartoon alter egos.
US actor Jared Leto had the crowd booing, whistling and turning their thumbs down at US President George W Bush, in a moment of political controversy.
“If you can’t criticise the president of our country, who can you criticise?” he said.
Pop heartthrob Robbie Williams, rock quartet Foo Fighters and funk band Black Eyed Peas were billed to round up the action on a night MTV hoped will combine the strength of traditional live rock with cutting-edge technology.
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