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2008 VMA Diaries: Red Carpet Memoirs

by Angela Bruno

The very gracious Paramore.

Objective: Survive. Status: Just barely. [Ha!] As I began to ponder the last few days, I now know why celebs need to be bathed in unicorn's milk and massaged thrice weekly: Parties. Open bars. Free food. Late nights. No-problems-at-the-door. The sense of entitlement. Expensive hotels -- with turndown service and peanut butter cookies. What a tough life. [Sigh.]  Fame (or, well, the mere observation of it, in my case), you are a fickle mistress. But just like that -- the VMAs are over. You watched the show, you be the judge. There will be no VMA punditizing here. Just behind-the-scenes moments of the big day from the Patagonial regions of the red carpet. Walk in my (luckily flat) shoes -- for 12 hours on the Paramount lot.

2008 VMA Diaries: T-Pain Puts a Hurtin' on Rhapsody Rocks

by Angela Bruno

Objective: Wind up in T-Pain's top hat by the end of the night. Status: A girl can dream. I started the evening off at the Lifebeat/Rock Band benefit show at House of Blues, where people were having the most wholesome time of their lives, playing Rock Band, watching other people play Rock Band, and waiting for Plain White T's and Panic at the Disco, who were looking Euro-crisp, to perform. But wholesome isn't the name of the game at the VMAs and T-Pain waits for no one, so I had to run to the Roxy for the Rhapsody Rocks party -- the most high-energy show of the pre-VMAs. Shoutout to DJ Stretch Armstrong, who warmed up the crowd of hipsters and cool kids like a polyurethane jogging suit. Photos, set list and everything you didnt know you ever wanted to know about T-Pain after the jump.

2008 VMA Diaries: Tag (Yes, the Body Spray) Official Kickoff Party

by Angela Bruno

Objective: Find tangible evidence that humans do, indeed, swing from chandeliers. Status: Negative. However, I did find that scenes from The Hills do, indeed, occur in nature. (See, the show is real!) L.A. culture shock set in around dinner time last night at Katana, a super swank pan-Asian situation. Or maybe it was before that, when I checked into my hotel room on the Sunset Strip and had to sign a waiver -- there's a $500 penalty for trashing the room. Aka, god knows what hath hit the fan here before, god knows what will hit the fan here again. Celebrity/model sightings at Katana were numerous, counting an ANTM finalist (they're everywhere) and Melissa Ford, aka Jessica Rabbit, who I saw again later at the Jermaine Dupri-hosted Boost Mobile -- I mean -- Tag Body Spray official VMA kickoff party at Avalon, where I ended up working/rubbernecking on the red carpet. A curious experience to say the least. Waited for Weezy. Didn't happen.

Despite JD's best efforts, the party itself was kinda weak sauce. But maybe I'm jaded. The event was also an intro to Tag Records' first artist, Q, who reminded me of a cross between Jeezy and Stephan Urquelle -- Steve Urkel's cool clone that almost wins Laura Winslow's heart. Operative word here being "almost." (Random, I know.) He performed a few songs, as did Fabolous. Polow da Don, Jazze Pha, Taye Diggs were corralled in the VIP. But not Paul Wall and Raekwon-- they walk amongst the people. JD's GF Janet Jackson was in the building -- and so was Perez Hilton, who walked out two seconds after walking in. Cheers and jeers to follow.

2008 VMA Diaries: Calle 13, Colby O Rip It for MTV Tr3s

by Angela Bruno

Objective #1. See Calle 13. Status: Achieved. Objective #2: Sidle up next to Kim Kardashian. Status: Pending. Perhaps our paths will cross this weekend, but by the time I had arrived at Level 3 for the MTV Tr3s party, she and the rest of the VIPs that RSVP'ed had already departed (with the exception of possibly some dude from this season of Project Runway, Jade from ANTM, Judy Reyes of Scrubs fame and rapper Malverde -- all of which were on the dance floor).

Foolish, because they missed avant-garde emcees Calle 13. Oh, how I love thee. Let me count the ways: frontman Residente is fly (wife me!) and tatted up in a seemingly illogical way à la Marc Jacobs; their lyrics stand for something; they infuriate my mother with their X-rated euphemisms. And, oh yes, Colby O'Donis performed, too. (Check out his exclusive Rhapsody playlist here.) Semi-grown women stormed the stage. And quivered. The bumpin' and grindin' in my periphery made it impossible to get a good shot of him. A little, um, disturbing, but that is neither here nor there. Read on for few highlights and WTH (what the hell; trying to keep it clean) moments, both good and bad.

2008 VMAs: Performers and Nominees in Their Own Words

Over the last year or so, we here at Rhapsody have gotten the chance to interview a handful of artists who have gone on to be nominated for awards at this year's VMAs. Check out some choice excerpts from the likes of Paramore, Katy Perry, Lupe Fiasco and the Ting Tings, and while you're at it, watch their nominated videos.

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Video of the Year nominees the Ting Tings on "Shut Up and Let Me Go"
Jules De Martino: We were listening to quite a lot of electro-pop bands. Talking Heads. Tom Tom Club. All those kind of '80s pop songs were really quite big in our repertoire. A lot of this is about being so let down by what happened with our last band. We were a new band that just formed and we had written about four to five songs and had done two or three gigs. We got signed very quickly by a label, Mercury. After they signed us, they sacked everyone. All these new people started arriving and we started to meet them and asked, “Well, are we still signed? What’s going on?” They'd say, "Yeah, you’re still signed. The people love your music. You’re going to carry on with the band. We think you’re cool.” So, we stayed with the label for what felt like an eternity at times, doing nothing. We weren’t touring. We weren’t doing any work, apart from sitting there and writing more songs. We had tons of songs. And eventually, the label started signing new bands and they just dropped us. It felt like we had been conned and we’d wasted all this time. At that point, when we got dropped, the frustration kicked in. And the band inevitably fell apart because of that frustration. And that’s the power of the industry. It can be a nasty place.

It was really Katie that drove me to start writing properly again with her. We started the Ting Tings by just doing riffs at parties and before we knew it, we had some songs and we were touring and everyone was saying we were a great band. So, c’est la vie.

2008 VMA Diaries: Pre-, Pre-, Pre-Show Deep Thoughts

by Angela Bruno

Welcome to the first installment of Rhapsody's 2008 VMA coverage.You will walk away with the ramblings of a blogger's meanderings through red carpets, parties, live shows, etc. I, the fly (girl) on the wall, will walk away with my weight in press credentials, a few sleep-deprivation headaches, a few good stories and nary a libel suit. Hopefully! We're talking an action-packed couple of days. So, watch this space.

I did not have cable until 2002, so the VMAs are still something of a novelty to me. As I sit here anxiously anticipating the unknown (it's a little like the blind leading the blind 'round here in the lead-up), I ponder/hyperbolize what I do know: an albino python and the best pop-star abs on record, rock hard, and the rock upon which the VMAs got their new millenium second wind! We're talking Britney's historic "I'm a Slave for You" performance. She gave you a reason to believe again (2007's performance and whether she will redeem herself this year notwithstanding)! 'Twas/is/forever will be the ultimate VMA moment. But maybe 2008's Russell Brand-hosted VMAs will find a way to usurp this notion. Other than Brand's noir/predatory/second-coming-of-Jessie Camp stylings, here's a few possible reasons why.