Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan quits after transfer order

Sankaranarayanan was among the first batch of governors telephoned by Home Secretary Anil Goswami to put in their papers.

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Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Sunday resigned from the post hours after he was transferred to Mizoram by the government.

“I sent my resignation today to the President of India…. It is not possible for me to go to Mizoram,” Sankaranarayan said in a press conference here.

“I will return to active politics,” said the 82-year-old veteran Congress leader from Kerala. He was among the UPA-appointed Governors who were asked to resign by the new BJP government. But, he had refused to do so. His tenure ends in 2017.

He said as governors in various states, he never played any politics.

“I was friendly with all political parties, friendly with the BJP also…Shiv Sena…all the political parties. Because I have no politics, because I am the governor,” he said.

The governors are appointed by the President and the President has powers to transfer the governors, he said.

“My feeling is that I have to honour the Constitution–the Magna Carta for governors. I have to abide that, I did that,” he said.

Sankaranarayanan thanked the people of Maharashtra for the support they extended to him during his tenure.

Asked whether the move is part of political vendetta, he said, “That is up to you people to comment about it. Our press people are so shrewd, so capable, so intelligent.”

“I actually supported the Constitution,” he said, adding, “We want the prestige and status of the governors in future also.”

“In a democratic set up, no government is permanent… no post is permanent, that will change. Democracy is bigger than anything, we are one of the biggest democratic countries in the world,” he added.

Sankaranarayanan was among the first batch of governors telephoned by Home Secretary Anil Goswami to put in their papers after change of government at the Centre.

In an apparent bid to ease him out, the government shunted him to Mizoram after he had refused to quit.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique issued late last night had said that Sankaranarayanan has been shifted to Mizoram and Gujarat Governor OP Kohli has been asked to discharge his duties.

He has been serving as Governor of Maharashtra since 22 January, 2010. He took oath as Governor of Maharashtra for a second time on May 7, 2012 after the President granted him a fresh term of five.

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan quits after transfer order

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Sankaranarayanan was among the first batch of governors telephoned by Home Secretary Anil Goswami to put in their papers.

Tweet This

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Sunday resigned from the post hours after he was transferred to Mizoram by the government.

“I sent my resignation today to the President of India…. It is not possible for me to go to Mizoram,” Sankaranarayan said in a press conference here.

“I will return to active politics,” said the 82-year-old veteran Congress leader from Kerala. He was among the UPA-appointed Governors who were asked to resign by the new BJP government. But, he had refused to do so. His tenure ends in 2017.

He said as governors in various states, he never played any politics.

“I was friendly with all political parties, friendly with the BJP also…Shiv Sena…all the political parties. Because I have no politics, because I am the governor,” he said.

The governors are appointed by the President and the President has powers to transfer the governors, he said.

“My feeling is that I have to honour the Constitution–the Magna Carta for governors. I have to abide that, I did that,” he said.

Sankaranarayanan thanked the people of Maharashtra for the support they extended to him during his tenure.

Asked whether the move is part of political vendetta, he said, “That is up to you people to comment about it. Our press people are so shrewd, so capable, so intelligent.”

“I actually supported the Constitution,” he said, adding, “We want the prestige and status of the governors in future also.”

“In a democratic set up, no government is permanent… no post is permanent, that will change. Democracy is bigger than anything, we are one of the biggest democratic countries in the world,” he added.

Sankaranarayanan was among the first batch of governors telephoned by Home Secretary Anil Goswami to put in their papers after change of government at the Centre.

In an apparent bid to ease him out, the government shunted him to Mizoram after he had refused to quit.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique issued late last night had said that Sankaranarayanan has been shifted to Mizoram and Gujarat Governor OP Kohli has been asked to discharge his duties.

He has been serving as Governor of Maharashtra since 22 January, 2010. He took oath as Governor of Maharashtra for a second time on May 7, 2012 after the President granted him a fresh term of five.

Lalu Yadav unwell, admitted to Mumbai hospital for cardiac problem

Lalu has been admitted in Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute for cardiac-related problems.

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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former chief minister of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav has been admitted in Mumbai’s Asian Heart Institute reportedly late Sunday night for cardiac-related problems.

According to the hospital sources, his condition is stable.

He has been kept under the observation of hospital’s director Dr Ramakant Panda and his reports are expected today.

The 66-year-old politician has also held railway ministry from 2004 to 2009 under the UPA government.

Lalu has been in news recently for the alliance formed with Janata Dal’s leader Nitish Kumar for the upcoming elections.

Lalu Yadav unwell, admitted to Mumbai hospital for cardiac problem

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Lalu has been admitted in Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute for cardiac-related problems.

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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former chief minister of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav has been admitted in Mumbai’s Asian Heart Institute reportedly late Sunday night for cardiac-related problems.

According to the hospital sources, his condition is stable.

He has been kept under the observation of hospital’s director Dr Ramakant Panda and his reports are expected today.

The 66-year-old politician has also held railway ministry from 2004 to 2009 under the UPA government.

Lalu has been in news recently for the alliance formed with Janata Dal’s leader Nitish Kumar for the upcoming elections.

Richard Attenborough, Oscar-Winning Director of ‘Gandhi,’ Dies at 90

Carmel Dagan

Richard Attenborough, who was honored for his helming and production of the 1982 Oscar best picture “Gandhi” but was best known to American audiences for his role in Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” and its first sequel as park creator John Hammond, died on Sunday, his son tells BBC News. He was 90.

The stocky British filmmaker was awarded a life peerage by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for his stage work and for his efforts behind and in front of the camera to promote British cinema.

While Attenborough had been a prominent character actor in his native country since the early 1940s, he also achieved much as a producer, motion picture executive and cultural impresario. At various times he was chairman of the British Film Institute, Channel 4, Goldcrest Films, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and Capital Radio and a director of the Young Vic and the British Film Institute. In the late ’70s, he helped preserve and restore London’s Duke of York Theater.

A career in film directing began in 1969 with an adaptation of Joan Littlewood’s biting musical satire “Oh! What a Lovely War.” Few of his directing efforts achieved the stature of “Gandhi,” which he had championed for more than 20 years. But there were noteworthy attempts to deal with historical and biographical subjects including “Cry Freedom,” about South African apartheid; “Chaplin,” a biography of the immortal screen comic; and “Shadowlands,” based on William Nicholson’s play focusing on British writer C.S. Lewis.

“I have no interest in being remembered as a great creative filmmaker,” he once said. “I want to be remembered as a storyteller.”

Despite more than 50 years as a stage and screen actor — including supporting roles in adventure pics “The Flight of the Phoenix” (1965) and “The Sand Pebbles” (1966) and “Doctor Dolittle” (1967) — it was only in 1992 that Attenborough achieved widespread international recognition for his starring role in “Jurassic Park,” the largest-grossing film ever at the time. (Later acting credits included Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” and the Cate Blanchett starrer “Elizabeth.”)

In the late 1950s, in an effort to enhance the quality of his movie assignments, Attenborough united with writer-director Bryan Forbes to create Beaver Films. Their first effort, 1960’s “The Angry Silence,” was a sharply defined working-class drama, part of the new generation of realistic British films. In addition, Beaver produced “The League of Gentlemen,” “Whistle Down the Wind,” “The L-Shaped Room” and “Seance on a Wet Afternoon” between 1961 and 1964. The last film, in which Attenborough co-starred with Kim Stanley, brought him the British Academy Award along with his work in “Guns at Batasi.” The positive reception for “Seance” in the U.S. coupled with his supporting role in hit WWII actioner “The Great Escape” in 1963 led to a career as a Hollywood character actor starting with “The Flight of the Phoenix” (1965) and “The Sand Pebbles” (1966).

In 1967 he appeared in the big-budget musical “Doctor Dolittle,” which brought him a Golden Globe for supporting actor.

With the help of British actors including Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, John Mills and Michael Redgrave, Attenborough was able to persuade Paramount Pictures to bank his debut directing effort, an adaptation of Joan Littlewood’s WWI fantasia “Oh What a Lovely War.” Though not a financial success in the U.S., the film was honored with a Golden Globe and six British Academy Awards.

Attenborough continued to act in films through the early ’70s in such efforts as “David Copperfield,” “A Severed Head,” “Loot” and the chilling “10 Rillington Place,” in which he played a mass murderer. By 1972 he had the money to shoot biographical adventure “Young Winston,” based on the early life of Winston Churchill. The pic was well received, but his next film, 1977’s “A Bridge Too Far,” sported an international name cast but was a $25 million flop.

To produce and direct his next film, a biography of the life of Indian pacifist leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, Attenborough beat the bushes for 20 years and redoubled his efforts only after Lean abandoned a similar project. He turned down an offer to be associate director of Britain’s National Theater, mortgaged his house, sold his cars, pawned his paintings, took on a number of subpar roles in films such as “Brannigan,” “Rosebud” and “Ten Little Indians” and made a poor directing choice in “Magic” for producer Joseph E. Levine, basically done as a favor to interest Levine in financing “Gandhi.”

With the help of Goldcrest Films and Indian’s National Film Development Corp., Attenborough had financing in hand by the end of the 1970s. He passed on several prominent actors such as Alec Guinness and Dustin Hoffman to cast a highly regarded Royal Shakespeare Company actor, Ben Kingsley, who was part Indian.

The film copped eight Oscars, including two for Attenborough as best director and for producing the best picture. Attenborough detailed his struggle to make the film in a book, “In Search of Gandhi,” published in 1982.

In 1985, he was named chairman of Goldcrest just after he completed work on a failed film adaptation of the Broadway musical “A Chorus Line.” His next film, also a personal project, was “Cry Freedom,” the story of British journalist Donald Woods (played by Kevin Kline) and South African activist-martyr Steven Biko (a role for which Denzel Washington received a supporting actor Oscar nomination).

His 1992 biopic “Chaplin” was less successful, though Robert Downey Jr. drew a deserved Oscar nomination for best actor. The following year Attenborough directed Anthony Hopkins and Oscar nominated Debra Winger in “Shadowlands,” which proved both a commercial and critical success.

That was the same year Attenborough’s face finally become familiar across America (and the world) in “Jurassic Park,” Spielberg’s monumental blockbuster based on Michael Crichton’s novel. It was his first acting assignment in 13 years and led to further work in front of the camera: He played Kris Kringle in John Hughes’ remake of “The Miracle on 34th Street” for the Fox Network, and over the next several years appeared in roles in Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet,” the Cate Blanchett starrer “Elizabeth” and telepic “The Railway Children” (2000). In 2006 he appeared in “Welcome to World War One,” a documentary about the making of “Oh! What a Lovely War.”

Attenborough was still directing, too. In 1996 he helmed “In Love and War,” starring Chris O’Donnell and Sandra Bullock in the story of the young Ernest Hemingay and a nurse he loved after he was injured in WWI. His 1999 film “Grey Owl” starred Pierce Brosnan as a Canadian fur trapper who became a conservationist. Attenborough attempted a film that, like “Gandhi,” carried a sociopolitical message, but Variety called the direction “old fashioned.”
After an absence of eight years, Attenborough directed the sentimental tale “Closing the Ring” (2007), starring Christopher Plummer and Shirley MacLaine.

In May 2012 Attenborough teamed with Martin Scorsese and Anthony Haas to develop the film “Silver Ghost,” a drama based on the true story of the founding of Rolls Royce. Attenborough was to direct, but he was in rapidly declining health after suffering a stroke in 2008 that left him in a wheelchair.

The oldest son of an Anglo-Saxon scholar and university administrator, Attenborough was the eldest of three sons. (Brother David is a naturalist behind many acclaimed BBC documentary series). His mother, the former Mary Clegg, was the daughter of art historian Samuel Clegg.

Born in Cambridge, he was already involved in amateur theatrics by his teens. In 1940 Attenborough won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, making his professional debut while still a student in a production of Eugene O’Neill’s “Ah Wilderness!” In 1942 he made his screen debut in Noel Coward’s “In Which We Serve,” directed by David Lean.

RADA honored him with the Bancroft Medal for fine acting in 1942 and, upon leaving school, he made his West End debut in Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing.” Significant roles in productions of “Twelfth Night” and “Brighton Rock” followed before Attenborough enlisted in the Royal Air Force, becoming part of its film unit. He also flew film reconnaissance missions over Germany during the war.

In 1946 he signed a contract with producers John and Ray Boulting. He reprised his stage role in the film version of “Brighton Rock,” followed by “The Guinea Pig” in 1948 and “The Gift Horse” in 1952.

His film career sputtered in the 1950s: Projects like “Eight O’Clock Walk” and “The Baby and the Battleship” were abysmal. So he returned to the stage in “To Dorothy, a Son,” “Double Image” and Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” (appearing in the original cast as Detective Sergeant Trotter), which became England’s longest-running show.

Beginning in 1956, the film side picked up when he appeared for the Boultings in a series of social satires including “Private’s Progress” and “I’m All Right, Jack.”

His autobiography “Entirely Up to You, Darling” was published in 2008.

Attenborough was married in early 1945 to actress Sheila Sim, with whom he had three children, Jane, Charlotte and Michael, all of whom worked in the performing arts.

Upon hearing about his death, Steven Spielberg issued the following statement about Attenborough: “Dickie Attenborough was passionate about everything in his life – family, friends, country and career. He made a gift to the world with his emotional epic “Ghandi” and he was the perfect ringmaster to bring the dinosaurs back to life as John Hammond in ‘Jurassic Park.’ He was a dear friend and I am standing in an endless line of those who completely adored him.”

Richard Attenborough, Oscar-Winning Director of ‘Gandhi,’ Dies at 90

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Carmel Dagan

Richard Attenborough, who was honored for his helming and production of the 1982 Oscar best picture “Gandhi” but was best known to American audiences for his role in Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” and its first sequel as park creator John Hammond, died on Sunday, his son tells BBC News. He was 90.

The stocky British filmmaker was awarded a life peerage by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for his stage work and for his efforts behind and in front of the camera to promote British cinema.

While Attenborough had been a prominent character actor in his native country since the early 1940s, he also achieved much as a producer, motion picture executive and cultural impresario. At various times he was chairman of the British Film Institute, Channel 4, Goldcrest Films, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and Capital Radio and a director of the Young Vic and the British Film Institute. In the late ’70s, he helped preserve and restore London’s Duke of York Theater.

A career in film directing began in 1969 with an adaptation of Joan Littlewood’s biting musical satire “Oh! What a Lovely War.” Few of his directing efforts achieved the stature of “Gandhi,” which he had championed for more than 20 years. But there were noteworthy attempts to deal with historical and biographical subjects including “Cry Freedom,” about South African apartheid; “Chaplin,” a biography of the immortal screen comic; and “Shadowlands,” based on William Nicholson’s play focusing on British writer C.S. Lewis.

“I have no interest in being remembered as a great creative filmmaker,” he once said. “I want to be remembered as a storyteller.”

Despite more than 50 years as a stage and screen actor — including supporting roles in adventure pics “The Flight of the Phoenix” (1965) and “The Sand Pebbles” (1966) and “Doctor Dolittle” (1967) — it was only in 1992 that Attenborough achieved widespread international recognition for his starring role in “Jurassic Park,” the largest-grossing film ever at the time. (Later acting credits included Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” and the Cate Blanchett starrer “Elizabeth.”)

In the late 1950s, in an effort to enhance the quality of his movie assignments, Attenborough united with writer-director Bryan Forbes to create Beaver Films. Their first effort, 1960’s “The Angry Silence,” was a sharply defined working-class drama, part of the new generation of realistic British films. In addition, Beaver produced “The League of Gentlemen,” “Whistle Down the Wind,” “The L-Shaped Room” and “Seance on a Wet Afternoon” between 1961 and 1964. The last film, in which Attenborough co-starred with Kim Stanley, brought him the British Academy Award along with his work in “Guns at Batasi.” The positive reception for “Seance” in the U.S. coupled with his supporting role in hit WWII actioner “The Great Escape” in 1963 led to a career as a Hollywood character actor starting with “The Flight of the Phoenix” (1965) and “The Sand Pebbles” (1966).

In 1967 he appeared in the big-budget musical “Doctor Dolittle,” which brought him a Golden Globe for supporting actor.

With the help of British actors including Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, John Mills and Michael Redgrave, Attenborough was able to persuade Paramount Pictures to bank his debut directing effort, an adaptation of Joan Littlewood’s WWI fantasia “Oh What a Lovely War.” Though not a financial success in the U.S., the film was honored with a Golden Globe and six British Academy Awards.

Attenborough continued to act in films through the early ’70s in such efforts as “David Copperfield,” “A Severed Head,” “Loot” and the chilling “10 Rillington Place,” in which he played a mass murderer. By 1972 he had the money to shoot biographical adventure “Young Winston,” based on the early life of Winston Churchill. The pic was well received, but his next film, 1977’s “A Bridge Too Far,” sported an international name cast but was a $25 million flop.

To produce and direct his next film, a biography of the life of Indian pacifist leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, Attenborough beat the bushes for 20 years and redoubled his efforts only after Lean abandoned a similar project. He turned down an offer to be associate director of Britain’s National Theater, mortgaged his house, sold his cars, pawned his paintings, took on a number of subpar roles in films such as “Brannigan,” “Rosebud” and “Ten Little Indians” and made a poor directing choice in “Magic” for producer Joseph E. Levine, basically done as a favor to interest Levine in financing “Gandhi.”

With the help of Goldcrest Films and Indian’s National Film Development Corp., Attenborough had financing in hand by the end of the 1970s. He passed on several prominent actors such as Alec Guinness and Dustin Hoffman to cast a highly regarded Royal Shakespeare Company actor, Ben Kingsley, who was part Indian.

The film copped eight Oscars, including two for Attenborough as best director and for producing the best picture. Attenborough detailed his struggle to make the film in a book, “In Search of Gandhi,” published in 1982.

In 1985, he was named chairman of Goldcrest just after he completed work on a failed film adaptation of the Broadway musical “A Chorus Line.” His next film, also a personal project, was “Cry Freedom,” the story of British journalist Donald Woods (played by Kevin Kline) and South African activist-martyr Steven Biko (a role for which Denzel Washington received a supporting actor Oscar nomination).

His 1992 biopic “Chaplin” was less successful, though Robert Downey Jr. drew a deserved Oscar nomination for best actor. The following year Attenborough directed Anthony Hopkins and Oscar nominated Debra Winger in “Shadowlands,” which proved both a commercial and critical success.

That was the same year Attenborough’s face finally become familiar across America (and the world) in “Jurassic Park,” Spielberg’s monumental blockbuster based on Michael Crichton’s novel. It was his first acting assignment in 13 years and led to further work in front of the camera: He played Kris Kringle in John Hughes’ remake of “The Miracle on 34th Street” for the Fox Network, and over the next several years appeared in roles in Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet,” the Cate Blanchett starrer “Elizabeth” and telepic “The Railway Children” (2000). In 2006 he appeared in “Welcome to World War One,” a documentary about the making of “Oh! What a Lovely War.”

Attenborough was still directing, too. In 1996 he helmed “In Love and War,” starring Chris O’Donnell and Sandra Bullock in the story of the young Ernest Hemingay and a nurse he loved after he was injured in WWI. His 1999 film “Grey Owl” starred Pierce Brosnan as a Canadian fur trapper who became a conservationist. Attenborough attempted a film that, like “Gandhi,” carried a sociopolitical message, but Variety called the direction “old fashioned.”
After an absence of eight years, Attenborough directed the sentimental tale “Closing the Ring” (2007), starring Christopher Plummer and Shirley MacLaine.

In May 2012 Attenborough teamed with Martin Scorsese and Anthony Haas to develop the film “Silver Ghost,” a drama based on the true story of the founding of Rolls Royce. Attenborough was to direct, but he was in rapidly declining health after suffering a stroke in 2008 that left him in a wheelchair.

The oldest son of an Anglo-Saxon scholar and university administrator, Attenborough was the eldest of three sons. (Brother David is a naturalist behind many acclaimed BBC documentary series). His mother, the former Mary Clegg, was the daughter of art historian Samuel Clegg.

Born in Cambridge, he was already involved in amateur theatrics by his teens. In 1940 Attenborough won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, making his professional debut while still a student in a production of Eugene O’Neill’s “Ah Wilderness!” In 1942 he made his screen debut in Noel Coward’s “In Which We Serve,” directed by David Lean.

RADA honored him with the Bancroft Medal for fine acting in 1942 and, upon leaving school, he made his West End debut in Clifford Odets’ “Awake and Sing.” Significant roles in productions of “Twelfth Night” and “Brighton Rock” followed before Attenborough enlisted in the Royal Air Force, becoming part of its film unit. He also flew film reconnaissance missions over Germany during the war.

In 1946 he signed a contract with producers John and Ray Boulting. He reprised his stage role in the film version of “Brighton Rock,” followed by “The Guinea Pig” in 1948 and “The Gift Horse” in 1952.

His film career sputtered in the 1950s: Projects like “Eight O’Clock Walk” and “The Baby and the Battleship” were abysmal. So he returned to the stage in “To Dorothy, a Son,” “Double Image” and Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” (appearing in the original cast as Detective Sergeant Trotter), which became England’s longest-running show.

Beginning in 1956, the film side picked up when he appeared for the Boultings in a series of social satires including “Private’s Progress” and “I’m All Right, Jack.”

His autobiography “Entirely Up to You, Darling” was published in 2008.

Attenborough was married in early 1945 to actress Sheila Sim, with whom he had three children, Jane, Charlotte and Michael, all of whom worked in the performing arts.

Upon hearing about his death, Steven Spielberg issued the following statement about Attenborough: “Dickie Attenborough was passionate about everything in his life – family, friends, country and career. He made a gift to the world with his emotional epic “Ghandi” and he was the perfect ringmaster to bring the dinosaurs back to life as John Hammond in ‘Jurassic Park.’ He was a dear friend and I am standing in an endless line of those who completely adored him.”

Beyoncé Leads MTV VMA Nominations with Eight, Woke Up Like This

Queen Beyoncé, unsatisfied with the size of her fiefdom, has set out to conquer MTV's Video Music Awards as well. The singer who shocked the world with her surprise visual album in December leads all contenders for the VMAs with eight nominations.

Yoncé's nominations are for three different videos: "Partition," "Pretty Hurts," and "Drunk in Love." The latter, featuring her husband Jay Z, is up for Video of the Year. Iggy Azalea trails Bey with seven nominations (tied with Eminem for second), and is also up for the top prize for "Fancy" and its Clueless-inspired video.

MTV decided to announce the nominations via Snapchat, because attempts to connect with #teens on #socialmedia will never end no matter how much we may pray to our gods. You can participate in a fraud "voting" by going to MTV's website.

Check out the full list of everyone who will lose to Beyoncé come Aug. 24 – plus some of the videos in contention – below.

Video of the Year

"Drunk In Love," Beyonce f/ Jay Z
"Fancy," Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX
"Happy," Pharrell Williams
"Chandelier," Sia
"Wrecking Ball," Miley Cyrus"

Best Female Video

"Dark Horse," Katy Perry f/ Juicy J
"Fancy," Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX
"Partition," Beyoncé
"Royals," Lorde
"Problem," Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea

Best Male Video

"Sing," Ed Sheeran f/ Pharrell Williams

"Happy," Pharrell
"All Of Me," John Legend
"Stay With Me," Sam Smith
"The Monster," Eminem f/ Rihanna

Best Pop Video

"Fancy," Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX
"Happy," Pharrell Williams
"Talk Dirty," Jason Derulo f/ 2 Chainz
"Problem," Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea
"Wake Me Up," Avicii f/ Aloe Blacc

Best Hip Hop Video

"Bezerk," Eminem
"Hold On (We're Going Home)," Drake ft. Majid Jordan
"3005," Childish Gambino
"Black Skinhead," Kanye West
"We Dem Boyz," Wiz Khalifa

Best Rock Video

"Until It's Gone," Linkin Park
"Demons," Imagine Dragons
"Do I Wanna Know," Arctic Monkeys
"Fever," The Black Keys
“Royals," Lorde

MTV Artist to Watch

"Boom Clap," Charli XCX
"Stay With Me," Sam Smith
"She Looks So Perfect," 5 Seconds of Summer
"Man Of The Year," Schoolboy Q
"Miss Movin' On," Fifth Harmony

Best Collaboration

"The Monster," Eminem f/ Rihanna
"Drunk In Love," Beyonce f/ Jay Z
"Problem," Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea
"Timber," Pitbull f/ Kesha
"Loyal," Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne & Tyga
"Dark Horse," Katy Perry f/ Juicy J

Best Video With a Social Message

“Pretty Hurts," Beyoncé
“Battle Cry," Angel Haze f/ Sia
“Hey Brother," Avicii
“Crooked Smile," J. Cole f/ TLC
“Dirty Laundry," Kelly Rowland
“One Voice," David Guetta f/ Mikky Ekko

Best Choreography

"Chandelier," Sia
"Partition," Beyoncé
“Good Kisser," Usher
"Love Never Felt So Good," Michael Jackson f/ Justin Timberlake
"Talk Dirty," Jason Derulo f/ 2 Chainz
“Hideaway," KIESZA

Best Editing

"Rap God," Eminem
"Your Life Is a Lie," MGMT
"Stay the Night," Zedd ft. Hayley Williams
"Pretty Hurts," Beyoncé
"The Walker," Fitz and The Tantrums

Best Cinematography

"City of Angels," 30 Seconds to Mars
"Pretty Hurts," Beyoncé
"Afterlife," Arcade Fire
"Hate or Glory," Gesaffelstein
"West Coast," Lana Del Rey

Best Direction

"The Writing's On the Wall," OK Go
"Turn Down For What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
"Wrecking Ball," Miley Cyrus
"Pretty Hurts," Beyoncé
"The Monster," Eminem f/ Rihanna

Best Art Direction

"Reflektor," Arcade Fire
"Turn Down For What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
"Fancy," Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
"Rap God," Eminem
"Tamale," Tyler, The Creator

Best Visual Effects

"Turn Down For What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
"The Writing's On the Wall," OK Go
"Grab Her!" Disclosure
"Rap God," Eminem
"Lazaretto," Jack White

MTV Clubland Award

"Stay the Night," Zedd f/ Hayley Williams
"Turn Down For What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
"Summer," Calvin Harris
"Animal," Martin Garrix
"Grab Her!" Disclosure

Beyoncé Leads MTV VMA Nominations with Eight, Woke Up Like This

Posted by Snow Wide No comments

Queen Beyoncé, unsatisfied with the size of her fiefdom, has set out to conquer MTV's Video Music Awards as well. The singer who shocked the world with her surprise visual album in December leads all contenders for the VMAs with eight nominations.

Yoncé's nominations are for three different videos: "Partition," "Pretty Hurts," and "Drunk in Love." The latter, featuring her husband Jay Z, is up for Video of the Year. Iggy Azalea trails Bey with seven nominations (tied with Eminem for second), and is also up for the top prize for "Fancy" and its Clueless-inspired video.

MTV decided to announce the nominations via Snapchat, because attempts to connect with #teens on #socialmedia will never end no matter how much we may pray to our gods. You can participate in a fraud "voting" by going to MTV's website.

Check out the full list of everyone who will lose to Beyoncé come Aug. 24 – plus some of the videos in contention – below.

Video of the Year

"Drunk In Love," Beyonce f/ Jay Z
"Fancy," Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX
"Happy," Pharrell Williams
"Chandelier," Sia
"Wrecking Ball," Miley Cyrus"

Best Female Video

"Dark Horse," Katy Perry f/ Juicy J
"Fancy," Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX
"Partition," Beyoncé
"Royals," Lorde
"Problem," Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea

Best Male Video

"Sing," Ed Sheeran f/ Pharrell Williams

"Happy," Pharrell
"All Of Me," John Legend
"Stay With Me," Sam Smith
"The Monster," Eminem f/ Rihanna

Best Pop Video

"Fancy," Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX
"Happy," Pharrell Williams
"Talk Dirty," Jason Derulo f/ 2 Chainz
"Problem," Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea
"Wake Me Up," Avicii f/ Aloe Blacc

Best Hip Hop Video

"Bezerk," Eminem
"Hold On (We're Going Home)," Drake ft. Majid Jordan
"3005," Childish Gambino
"Black Skinhead," Kanye West
"We Dem Boyz," Wiz Khalifa

Best Rock Video

"Until It's Gone," Linkin Park
"Demons," Imagine Dragons
"Do I Wanna Know," Arctic Monkeys
"Fever," The Black Keys
“Royals," Lorde

MTV Artist to Watch

"Boom Clap," Charli XCX
"Stay With Me," Sam Smith
"She Looks So Perfect," 5 Seconds of Summer
"Man Of The Year," Schoolboy Q
"Miss Movin' On," Fifth Harmony

Best Collaboration

"The Monster," Eminem f/ Rihanna
"Drunk In Love," Beyonce f/ Jay Z
"Problem," Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea
"Timber," Pitbull f/ Kesha
"Loyal," Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne & Tyga
"Dark Horse," Katy Perry f/ Juicy J

Best Video With a Social Message

“Pretty Hurts," Beyoncé
“Battle Cry," Angel Haze f/ Sia
“Hey Brother," Avicii
“Crooked Smile," J. Cole f/ TLC
“Dirty Laundry," Kelly Rowland
“One Voice," David Guetta f/ Mikky Ekko

Best Choreography

"Chandelier," Sia
"Partition," Beyoncé
“Good Kisser," Usher
"Love Never Felt So Good," Michael Jackson f/ Justin Timberlake
"Talk Dirty," Jason Derulo f/ 2 Chainz
“Hideaway," KIESZA

Best Editing

"Rap God," Eminem
"Your Life Is a Lie," MGMT
"Stay the Night," Zedd ft. Hayley Williams
"Pretty Hurts," Beyoncé
"The Walker," Fitz and The Tantrums

Best Cinematography

"City of Angels," 30 Seconds to Mars
"Pretty Hurts," Beyoncé
"Afterlife," Arcade Fire
"Hate or Glory," Gesaffelstein
"West Coast," Lana Del Rey

Best Direction

"The Writing's On the Wall," OK Go
"Turn Down For What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
"Wrecking Ball," Miley Cyrus
"Pretty Hurts," Beyoncé
"The Monster," Eminem f/ Rihanna

Best Art Direction

"Reflektor," Arcade Fire
"Turn Down For What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
"Fancy," Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
"Rap God," Eminem
"Tamale," Tyler, The Creator

Best Visual Effects

"Turn Down For What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
"The Writing's On the Wall," OK Go
"Grab Her!" Disclosure
"Rap God," Eminem
"Lazaretto," Jack White

MTV Clubland Award

"Stay the Night," Zedd f/ Hayley Williams
"Turn Down For What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
"Summer," Calvin Harris
"Animal," Martin Garrix
"Grab Her!" Disclosure

2014 MTV Video Music Awards Liveblog

10:55: And now, Beyonce, apparently for the next 35 minutes? I guess that's what we get for a show in which she lost every award she was up for (at least among those presented on the live show). So settle in, we'll be back with a post full of gifs once it's all said and done. 

10:46: Jimmy Fallon comes out to do some business, then announce the winner for Video of the Year, which, yes, we're already there, because we're ceding a full forty minutes over to Beyoncé. Which ... sure? Miley Cyrus, who'd been a total nonfactor all night, wins Video of the Year for "Wrecking Ball." She's right there, but she sends a kid named Jesse up to the stage, to accept on behalf of teen runaways and homeless youth. Heck of a lot better than a shout-out to Terry Richardson, I'll say that. 

10:40: Jay Pharoah-character-in-waiting Jason Derulo joins Demi Lovato to introduce Maroon 5's performance. They're supposed to be performing from a special location, but I honestly think they're in the parking lot?

10:33: I cannot say enough how good Jennifer Lopez looks. Everybody else needs to clean up after themselves and go home. She takes the stage to introduce Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora in a performance from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Really wish that show was still on Broadway.

Also, everything about the reaction shots in this performance is great. We've got Taylor dancing with Lorde, Katy Perry clappingon Sam Smith, etc. Everything you could want in a performance you never wanted – and make no mistake, none of us wanted this.

10:27: Robin Williams is briefly memorialized, without a ton of fanfare, and I can't decide whether I'm happy or confused that Jim Carrey wasn't asked to do this instead of actually present an award. 

10:26: The Artist to Watch Award bypasses Sam Smith and 5 Seconds of Summer and Charli XCX and goes to Fifth Harmony, which is exactly the kind of "Well, I guess their fans mobilized" thing that sometimes happens. Nobody remembers Tokio Hotel, but that happened to them as well. Three-Fifths Harmony shake Sam Smith's hand. Katy Perry golf-claps for them.

10:16: Everybody' favorite youth actress Chloe Grace Moretz and Teen Wolf/The Maze Runner's Dylan O'Brien (who's lost the shades from the red carpet, but not the three-days-slungover appearance) come out to introduce 5 Seconds of Summer, who aren't even playing their fun song about American Apparel underwear, which is absolutely a mistake. After the performance, we cut away to Katy Perry and Sam Smith, who are clearly seated in the champagne lounge, far away from the riff-raff of the rest of this show.

10:09: Rockin' Lorde takes the VMA for Best Rock Video for that hard-ass banger "Royals." When she gets up, we see she's been given the Selena Gomez Memorial "Proximity to Taylor Swift" seat. She delivers her speech to the completely wrong camera, which, again, I'll happily take to be a metaphor.

10:05: If you're as bored as we are – but not quite Nicki'd out! – you can check outthe "Bang Bang" video on MTV's website.

9:56: Uzo Aduba (Emmy-winner!), Laverne Cox, and Taylor Schilling are out here to introduce Usher and Nicki Minaj, and remind us that Orange Is the New Black is going to win a bunch of awards tomorrow night that won't be bestowed by a bunch of screaming teenagers.

The sound mix is such that Usher is practically inaudible during the verses, nor can you hear Nicki much either. True to the pop-cultural moment, Nicki's kind of everywhere tonight, even if she pretty much just crosses from one side of the stage and then leaves. Usher is trying very hard to be the showman that MTV can hang their hat on, and his face is incredibly sweaty, and I'm OK with that reading as a metaphor. There is also a weird butt-to-head bump that I'm not comfortable with.

9:55: Jay Pharoah had a VERY good season on Saturday Night Live last year, and a loooot of that goodwill is getting thrown away on these increasingly irritating returns to the stage. This time, he's going his Kanye impersonation, though not really about anything.

9:47: Common takes the stage to talk about Ferguson, because when MTV wants to be able to borrow credulity, it scrounges up Common's phone number and gives him a call. He calls for a moment of silence, which he receives, before everybody goes back to screaming for Drake, the winner of the Best Hip Hop video. Drake isn't here, as he is still in a fugue state from his time filming the "Anaconda" music video.

9:43: So during this commercial break (in which Rita Ora just told us to not go anywhere "OR I'LL KILL YOU"), can we reflect on that bizarre bit of ad-libbing Taylor added to her "Shake It Off" performance?

She's not here to be bitten by snakes.

9:38: Kim Kardashian West emerges in her caftan to introduce her very good friend Sam Smith, currently Public Enemy Number One for his hatred of Grindr. He sounds slightly overwrought, but he looks good enough to never need to use a dating app anyway. 

9:34: The Newsroom's Jeff Daniels and The Majestic's Jim Carrey are out on stage now. At one time, Jim Carrey could not have been more in the heart of the MTV demographic. That time was called "your misspent and departed youth." Jeff Daniels was never at the heart of the MTV demographic, Dumb and Dumber. The sight of Jim Carrey actually throwing himself onto the ground for the approval of an uncaring Millennial horde is just the saddest thing. They're presenting Best Pop Video, and it does to the unintelligible pop deliciousness of Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea's "Problem."

Only Ariana accepts the award, for whatever reason that makes Iggy look furious. Will Ariana shout out her brother, currently held captive in the Big Brother house?? She will not. 

9:33: Looks like we're doubling down on Jay Pharoah, who comes out as Jay Z to pimp the Artist to Watch home vote (even though I thought that's what 5 Seconds of Summer won out there on the red carpet).

9:26: Time for Best Male Video, which is completely unsurprisingly won by Ed Sheeran. How many rounds are we going to go on the "Who is this Ed Sheeran?" thing before we give it up and realize that a ginger moppet Brit with the Taylor Swift seal of approval is NOT A SURPRISE when it comes to his success. 

9:21: Out of a cloud of smoke and dark magic appears Lorde, to introduce just her bestest friend in the world Taylor Swift. What is a liveblogger to do if he doesn't care for "Shake It Off" nor for Ms. Swift's chronic insincerity during "comedy" bits? Well, he scans the backup dancers for So You Think You Can Dance alums. I see you, Jasmine Harper! (He also lives for Miley Cyrus's ambiguously judgmental stares, right.) Say this for Taylor, between the giant lit-up "1989" and the fireworks and the frantic choreography, she's certainly able to craft a performance that looks a lot like A Moment.

9:14: Jay Pharoah's bit of stand-up about the women of the VMAs probably did not do much for his hopes of hosting anything on MTV some day.

9:12: Katy Perry wins Best Female Video over four videos that were actually well-made and not total embarrassments, so that's the tone we're setting for the rest of the night.

9:08: Stage charisma is the watchword during the opening performance, as Ariana Grande kicks things off with a dead-eyed "Break Free" that's void of any kind of presence or personality. This gives way to Nicki Minaj who gets more out of one pair of batted eyelashes than Ariana will all evening. Nicki's only problem is getting drowned out by the over-mixed audience. Well, that's her only problem until she has to re-emerge during the "Bang Bang" performance, which sees her rush the stage having to hold her dress together, as that costume change was just too quick for everyone. 

9:00: THE SHOW BEGINS

8:59: At some point, I think it was probably Sean Combs at first, arriving at the red carpet in some kind of flashy vehicle became a thing that had to be topped. Puffy sailed up in a yacht, eventually, so nobody can top it. Katy Perry, doing what she always does, just rolled up in a burn-orange car of some sort. The show is about to start, though, so we don't have to think about her much.

8:47: Pre-show host Christina Garibaldi looks like every contestant on Survivor who doesn't make any big moves and let's the better players carry them into the jury phase before getting cut loose and suddenly acting all indignant about people who lasted longer. 

8:44: "Boom Clap" just got used in an ad for The Fault in Our Stars Extended Edition. Maybe they'll just do this in every commercial break with every song that just got performed. (Honestly, it would probably work.)

8:40: Charli XCX is your second red-carpet musical performance of the show with a very canned-sounding "Boom Clap." Remember when SIlverchair performed the pre-show in like '96? Remember Silverchair?? They were Australian like Iggy Azalea and they sang about eating disorders.

8:38: Third-place X-Factor finishers Fifth Harmony are your first red-carpet musical performance of the show. Remember when No Doubt performed atop the Radio City Music Hall marquee in like 1995? These girls do not. 

8:32: Sway just took an hour and a half to set up a "surprise" appearance of Usher in the bleachers with the fans. MTV screws up the Usher retrieval so he's just kind of stranded there among normals for a bit. What if he had to stand there all night? Rubbing shoulders with reg'lar folk?

8:30: They kick it to Sway "with Usher," but instead he's there with Jennifer Lopez. I'll take it! J-Lo just singlehandedly showed up Iggy's ice-glam gown by a factor of 100, which makes the fact that she's announcing a video of the "Booty" remix featuring Iggy (and directing by Hype Williams) all the funnier. 

8:28: Teen Wolf's Dylen O'Brien assures us that The Maze Runner, in which he stars, "is just gonna be awesome." He's wearing sunglasses, thus robbing us of his sweet, soulful eyes. 

8:26: "I heard Nicki just beat that shit!" Miley says, of Nicki Minaj's Vimeo record-setting "Anaconda" video. A discussion of Miley's deficits in the ass department ensues. "It's not about twerking, it's about music." A year removed from "Blurred Lines" last year, Miley is getting something of an elder stateswoman vibe, which is crazy. 

8:25: Thus far, a lot of Sway's job at this pre-show is to remind the talent (Miley Cyrus, in this case) that Lucy Hale is here and they should speak to her. 

8:18: The question of how to dress for the VMAs is an open-ended one, since meat-dress avant garde stands toe-to-toe with dressed-down casual and also glammed up glitz. Iggy Azalea is wearing a silvery-white Versace dress that wouldn't be out of place on the red carpet of a real award show like the Oscars, so good for her for taking this seriously.

Twitter @MTV

8:14: "I think like we might be best friends," says Lucy Hale to previous pre-show host Taylor Swift, not realizing what a can of worms that just opened. Now Taylor has to add Lucy to her spreadsheet of Best Friends and calculate how best to cultivate that friendship through Instagram shout-outs and Ice Bucket Challenges. Or she would if she didn't just look at Lucy like she was struggling to remember her name. Meanwhile, Taylor is dressed in a pale blue onesie with letters all over it, which is in keeping with her 1989 theme, I guess because it's when she was in her infancy?

8:12: We have InstaGLAM correspondents on the scene now: Becky G and Ingrid Nilsen. Becky G has that song "Shower" that your hipster friend really wanted to become Song of Summer. Ingrid Nilsen is a YouTuber who goes by "missglamorazzi," which is a lot.

8:07: Pretty Little Liars star (and apparently a "singer" as well) Lucy Hale is co-hosting these red-carpet festivities. She just handed 5 Seconds of Summer (#5SOS!) with the first award of the night, the Artist to Watch award. With exposure like this, a full hour removed from the actual awards show, you have to imagine they will go far. 

8:05: Red Carpet Show time! The show proper doesn't start until 9pm, because the youths can stay up hella late. Jason Derulo is making a big deal about getting the fans outside to do the Wave. "The first Wave in MTV history," which is probably true, but only because nobody's made a big deal about the Wave since 1978.

---

It's the show you've all been waiting for that isn't the Emmys! The MTV Video Music Awards are broadcasting from Inglewood, California, and we're ready for as much crazy as these young artists can provide.

On tap to perform: Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Nicki Minaj will be opening the show with their "Lady Marmalade" spiritual sequel "BanKg Bang." Grande and Minaj will also perform their own hits – "Break Free" and "Anaconda," respectively – while Beyoncé will accept the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award. Rumor has it she'll be performing a medley of her entire surprise album:

2014 MTV Video Music Awards Liveblog

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10:55: And now, Beyonce, apparently for the next 35 minutes? I guess that's what we get for a show in which she lost every award she was up for (at least among those presented on the live show). So settle in, we'll be back with a post full of gifs once it's all said and done. 

10:46: Jimmy Fallon comes out to do some business, then announce the winner for Video of the Year, which, yes, we're already there, because we're ceding a full forty minutes over to Beyoncé. Which ... sure? Miley Cyrus, who'd been a total nonfactor all night, wins Video of the Year for "Wrecking Ball." She's right there, but she sends a kid named Jesse up to the stage, to accept on behalf of teen runaways and homeless youth. Heck of a lot better than a shout-out to Terry Richardson, I'll say that. 

10:40: Jay Pharoah-character-in-waiting Jason Derulo joins Demi Lovato to introduce Maroon 5's performance. They're supposed to be performing from a special location, but I honestly think they're in the parking lot?

10:33: I cannot say enough how good Jennifer Lopez looks. Everybody else needs to clean up after themselves and go home. She takes the stage to introduce Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora in a performance from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Really wish that show was still on Broadway.

Also, everything about the reaction shots in this performance is great. We've got Taylor dancing with Lorde, Katy Perry clappingon Sam Smith, etc. Everything you could want in a performance you never wanted – and make no mistake, none of us wanted this.

10:27: Robin Williams is briefly memorialized, without a ton of fanfare, and I can't decide whether I'm happy or confused that Jim Carrey wasn't asked to do this instead of actually present an award. 

10:26: The Artist to Watch Award bypasses Sam Smith and 5 Seconds of Summer and Charli XCX and goes to Fifth Harmony, which is exactly the kind of "Well, I guess their fans mobilized" thing that sometimes happens. Nobody remembers Tokio Hotel, but that happened to them as well. Three-Fifths Harmony shake Sam Smith's hand. Katy Perry golf-claps for them.

10:16: Everybody' favorite youth actress Chloe Grace Moretz and Teen Wolf/The Maze Runner's Dylan O'Brien (who's lost the shades from the red carpet, but not the three-days-slungover appearance) come out to introduce 5 Seconds of Summer, who aren't even playing their fun song about American Apparel underwear, which is absolutely a mistake. After the performance, we cut away to Katy Perry and Sam Smith, who are clearly seated in the champagne lounge, far away from the riff-raff of the rest of this show.

10:09: Rockin' Lorde takes the VMA for Best Rock Video for that hard-ass banger "Royals." When she gets up, we see she's been given the Selena Gomez Memorial "Proximity to Taylor Swift" seat. She delivers her speech to the completely wrong camera, which, again, I'll happily take to be a metaphor.

10:05: If you're as bored as we are – but not quite Nicki'd out! – you can check outthe "Bang Bang" video on MTV's website.

9:56: Uzo Aduba (Emmy-winner!), Laverne Cox, and Taylor Schilling are out here to introduce Usher and Nicki Minaj, and remind us that Orange Is the New Black is going to win a bunch of awards tomorrow night that won't be bestowed by a bunch of screaming teenagers.

The sound mix is such that Usher is practically inaudible during the verses, nor can you hear Nicki much either. True to the pop-cultural moment, Nicki's kind of everywhere tonight, even if she pretty much just crosses from one side of the stage and then leaves. Usher is trying very hard to be the showman that MTV can hang their hat on, and his face is incredibly sweaty, and I'm OK with that reading as a metaphor. There is also a weird butt-to-head bump that I'm not comfortable with.

9:55: Jay Pharoah had a VERY good season on Saturday Night Live last year, and a loooot of that goodwill is getting thrown away on these increasingly irritating returns to the stage. This time, he's going his Kanye impersonation, though not really about anything.

9:47: Common takes the stage to talk about Ferguson, because when MTV wants to be able to borrow credulity, it scrounges up Common's phone number and gives him a call. He calls for a moment of silence, which he receives, before everybody goes back to screaming for Drake, the winner of the Best Hip Hop video. Drake isn't here, as he is still in a fugue state from his time filming the "Anaconda" music video.

9:43: So during this commercial break (in which Rita Ora just told us to not go anywhere "OR I'LL KILL YOU"), can we reflect on that bizarre bit of ad-libbing Taylor added to her "Shake It Off" performance?

She's not here to be bitten by snakes.

9:38: Kim Kardashian West emerges in her caftan to introduce her very good friend Sam Smith, currently Public Enemy Number One for his hatred of Grindr. He sounds slightly overwrought, but he looks good enough to never need to use a dating app anyway. 

9:34: The Newsroom's Jeff Daniels and The Majestic's Jim Carrey are out on stage now. At one time, Jim Carrey could not have been more in the heart of the MTV demographic. That time was called "your misspent and departed youth." Jeff Daniels was never at the heart of the MTV demographic, Dumb and Dumber. The sight of Jim Carrey actually throwing himself onto the ground for the approval of an uncaring Millennial horde is just the saddest thing. They're presenting Best Pop Video, and it does to the unintelligible pop deliciousness of Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea's "Problem."

Only Ariana accepts the award, for whatever reason that makes Iggy look furious. Will Ariana shout out her brother, currently held captive in the Big Brother house?? She will not. 

9:33: Looks like we're doubling down on Jay Pharoah, who comes out as Jay Z to pimp the Artist to Watch home vote (even though I thought that's what 5 Seconds of Summer won out there on the red carpet).

9:26: Time for Best Male Video, which is completely unsurprisingly won by Ed Sheeran. How many rounds are we going to go on the "Who is this Ed Sheeran?" thing before we give it up and realize that a ginger moppet Brit with the Taylor Swift seal of approval is NOT A SURPRISE when it comes to his success. 

9:21: Out of a cloud of smoke and dark magic appears Lorde, to introduce just her bestest friend in the world Taylor Swift. What is a liveblogger to do if he doesn't care for "Shake It Off" nor for Ms. Swift's chronic insincerity during "comedy" bits? Well, he scans the backup dancers for So You Think You Can Dance alums. I see you, Jasmine Harper! (He also lives for Miley Cyrus's ambiguously judgmental stares, right.) Say this for Taylor, between the giant lit-up "1989" and the fireworks and the frantic choreography, she's certainly able to craft a performance that looks a lot like A Moment.

9:14: Jay Pharoah's bit of stand-up about the women of the VMAs probably did not do much for his hopes of hosting anything on MTV some day.

9:12: Katy Perry wins Best Female Video over four videos that were actually well-made and not total embarrassments, so that's the tone we're setting for the rest of the night.

9:08: Stage charisma is the watchword during the opening performance, as Ariana Grande kicks things off with a dead-eyed "Break Free" that's void of any kind of presence or personality. This gives way to Nicki Minaj who gets more out of one pair of batted eyelashes than Ariana will all evening. Nicki's only problem is getting drowned out by the over-mixed audience. Well, that's her only problem until she has to re-emerge during the "Bang Bang" performance, which sees her rush the stage having to hold her dress together, as that costume change was just too quick for everyone. 

9:00: THE SHOW BEGINS

8:59: At some point, I think it was probably Sean Combs at first, arriving at the red carpet in some kind of flashy vehicle became a thing that had to be topped. Puffy sailed up in a yacht, eventually, so nobody can top it. Katy Perry, doing what she always does, just rolled up in a burn-orange car of some sort. The show is about to start, though, so we don't have to think about her much.

8:47: Pre-show host Christina Garibaldi looks like every contestant on Survivor who doesn't make any big moves and let's the better players carry them into the jury phase before getting cut loose and suddenly acting all indignant about people who lasted longer. 

8:44: "Boom Clap" just got used in an ad for The Fault in Our Stars Extended Edition. Maybe they'll just do this in every commercial break with every song that just got performed. (Honestly, it would probably work.)

8:40: Charli XCX is your second red-carpet musical performance of the show with a very canned-sounding "Boom Clap." Remember when SIlverchair performed the pre-show in like '96? Remember Silverchair?? They were Australian like Iggy Azalea and they sang about eating disorders.

8:38: Third-place X-Factor finishers Fifth Harmony are your first red-carpet musical performance of the show. Remember when No Doubt performed atop the Radio City Music Hall marquee in like 1995? These girls do not. 

8:32: Sway just took an hour and a half to set up a "surprise" appearance of Usher in the bleachers with the fans. MTV screws up the Usher retrieval so he's just kind of stranded there among normals for a bit. What if he had to stand there all night? Rubbing shoulders with reg'lar folk?

8:30: They kick it to Sway "with Usher," but instead he's there with Jennifer Lopez. I'll take it! J-Lo just singlehandedly showed up Iggy's ice-glam gown by a factor of 100, which makes the fact that she's announcing a video of the "Booty" remix featuring Iggy (and directing by Hype Williams) all the funnier. 

8:28: Teen Wolf's Dylen O'Brien assures us that The Maze Runner, in which he stars, "is just gonna be awesome." He's wearing sunglasses, thus robbing us of his sweet, soulful eyes. 

8:26: "I heard Nicki just beat that shit!" Miley says, of Nicki Minaj's Vimeo record-setting "Anaconda" video. A discussion of Miley's deficits in the ass department ensues. "It's not about twerking, it's about music." A year removed from "Blurred Lines" last year, Miley is getting something of an elder stateswoman vibe, which is crazy. 

8:25: Thus far, a lot of Sway's job at this pre-show is to remind the talent (Miley Cyrus, in this case) that Lucy Hale is here and they should speak to her. 

8:18: The question of how to dress for the VMAs is an open-ended one, since meat-dress avant garde stands toe-to-toe with dressed-down casual and also glammed up glitz. Iggy Azalea is wearing a silvery-white Versace dress that wouldn't be out of place on the red carpet of a real award show like the Oscars, so good for her for taking this seriously.

Twitter @MTV

8:14: "I think like we might be best friends," says Lucy Hale to previous pre-show host Taylor Swift, not realizing what a can of worms that just opened. Now Taylor has to add Lucy to her spreadsheet of Best Friends and calculate how best to cultivate that friendship through Instagram shout-outs and Ice Bucket Challenges. Or she would if she didn't just look at Lucy like she was struggling to remember her name. Meanwhile, Taylor is dressed in a pale blue onesie with letters all over it, which is in keeping with her 1989 theme, I guess because it's when she was in her infancy?

8:12: We have InstaGLAM correspondents on the scene now: Becky G and Ingrid Nilsen. Becky G has that song "Shower" that your hipster friend really wanted to become Song of Summer. Ingrid Nilsen is a YouTuber who goes by "missglamorazzi," which is a lot.

8:07: Pretty Little Liars star (and apparently a "singer" as well) Lucy Hale is co-hosting these red-carpet festivities. She just handed 5 Seconds of Summer (#5SOS!) with the first award of the night, the Artist to Watch award. With exposure like this, a full hour removed from the actual awards show, you have to imagine they will go far. 

8:05: Red Carpet Show time! The show proper doesn't start until 9pm, because the youths can stay up hella late. Jason Derulo is making a big deal about getting the fans outside to do the Wave. "The first Wave in MTV history," which is probably true, but only because nobody's made a big deal about the Wave since 1978.

---

It's the show you've all been waiting for that isn't the Emmys! The MTV Video Music Awards are broadcasting from Inglewood, California, and we're ready for as much crazy as these young artists can provide.

On tap to perform: Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Nicki Minaj will be opening the show with their "Lady Marmalade" spiritual sequel "BanKg Bang." Grande and Minaj will also perform their own hits – "Break Free" and "Anaconda," respectively – while Beyoncé will accept the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award. Rumor has it she'll be performing a medley of her entire surprise album:

Ice Bucket Challenge ALS Donations Break $50 Million Mark

The organization raised $64 million in all of 2013

The Ice Bucket Challenge is the gift that keeps on giving for the ALS Association. The organization raised more than $10 million on Thursday alone, it said, bringing its total haul since July 29 to $53 million. For comparison’s sake, the group raised $2.2 million during the same period last year.

The contributions, which have come from more than 1 million new donors as well as some old donors, are an enormous boon for the ALS Association, whose national office raised only $19 million in all of 2012.

Since the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral in early August, social media outlets have been crowded with videos of people dumping ice on their heads after delivering a short message explaining their support for research and treatment of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Public figures who have taken the challenge include politicians like George W. Bush and movie stars like Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck.

The ALS Association is not the only organization to benefit from the viral trend. Opposition to embryonic stem cell research from some Catholics has led to an influx in donations to other charities that support ALS research without using embryonic stem cells. Project ALS, a smaller charity dedicated to ALS research, raised huge sums after Ricky Gervais and Ben Stiller took the Ice Bucket Challenge in its support.

Ice Bucket Challenge ALS Donations Break $50 Million Mark

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The organization raised $64 million in all of 2013

The Ice Bucket Challenge is the gift that keeps on giving for the ALS Association. The organization raised more than $10 million on Thursday alone, it said, bringing its total haul since July 29 to $53 million. For comparison’s sake, the group raised $2.2 million during the same period last year.

The contributions, which have come from more than 1 million new donors as well as some old donors, are an enormous boon for the ALS Association, whose national office raised only $19 million in all of 2012.

Since the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral in early August, social media outlets have been crowded with videos of people dumping ice on their heads after delivering a short message explaining their support for research and treatment of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Public figures who have taken the challenge include politicians like George W. Bush and movie stars like Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck.

The ALS Association is not the only organization to benefit from the viral trend. Opposition to embryonic stem cell research from some Catholics has led to an influx in donations to other charities that support ALS research without using embryonic stem cells. Project ALS, a smaller charity dedicated to ALS research, raised huge sums after Ricky Gervais and Ben Stiller took the Ice Bucket Challenge in its support.

Akhilesh Yadav takes jibe at BJP on 'love jihad', cites Hema Malini’s movie

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took a pot-shot at BJP for raising the issue of 'love jihad' (affairs involving Muslim boys and Hindu girls) by suggesting that its MP Hema Malini had no qualms about acting in movies which showed such relationships.

"You hear the song of BJP MP's flim 'Dharmatma'. Will it promote love or not," Yadav told reporters while replying to queries on issue of "love jihad" raised by BJP in its Uttar Pradesh executive meet.

The Chief Minister was referring to actor-turned politician and Mathura MP Hema Malini's 1975 movie, which also starred Feroz Khan.

'Love jihad' is a term coined by some Hindu groups for alleged efforts to get non-Muslim girls to convert to Islam through love affairs.

"Youth should be vigilant against love jihad. Why is the government lenient on those who indulge in such practise? Have they (youth of the minority community) got license to convert the girls of majority community," UP BJP chief Laxmikant

Bajpai said on Saturday addressing the two-day meeting of state party executive committee in Vrindavan.

Yadav also released a book "1857 ki kranti" penned by journalist Pawan Kumar Singh on Sunday.

Akhilesh Yadav takes jibe at BJP on 'love jihad', cites Hema Malini’s movie

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took a pot-shot at BJP for raising the issue of 'love jihad' (affairs involving Muslim boys and Hindu girls) by suggesting that its MP Hema Malini had no qualms about acting in movies which showed such relationships.

"You hear the song of BJP MP's flim 'Dharmatma'. Will it promote love or not," Yadav told reporters while replying to queries on issue of "love jihad" raised by BJP in its Uttar Pradesh executive meet.

The Chief Minister was referring to actor-turned politician and Mathura MP Hema Malini's 1975 movie, which also starred Feroz Khan.

'Love jihad' is a term coined by some Hindu groups for alleged efforts to get non-Muslim girls to convert to Islam through love affairs.

"Youth should be vigilant against love jihad. Why is the government lenient on those who indulge in such practise? Have they (youth of the minority community) got license to convert the girls of majority community," UP BJP chief Laxmikant

Bajpai said on Saturday addressing the two-day meeting of state party executive committee in Vrindavan.

Yadav also released a book "1857 ki kranti" penned by journalist Pawan Kumar Singh on Sunday.