Yahoo reviews this years VMA performances

[jose]

LOW: Alicia Keys is one of the most talented singer-songwriters of the MTV generation, but you wouldn't know it from the simplistic, dumbed-down "This Girl Is On Fire," which sounds like an overly plodding remake of her half of Jay-Z's "Empire State Of Mind."

HIGH: Frank Ocean had not just the most understated performance of the evening, but the best—shades of Adele last year. He sang "Thinking About You" accompanied only by an electric rhythm guitarist, and brought the quiet heat it never would've occurred to any of the night's other performers to attempt. Even his pyromania was understated, as flames appeared behind him in a controlled burn instead of explosions. Some commentators immediately snarked that Ocean's un-showy number was the opposite of a watercooler moment. But viewers disagreed; late in the show, MTV announced that his appearance was the most tweeted-about of the night. (One of those tweets was from Lady Gaga: "Watch Frank Ocean steal this whole show. I'm dead.")

LOW: Rihanna got the show off to a non-riveting start with a medley of her raunchy "****iness" and not-so-dirty "We Found Love." The show's producers seemed to have little faith in Rihanna's performing abilities, as the stage production seemed designed to obscure her at every turn—first, when she strolled among the adoring throngs on the floor of the arena, and later, when she was again rendered invisible by huge white balls that dropped from the ceiling. (Since a balloon drop had been nixed for the President's convention appearance, maybe MTV was able to get a bargain price on falling orbs.)

HIGH: Taylor Swift ended the show with "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," which is looking to be the biggest song of 2012. Its sing-song-iness doesn't negate its pop genius, and putting the lie to the meme that she doesn't do well on awards shows, the ponytailed, short-shorts-wearing star actually belted out a few notes that Max Martin wouldn't let her on the recording.

HIGH: Though he didn't perform, Drake still managed a memorable moment in his acceptance speech, talking about growing up "black and Jewish" and taking time to "dedicate this award to any kid who's ever had a long walk home by himself."

LOW: From all indications, former collaborators Rihanna and Nicki Minaj are not currently members of each other's fan clubs. The show cut to Rihanna decidedly not applauding when Minaj was taking the stage to accept an award. But according to a tweet from "The Real World" cast member Trishelle Cannatella, we'd missed some drama. Tweeted Cannatella: "Omg #VMAs inside scoop. Nicki Minaj just told Rhianna to 'sit the [expletive] down' when she tried to hug her!!! Love it!!!"

HIGH: Pink is hard not to love, even when she's repeating herself. And it looked like she was headed into rerun territory when, after singing the "I'm coming up" part of "Get This Party Started," she literally went up with one of her patented aerial stunts. Thankfully, that was just to transport her from one stage to another, and she spent the rest of her performance of "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" earthbound. It wasn't one of her more memorable awards-show spots, but her verve carried the day. And you just about can't go wrong with suspenders as a female fashion statement, or dancers with giant candy lips for heads.

LOW: One Direction didn't appear to be singing along all that vociferously to the huge, pre-recorded chorus of "One Thing." And they definitely weren't doing any choreography. Which begs the question, at least for some of us over 16: What do they do, again?

LOW: Demi Lovato, who currently has the number-one pop radio song in the country with "Give Your Heart A Break," had her performance relegated to the pre-show. Give Sonny a chance!

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i agree with yahoo :\ a bit late but didnt see it posted x

[jemmapage]

I haven't seen the performances. YouTube is crap.

[Mr. Radio]

agree with most, except for taylor (that song is so terrible).

[amar]

demis performance was pretty good

[Starfish]

ooft

[Road2Love]

I agree. I think ****iness was good though minus two flops rap. If that is the best rap he can come up with for a song like ****iness, then he needs to stop rapping altogether!