Rapper Drake took the stage at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010 for his debut VMA performance. The singer performed with his producer Swizz Beatz and Mary J. Blige in a rendition of his song "Fancy".http://rapfix.mtv.com/2010/09/11/swizz-beatz-perform-vmas/ Drake recorded "Fancy" as a part of the Thank Me Later album. Thank Me Later was released in June 2010.http://www.amazon.com/Thank-Me-Later-Drake/dp/B003K1ZF2O/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_1

Drake's desire to perform at the VMA's was inspired by the 2009 performance by Lil Wayne. His 2010 performance included Blige who was originally slated to be the singer for "Fancy". Drake's producer Swizz Beatz decided her vocals on the hook of the song were important to keep. The pair joined up at the awards show for what Drake called a theater production with a lot of acting. The song was also slated at one point to be on a Swizz Beatz album before it was cut for Thank Me Later.http://rapfix.mtv.com/2010/09/11/swizz-beatz-perform-vmas/

The 27th annual Video Music Awards took place at the Nokia Center in Los Angeles, CA. MTV sponsored the event and aired the show live at 9 PM eastern with tape delayed broadcast to those in Pacific Time zone. Chelsea Handler hosted the event which also included performances by Kayne West, Usher, and Justin Bieber among others.http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1647072/20100902/minaj__nicki.jhtml

Aubrey Drake Graham was first known in the entertainment world as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, a Canadian television series. Graham was born October 24, 1986 Toronto, Ontario, Canada and moved into the music world in 2006. Taking on the name of Drake for his performances, by 2009 his "Best I Ever Had," single had reached number two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.http://www.billboard.com/column-viralvideos/drake-channels-frank-sinatra-for-vma-promo-1004110702.story#/artist/drake/bio/855020