Sure, the red carpet and the show was televised-but that’s still only a part of the madness that went down at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Here are 15 things from backstage and on the scene that you didn’t see on TV.
1) Porn star Jenna Jameson walked the red carpet with UFC fighter Tito Ortiz, repeatedly telling the press how big of a fan she is of Justin Bieber.
2) Hey Pink! Lorena at 925-405-2300 is a fan. A big fan. The kind of fan to have an airplane with a banner circle over downtown Los Angeles for hours before the VMAs started. The banner read: “Pink U R It Tour USA Again” and then gave her name and phone number.
3) On the red carpet, All Time Low said the artist they were looking forward to seeing the most on the evening was Lady Gaga — but noted she is their labelmate on Interscope and that Jimmy Iovine would shiv them if they didn’t say that.
4) The in-theater DJ Chelsea Handler briefly introduced was Deadmau5, who was playing mixes from some of the attendees, including Robyn. The funny thing — Deadmau5 told Billboard on the red carpet that he doesn’t own a TV, so this really is his first VMAs.
5) Jay Sean called Nicki Minaj the night before the VMAs to wish her luck on her performance; Minaj will be featured on his album “Freeze Time,” which comes out Nov. 2.
6) Gregor Chigal, the owner of the house featured in Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” video walked the red carpet. He’s also the guy in the Geico ad who kisses a mini giraffe.
7) Production team Midi Mafia — also known as Bruce Waynne and Dirty Swift — says they’re working with Justin Bieber on his new album, which is working an R&B sound.
8) During the red carpet, did you notice how all the artists seemed a little, well, windblown? The entryway was set up in the causeway between the Marriott Hotel and the Nokia Theatre, creating a perfect wind tunnel and causing stylists to go frantically running after their clients between each interview on the carpet to polish their look.
9) The Jackass guys managed to find a bar in the 100 feet between the stage and the backstage press room. Their 3-D movie comes out Oct. 15 — the third in the series; the first came out in 2002 — and age is, well, taking a toll. “I feel like I’m 90 years right now from all the hospital vacations,” Bam Margera said.
10) Trey Songz is going out on tour with Usher in the fall, and says he’s thrilled to spend more time with his mentor. “He loves my position in the R&B game and told me to stay focused,” he said.
11) There are three prop Moonmen backstage so that winners can take photos and don’t have to tote their own around.
12) Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine admitted she was very nervous in the days leading up to her performance. “It’s so much prep and so much work goes into it, and it’s like ‘Poof! Done!’ There was a moment halfway through where I thought ‘Oh, nothing horrible has happened.’ And then I could really enjoy the performance and breathe.”
13) When asked backstage why she loves rappers, Chelsea Handler replied: “Because I love Black people.” She also added that Lindsay Lohan was sober when they shot the opening sequence.
14) When Gaga stepped away from the herd of photographers backstage, they jeered for her to come back on stage. Her response? “Stop booing me, you twits.”
15) “We really talked ourselves out of winning anything,” says 30 Seconds to Mars’ Jared Leto. “Against Eminem and Lady Gaga, you should only be cautiously optimistic.” And alluding to Gaga’s fashion choices, he says of all the next steps for the band “none of them involve meat underwear.”
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