The MTV VMA's are held annually in honor of the best artists in the business. The 2009 awards were held in New York and were hosted by Russell Brand.

The 2009 VMA's started off with a tribute to Michael Jackson who passed away on 25 June, 2009. The opening spoken tribute was held by Madonna but throughout the awards links to the King of Pop were apparent. The premiere trailer of his last concert preparations "This Is It" was aired during the VMA's.http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/09/13/arts/AP-US-MTV-Video-Music-Awards.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=mtv%20video%20music%20awards&st=cse

During Taylor Swift's acceptance speech Kanye West jumped onto the stage, taking the singers microphone and announcing that Beyonce had one of the best videos ever.http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2009/09/13/20090913vma-larry.html Taylor Swift could not finish her acceptance speech and Kanye West was later booed and denounced by other celebrities such as P!nk.http://www.accesshollywood.com/kanye-west-interrupts-taylor-swifts-big-vma-win_article_22884

Once again the host of the VMA's, Russell Brand, did a great job at keeping the event lively in his special manner. He took the stage following Madonna's Michael Jackson tribute speech in which she outlined the King of Pop's life and drew parallels to her own life. She said it was a pity that Jackson was so heavily pursued by the public and the media all his life and compared it to a witch hunt.http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2009/09/13/20090913vma-larry.html As was to be expected Lady Gaga, winner of Best New Artist had one of the most outrageous appearances, firstly with a very explicit performance of her song "Paparazzi" and then in her acceptance speech wearing a red crown and red cloth over her face. Perhaps a tribute to Michael Jackson such as Beyonce who performed her song "Single Ladies" wearing a single glove in Michael Jackson fashion. Beyonce's performance was one of the highlights of the evening along with Green Day's "East Jesus Nowhere" and P!nk's "Sober".http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2009/09/13/20090913vma-larry.html