MTV Europe Music Awards 2010
Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have bagged five nominatons in this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards.
The pair go head-to-head in four categories: Best Pop Act, Best Song, Best Female Act and Best Video. Gaga is also up for Best Live Act, while Perry, who hosted the show last year, is up for Best World Stage performance for her fifth nomination.
MTV Has Not Banned Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' Video
CNN reported that video had been banned by channel; it actually began airing on MTV early Friday.
In the wake of reports that surfaced over the weekend claiming that MTV had banned Lady Gaga's nearly 10-minute-long video for «Telephone,» a spokesperson for the channel clarified the situation on March 15.
«MTV did not ban Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's 'Telephone' video — in fact, we premiered it on Friday, March 12, on-air and online at MTV.com, two days before this story was falsely reported,» said MTV Executive Vice President of Music and Talent Amy Doyle. «Fans can continue to catch the video as we repeat it on-air and online.» Music videos generally air on MTV weekdays between 3 a.m. and 10 a.m.
The rumor appears to have begun with a segment that aired on CNN on Sunday in which reporters Fredricka Whitfield and Jacqui Jeras discuss the video — which at press time has been viewed more than 14 million times on YouTube since its release late Thursday — and say that MTV had banned the clip. The CNN segment has circulated widely on the Internet, but does not currently appear to be on the CNN site; it can be viewed on MediaIte.com.
«It's so strong, so suggestive, so sexual, so violent as well, that MTV has said, 'We're not even going to air this, so it has banned the airing of this video,' » Whitfield said, without citing a source. At press time, a spokesperson for CNN had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment.
The «Telephone» video went live on MTV.com at 12:30 a.m. on Friday, an hour after it premiered on E!, and began airing on MTV that morning at 9:30 a.m. as part of the «Lady Gaga Artist Collection,» which ended with a full-length airing of the video, a spokesperson for the channel said.
The epic, Jonas Εkerlund-directed «Telephone» clip, already a fan favorite, stars Gaga and Beyoncé and includes a head-spinning array of pop-culture references, ranging from the obvious («Thelma and Louise,» Tarantino films) to the not-as-obvious («Dune»). Jai Rodriguez, who plays a reporter in the video, said Gaga and Beyoncé were both «epic» and focused during the shoot. Of the clip, Gaga has said she's «always trying to convolute everyone's idea of what a pop music video should be.»
Lady Gaga, Beyonce Collabos Score Loads Of VMA Nods
'Telephone' and 'Video Phone' both earned multiple nominations.
Lady Gaga and Beyoncé have hooked up on two multi-VMA-nominated videos: the epic combo of «Video Phone» and «Telephone.» The bottom line is, when Gaga calls B, she answers, and vice versa. And the VMAs are big fans of their team-ups.
Gaga and Beyoncé first paired up for B's «Video Phone,» an ode to sexting. For the clip, B embraced a number of pinup-girl looks, and Gaga embraced a more Beyoncé look, complete with white bodysuit and loose waves. The video, directed by the legendary Hype Williams, was really all about Beyoncé — and, that was Gaga's intention.
«I said, 'I want to do you in your video, and I want to tribute you. I want to dress up like you,' » Gaga recalled telling her co-star. «And Hype Williams… was so excited. He was like, 'Gaga, I want no makeup on your face.' It was really It was really stripped-down — real Beyoncé hair, and we wore the same outfit in the video, and I [paid tribute to] her.
»What I was excited about is, with B, I had no ego," Gaga explained further. «Neither of us had an ego. It wasn't about competition. It was about, like, 'Man, let's give the world what they want. Let's do a real girl-power collaboration where we support one another.' „
The ladies didn't end the girl-power antics there. Beyoncé paid Gaga back by appearing on her anti-phone club anthem “Telephone.» «Something that I have or fear is never being able to enjoy myself,» Gaga said about the track. «That's my fear — that the phone's ringing and my head's ringing. Whether it's a telephone or it's just the thoughts in your head, that's another fear.»
For the video, Gaga brought B into her dark, cartoon-like world. The video, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, sees Gaga and Beyoncé as a Tarantino-tinged Thelma and Louise, seeking revenge against evil beaus. And while Gaga paid tribute to B when she appeared in the «Video Phone» video, she made sure Beyoncé embraced all things Gaga for her video.
«The video, in a lot of ways, is more about [Beyoncé] even than it is about me,» Gaga said of the collaboration. «It was sort of a pop-art venture for me to bring her into my world. In a way, the video is an attempt for her and I to erase pop music as we know it up until this very point. It's meant to change the perspective of the world on what a pop-music video should be, and she's kind of the vehicle for that. In reality, more people around the world are familiar with her aesthetics than they are with mine. It was something for me to kind of change the way that you see her for one video.»
The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m.
The awards are due to take place in Madrid on November 7.
Best Video
Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce – Telephone