Now that the first annual YouTube Music Awards are over, Spike Jonze’s—director of the ceremony—comments now seem like more of a warning than a statement of creative ambition. Jones told The New York Times he hoped the live event would become a “fun mess,” not something you expect to hear from someone putting together an internationally-streamed award show.
In reality, it was a chaotic, unscripted dreamscape of jam sessions, live music videos and heartfelt acceptance speeches. The whole ordeal fittingly felt more like a YouTube video than an award show.
The YouTube Music Awards had the raw, creative and risky attitude the Grammy’s don't have. This wasn’t catered to anyone who keeps their nose in the air and YouTube certainly wasn’t going to give away any awards to Mumford & Sons.
Instead, viewers got a charismatic, albeit unorganized, group of stars running around the set, doing their best to put on a spectacle filled with spontaneity. The millions of YouTubers who voted on the winners of the peculiar categories (YouTube Phenomenon, Innovation of the Year) got exactly what they’re used to: fun, energetic and amateur production.
Now, that’s not to say any of the performances seemed low-grade. Lindsey Stirling’s fantastical night flight through clouds and skyscrapers felt more like a vivid dream than a live performance. And although Eminem’s live music video was simplistic, it allowed viewers to focus on his rapping. He wasn’t pretending to be M.I.A. or Arcade Fire by putting on an acid-inspired dance show, and it would have been insulting to an Eminem fan if he did.
But it was apparent this was their first go at a full-fledged award show. The camera work lost me at times and since most, if not all, of the viewers were watching this on their computer screens, the lighting kept the viewer in the dark, literally. Most distracting were the awkward moments when you were painstakingly wishing for a script. As funny as Jason Schwartzman is, it turns out even he can run out of words. The lack of script, though, was appropriately made up for with music. Formerly of the California-based rock band Phantom Planet, Schwartzman displayed his musical talents in between awards by drumming along side co-host Reggie Watts.
The theme of the night seemed to be unpretentious sincerity. The daring displays of unconventional creativity a la sending its host diving through a cake to find an award connected with the audience in a way other shows don’t. To start the show, viewers got to see something that is usually hidden behind the curtain: all of the involved artists got together on stage and interacted with each other in front of the crowd. This award show put its superstar performers in the same realm as viewers, effectively putting them into a homemade YouTube video.
Complaints are going to run rampant through the Internet about the YTMAs. They’re certainly deserved. More importantly, they’re needed. It was their first live-streamed Internet award show, and people need to remind themselves of that. Even for an entity like YouTube, a website that essentially brought viral videos to international attention and helped completely change the music industry, kinks are to be expected during a first try.
The YTMAs need to be cleaned up and reformed, but not much. It would be a mistake to take away the natural atmosphere. It would be a mistake to give up on the YouTube Music Awards so soon.
