My voice: Kanye's VMA outburst disappoints one-time fan

September 14, 2009

Look, here’s the deal.
I’m usually not one for awards shows. Most of the music that I listen to is never on MTV, so it usually never makes sense to me to watch the VMA’s.
I was watching football before “Entourage” came on at 9:30, when I decided to get on Facebook and Twitter. Upon arrival, I was greeted with countless status updates and tweets, typically consisting of an expletive, followed by Kanye West.
So I figured I’d watch the repeat of the VMA’s later on.
Taylor Swift, no matter what music you listen to, is an absolutely fantastic musician.
I don’t like country music, but she’s one of the only legitimately talented artists out there. She writes and performs from the heart, which deserves much credit.
She won the first award of the night. Her video for “You Belong With Me” trumped videos by Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson.
When her name was read, the look on her face told the story. She obviously had no idea she even had a chance at winning, and approached the stage with no signs of any swagger or cockiness.
She gracefully began to shout out to the country music world and elaborate on her childhood dreams of winning a moon-man.
And then Kanye West came onto the stage.
He grabbed the mic, irrelevantly apologized to Swift for his interruption, and blurted out a jerk-ish opinion of how Beyoncé
rightfully deserved the award.
A girl, nearly the same age as all of us, just won a monumental award for her music and was blindsided by the attention-seeking West.
You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.
Kanye, in his own right, is a talented musician. Personally, I think his recent auto-tuned endeavors on his last record were pitiful, but he’s been on top of the mountain.
I own every CD the man has put out, and listen to each every now and then.
But for someone that high in the pop-music hierarchy to cut down a young girl in front of millions of viewers makes me embarassed to ever say I was one of his fans.
The worst part was the few seconds that followed it.
Rightfully, he was booed off the stage. Shakira and the other guy that no one cared about (Twilight’s Taylor Lautner) stood expressionless behind a mortified Swift.
The directors attempted to cue into the next segment, but the damage had been done.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kanye’s career plummets after this.
If you think about it, he was already on his way down. Each record before “808’s and Heartbreak” boasted at least three singles, when “808’s” only had two. “Heartless” was a hit, but “Amazing” only made it onto NBA commercials and pump-up CD’s for the nation’s youth athletes.
His performances were boring. He didn’t have the energy and smash-mouth attitude he had before. He wasn’t rapping, he was singing.
Auto-tune, when used correctly, can correct some voices, but it did little for his singing attempts.
That, doubled with this incident, could very well spell the end for one of the decade’s best rappers and producers.
Of course, West owes Swift a massive public apology. Even with that, he still won’t be forgiven by the majority of America.
He made himself look like the biggest jerk in the country in front of millions of viewers.
It’s going to be a long climb back up the mountain for him, and it’s going to be difficult for him to find much support on the way back up.
If he doesn’t apologize, I’m not going to buy another one of his CD’s. And I’d like to believe I’m not alone when I say that.

By AJ Barbosa

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