So much has changed within this coronavirus era, but the music industry hasn’t stopped. Many famous musicians have access to studios and camera equipment from their own homes and MTV’s Video Music Awards has found a way to recognize artists who have made the most of their quarantine. The award show added two new categories this year: the Best Music Video From Home and the Best Quarantine Performances. Viewers can tune in August 30 to see who takes home the prize.
The event will be held at various locations throughout New York City, making it the first live performance in the city during the COVID-19 pandemic, with little to no audience. The typical categories will receive their awards while the show adds two quarantine categories that demonstrate timeliness. These changes indicate MTV’s willingness to show that while we celebrate art, precautions must be taken seriously.
The Best Music Video From Home category is clever, but the choices of songs seem somewhat bloated. The category has 10 nominations, but three of the videos are very similar to each other: “Stuck With You” by Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, “Happy Days” by Blink-182, and “Bigger Love” by John Legend. While their creativity is constrained by what is available to them, it seems like the artists have a chance to become more intimate with their fans. In all three videos, the creators decided to edit vertical videos of people doing similar actions. It does show solidarity, but it seems so on the nose that it’s not very endearing. Legend’s video has the most creative approach, showing all the videos from the perspective of Legend’s iPhone.
The other videos nominated for best video from home include Drake’s “Toosie Slide,” which features the artist flaunting his large mansion. While boastful, this video is an on-brand music video for Drake and gives insight into how the rapper lives. Twenty One Pilots “Level of Concern” shows the band seeming to make an at-home video with a camcorder and changing perspectives between bad quality and high-resolution video. “Wildflower” by 5 Seconds of Summer has the best effects of all of them. The footage shows less of what’s happening in the world right now and instead removes listeners from reality.
The category that piques more interest is Best Quarantine Performance, not only because it’s an intimate way to see an artist, but also because the streams were a platform to raise money for different organizations affected during the pandemic. In addition to philanthropy, the category features two standout performances. The first comes from Post Malone for his Nirvana Tribute stream. Not only is it a peculiar combination mash-up from the artist, but it steps Malone out of his typical sound. The stream was a fundraiser for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO.
The second performance comes from Chloe X Halle on Promathon, a virtual dance for high school seniors who missed their prom this year. The event was also a fundraiser for When We All Vote, a non-partisan organization trying to increase election participation. The performance gives the sister singers even more of a platform to show off their incredible talent. “Do It” is one of their most popular songs, and having the chance to perform it for the first time live gives new breath to the song.
While this may not be a year we want to remember, artists are making great use of their newfound free time. The music released during the quarantine helps satiate fans who are dying to go to a live show. Artists like Malone are continually evolving, Drake still releases catchy music and Chloe X Hallie has shown that they can make hit songs.
