Of all the awards shows on television, there isn't one more hotly anticipated than the MTV Video Music Awards. There are always epic performances on board and this year is no exception -- but remembering past performances is fun too! We've compiled a list of the best of the best in the history of the awards. How many do you remember?
So many performances, so little time. The one thing the VMA's have always been known for are epic performances. Some of today's greatest stars made their marks during an opening performance or musical number and in turn, made music history.
Who can forget Diddy's tribute to fallen friend Notorious B.I.G. when he sang I'll Be Missing You with Biggie's wife, Faith Evans? How about Eminem when he performed Slim Shady for the first time? Or Britney Spears dancing with a live snake in I'm A Slave 4 U? But there can only be ten of the best, and here they are, counting down to number one!
10. Rihanna, Disturbia 2008
Rihanna - Disturbia! 2008 MTV Music Video Awards Rihanna performs her song "Disturbia" at the 2008 MTV Music Video Awards
Backed by awesome drum beats and a bunch of zombies that made Michael Jackson's Thriller look tame, RiRi opened up the 2008 VMA's with this awesome dance party. She showed that she was a force to be reckoned with, then and now.
9. Nirvana, Lithium 1992
Nirvana Lithium MTV Video Music Awards 1992 Nirvana performs their song "Lithium" at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards
It was so simple and direct, but just what everyone needed back in '92. Nirvana put their best foot forward with a cool as hell performance of one of their most epic tunes. Kurt Cobain was a genius, understood his audience and for one brief time, looked like he was having fun because he knew he had the audience in his hands. He also ticked off MTV execs by starting off with the band's latest tune, Rape Me -- a song the network forbid them to play because of censorship issues -- but quickly segued into Lithium.
8. Taylor Swift, You Belong With Me 2009
Taylor Swift VMA Awards 2009 Taylor Swift You Belong With Me
Teen country queen Taylor Swift had been famously dissed by Kayne West just moments earlier, so she really had something to prove when she headed underground to the New York City subway system to perform her iconic hit You Belong With Me. It was just the attention-grabbing, revenge-getting thing Swift needed to show everyone she truly deserved the award Kanye interrupted her over.
7. Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguliera, Like A Virgin/Hollywood 2003
Britney, Christina and Madonna VMA's Like a Virgin/Hollywood performance
Whenever Madonna is involved, it's sure to be an epic VMA performance. Put together then-bitter diva rivals Britney Spears and Christina Aguliera, add in an illicit kiss or two and you have the makings of one of the most memorable performances in VMA history. Plus, it was a cool smash up of Like a Virgin and Hollywood, way before the Glee cast made them famous.
6. Beyonce, Single Ladies 2009
Beyonce Single Ladies Live MTV Video Music Awards 2009 Beyonce performs her song "Single ladies at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
Hot on the heels of Taylor Swift's embarassment by Kanye West, consummate performer Beyonce brought the house down when she performed Single Ladies in 2009. She showed the young'uns how it was all done, and in the end graciously acknowledged Swift in a moment that showed her as one of the classiest women on the planet.
5. Eminem, The Real Slim Shady/The Way I Am 2000
Eminem - The Real Slim Shady /The Way I Am - Live At The MTV Music Awards 2000 Eminem performs his songs "The Real Slim Shady" and "The Way I Am" at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards
Everywhere you looked, there was one Eminem clone after another as he performed The Real Slim Shady. It was a brilliant move and set Em on the road to rap icon status. He showed that rap could be cool, fun and yes, smart as hell. Eminem finished up his set with a heavily bleeped performance of The Way I Am.
4. Lady Gaga, Paparazzi, 2009
Lady Gaga - Paparazzi 2009 MTV VMAs Lady Gaga performs "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
Everyone in the know knew who Gaga was in 2009, but she was still breaking into the public consciousness. All it took was some damn good piano playing, theatrics like no other and a fake suicide at the end to have everyone talking about that girl who stole the show the next day. Her performance of Paparazzi was stunning, both visually and vocally.
3. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Living On A Prayer/Wanted Dead or Alive 1989
Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora MTV 1989 Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora perform acoustically at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards
No one had ever had the nerve to do it before. The VMA's were all about big performances, so when Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora walked out on the stage with just two acoustic guitars, the audience didn't know what to expect. The musical purity of two men with two guitars singing a compliation of Prayer/Wanted Dead or Alive was stunning. MTV loved it so much, they built a whole series around it: Unplugged.
2. Michael Jackson, Medley 1995
Michael Jackson - 1995 MTV Video Music Awards Performance Michael Jackson performs a medley of his songs at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards
Just MJ on the stage, dancing his way through one song after another. Yes, it was all lip-synched, but the sheer joy of seeing one of the world's most iconic performers on the stage again that was thrilling to the audience. The addition of Slash to the mix didn't hurt matters either. MJ was the man who made videos popular to the masses and reinvented them along the way -- the ultimate MTV icon.
1. Madonna Like A Virgin 1984
Madonna - Like A Virgin Madonna performs her hit song "Like A Virgin" at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards
This was the moment that had everyone talking in 1984. Everyone knew who Madonna was, but it was the risque way she pushed the envelope that had everyone in an uproar. She sashayed her way onto the VMA stage in a wedding gown, and proceeded to bump, grind, twist and twirl her way onto the top of the Video Music Award hot list. No one knew what to make of her, but they knew one thing: She was a star!
Image courtesy WENN
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