The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards

The recently held 2006 Video Music Awards (VMA) had very strange results. The list of losers was made up of really big names while the winners were mostly interesting newcomers. It was one of those evenings when being Madonna or Aguilera didn’t matter at all.

Now a lot of fans thought that the VMA will be a big battle between the great rock band The Red Hot Chili Peppers and the hip-swiveling Latin bombshell Shakira. These two acts tied for seven nominations each. The Peppers got theirs for Dani California from the album Stadium Arcadium while Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie came from Oral Fixation 2. Both were also nominated for the hugely coveted Video of the Year Award.

But lo and behold! What we found after the dust has settled in the hotly contested race were one trophy each for these top-notchers. Shakira got hers for Best Choreography and the Peppers’ video won for Best Art Direction. But that is not as bad as what happened to other multiple nominees like Madonna with five nods for Hung Up! and Christina Aguilera with four for Ain’t No Other Man. These pop divas got nothing.

Celebrating instead with their Moonman trophies were newcomers Panic! At the Disco, Gnarls Barkley and James Blunt. Time now to check out their albums and get familiar with their music, as they are indeed the hot guys in the charts as of this moment.

Here is the complete list of VMA winners:

Video of the Year: Panic! At the Disco, I Write Sins Not Tragedies

Male Video: James Blunt, You’re Beautiful

Female Video: Kelly Clarkson, Because of You

Group Video: The All American Rejects, Move Along

Rock Video: A.F.I., Miss Murder

R ’n B Video: Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug and Bun B, Check On It from the movie Pink Panther

Dance Video: Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg, Buttons

Rap Video: Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone, Riding

Hip Hop Video: The Black Eyed Peas, My Humps

Pop Video: Pink, Stupid Girl

New Artist: Avenged Sevenfold, Bat Country

Viewer’s Choice Award: Fallout Boy, Dance Dance

Video Game Soundtrack: Marc Ecko’s Getting Up

Video Game Score: Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion

Ringtone of the Year: Fort Minor, Where’d You Go

Editing: Gnarls Barkley, Crazy

Cinematography: James Blunt, You’re Beautiful

Direction: Gnarls Barkley, Crazy

Choreography: Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean, Hips Don’t Lie

Art Direction: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dani California

Special Effects: Missy Elliot, We Run This.

Find out everything that happened at the VMA by watching the unbelievably star-studded event, which MTV Philippines will air on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. If you miss that, you can still catch the replays scheduled on Sept. 20 at 4 p.m.; Sept. 23 at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. and on Sept. 30 at 4 p.m.

Among the treats you will get are performances by Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Panic! At the Disco, T.I., The Killers, Ludacris with Pharrell, The All American Rejects, The Raconteurs, Shakira, OK Go and Justin Timberlake. You will also get to see Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Kanye West, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Diddy, Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Fall Out Boy, Axl Rose, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, 50 Cent, Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars, Busta Rhymes, Shaun White, Ne-Yo, Missy Elliot, the cast of Jackass, Amy Lee of Evanescence, Li’l Jon, Nick Lachey, Borat and Sarah Silverman.

If you are still unimpressed with all those names in one show, then maybe what will grab your attention will be the sight of the evening’s host, the irrepressible Jack Black in a Moon Man costume. Hog that TV set or shut it out.

Take note that the VMA now has a Best Ringtone category. It would be very interesting to see one of the local music awards adapt this one. Truth to tell, Ringtones and caller ringbacks and other telco gimmicks are saving the Filipino music industry from extinction. Pinoys may not be buying music products as much as they did in the past but they make sure that they have a favorite tune playing in their mobiles. And take note again, unlike CDs that you buy and own forever, these ringtones, CRBs, etc. are "leased" to users only for a one-month period. If you want to use it for another month and another, then you have to also pay again and again.