Photo: Mazur/WireImagey
Green Day, Jay-Z, and Taylor Swift are at MTV’s Video Music Awards tonight and so is Rolling Stone! Welcome to our annual live blog, where we’ll be charting all the winners and wardrobe malfunctions as they happen. The big party is happening right now at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, where the highlight of the Red Carpet Pre-Show was astronaut and original Moonman Buzz Aldrin yelling “the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!” as he announced the nominees for Best Breakthrough Video (Matt & Kim’s “Lessons Learned” nabbed the award). The night’s biggest stories are sure to be the Janet Jackson-led Michael Jackson tribute and Lady Gaga’s multiple noms, so let’s get started!
Check out the big show’s memorable moments and catch up on who came with who in our red carpet gallery.
11:32 p.m.: Russell Brand proclaims it was a night that would have made the King of Pop proud and shouts out Joe and Jermaine Jackson in the crowd. And…. scene.
11:30 p.m.: This Is It. No, literally — the trailer for Michael Jackson’s This Is It concert film is here. It’s a small glimpse at what would have been perhaps the biggest comeback in music history.
11:24 p.m.: Jay-Z has just arrived and is walking through the bowels of Radio City to the stage. He’s 20 bars into “Empire State of Mind” before MTV gives us a shot of his face. Alicia Keys is handling the piano line. Beyoncé is singing her heart out in her seat next to Lady Gaga, who may be pleased — hard to tell with the wreath on her face. And, uh, was that the night’s second stage crasher posing next to Jay at the end?
11:15 p.m.: Class act Beyoncé invites Taylor Swift out onstage to “have her moment,” recalling how incredible she felt when she won her first Moonman with Destiny’s Child. Lady Gaga, who is now wearing a crown of thorns on her face, claps her approval. The two ladies in red embrace and walk offstage together.
11:12 p.m.: Video of the Year time already? Before Jay-Z’s big performance? Andy Samberg and Jimmy Fallon give it to Beyoncé for “Single Ladies.” Kanye would be thrilled if he was still in the house: word has it he got bounced after his outburst.
11:04 p.m.: Pink = tonight’s newest badass. Singing “Sober” while hanging upside down from a trapeze at the top of Radio City Music Hall. Beyoncé, are you taking notes on this shit? We want to see you doing the “Single Ladies” dance under water the next time you bust that out.
11:02 p.m.: Serena Williams makes an awful joke about her U.S. Open outburst as she introduces Pink.
11:00 p.m.: Eminem and Tracy Morgan’s schtick is wearing a tad thin. They announce Lady Gaga has won Best New Artist. Wonder if she’ll say anything in support of her soon-to-be-tourmate Kanye? It’s her “first fucking Moonman.” Oh, and she’s dressed like a red mummy. She dedicates her award to “God and the gays.”
10:52 p.m.: Wale and Kid Cudi pay tribute to DJ AM with “Make Her Say” briefly before the show quickly cuts to commercial.
10:50 p.m.: Eminem wins Best Hip-Hop Video and seems happy to not be the center of controversy this evening. The Kanye West boo parade continues. Em’s speech is remarkably sober, and ends with him shouting out fallen pal Proof.
10:42 p.m.: The show just got a billion percent cooler: Cyndi Lauper pops up in a video with Tracy Morgan singing “Time After Time.”
10:39 p.m.: It’s Adam Lambert’s favorite band, Muse!
10:33 p.m.: The amount of Kanye hate in the room is intense. When Diddy and Jamie-Lynn Sigler take the stage and mention his name as they get ready to unleash Best Male Video the crowd erupts in boos. The winner is T.I., who is actually in jail and unable to accept, but Diddy shouts out Atlanta and Grand Hustle in his absence.
10:23 p.m.: OK, it’s the “Single Ladies” dance … again. Granted, this is a defining moment of 2009 — and music video history — but we. want. more.
10:21 p.m.: Chace Crawford and Ne-Yo introduce Beyoncé or “Beyonceeeeeee” as Ne-Yo puts it. Based on her past VMAs performances, this could be epic.
10:18 p.m.: It’s the moment some of you have been anxiously waiting for, and some of us couldn’t care less about: the New Moon trailer that kinda leaked on Friday.
10:06 p.m.: Jennifer’s Body stars Adam Brody and Megan Fox have appeared to introduce Green Day. Billie Joe Armstrong is filling the stage with ecstatic fans from the front rows. Somewhere security is weeping. At least it’s the night’s first rock & roll moment.
10:05 p.m.: It’s Britney, bitch! Since she’s accepting via a pre-taped video, we’re safe from West-bursts.
10:03 p.m.: Kristin Cavallari and Nelly Furtado have arrived to give out the award for Best Pop Video. Beyoncé is nominated for this one — somebody please restrain Kanye now.
9:49 p.m.: This Lady Gaga performance is some sort of warped homage to Madonna’s famous 1984 “Like a Virgin” moment. Wonder what the Material Girl is thinking backstage right now … well, the giant bloody wound on her abdomen is an interesting touch, though.
9:48 p.m.: Pete Wentz is attempting to ruin Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta’s night by printing his phone number on his T-shirt.
9:38 p.m.: Taylor Swift is back, performing in the 42nd Street subway station — and on an F train! The kids packed into that super-clean F train are super-jazzed. She’s gone one stop back to the VMAs’ at Radio City, where her band is stationed on the marquee. Of course, this was taped yesterday.
9:34 p.m.: In a weird twist, it’s Russell Brand who’s reminding everyone tonight is about love. Next presenters: Jack Black and Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester (who has no idea what to do with him) for Best Rock Video. The winner: Green Day for “21 Guns.”
9:29 p.m.: Wale tells the crowd, “You can’t fault a man for speaking his mind” and gets booed.
9:22 p.m.: Best Female Video presented by Shakira and New Moon’s Taylor Lautner. Winner: Taylor Swift (thankfully it wasn’t Pink, who is wearing the same dress as Shakira — that would have been awkward). And oh snap: Kanye West has STORMED THE STAGE to stump for loser Beyoncé, who looks baffled and appalled. PANDEMONIUM. Our source inside the awards says it looks like Swift was absolutely stunned as she was escorted offstage.
9:16 p.m.: Russell Brand says tonight is about great videos and the great Michael Jackson. He’s being remarkably earnest compared to last year’s bash-a-thon. Ah, wait, he dared to diss Jay-Z in New York City. Hope you’ve got good bodyguards, man! “The Jonas Brothers have forgiven me — they have to, they’re Christians — and Barack Obama is now the president of the United States!” he says, discussing comments he made last year. “So in a way, it seems like I can say whatever I want and sort of get away with it.”
9:15 p.m.: Katy Perry has the unenviable job of following one of the most touching tributes to a pop icon in music history. Her ammunition? Queen’s “We Will Rock You” with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry on guitar.
9:12 p.m.: Annnnd Janet Jackson bursts onto the stage performing “Scream” with Michael projected on the screen behind her. Two of her dancers: Cris Judd, a.k.a. Jennifer Lopez’s ex-husband, and Tina Landon, Janet’s longtime choreographer.
9:07 p.m.: The stage has filled with “Thriller” dancers dressed in iconic outfits from Michael Jackson’s career.
9:00 p.m.: Madonna’s not-so-well-kept secret appearance has begun. She’s onstage paying tribute to Michael Jackson, sharing some very personal memories of the late King of Pop. Stay tuned for a full transcript of her heartfelt speech.

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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.