MMVA08: Best International Video – Artist | MuchMusic.com

MMVA08: Best International Video – Artist

May 28th, 2008

Wow – 10 whole nominees (yup, not “half,” not “a quarter,” but WHOLE). It’s contender after contender, heavy on R&B, light on the fluff, and only overflowing with groove-able goodness. So let’s get right down to it, shall we? Who are these magnificent 10 who are nominated for Best International Video – Artist and why do they deserve to be here?

Alicia Keys – No One

No one can tickle the ivories like Alicia Keys. No one can belt it out like Alicia Keys. No one can shimmy in a tight silver dress quite like Alicia Keys, or rock the over-sized one-shoulder sweater. And no one can look so good drenched in the rain like Alicia Keys. She proved all of this and more in the past few months with the video for No One, the first single off her chart-topping album As I Am. Alicia Keys: there is simply no one like her.

Chris Brown – Kiss, Kiss f. T-Pain

Which Chris Brown would you rather kiss kiss? The football jock with the fancy sports car who leers at girls in the hallway? Or the sweet shy nerd who carries the books for the girls? Well, in the video for Kiss, Kiss, Nerd Chris wins out over Jock Chris – but come June 15th, will the Real Chris win out over the other 9 nominees? (Whatever the case may be, I’m sure he would cope just fine if he were to lose out to Rihanna *wink wink nudge nudge*).

Fergie – Clumsy

For someone who is so clumsy, Fergie sure manages to look graceful. Take her performance at last year’s MMVAs for example; the big girl who doesn’t cry kept her act together and didn’t trip once. But then why is she tripping all over the place in the visual pop-up feast that is her Clumsy video? Because she’s clumsy ’cause she’s falling in love, silly! And frankly, so are we.

Flo Rida – Low f. T-Pain

The song may be called Low, but Flo Rida’s career is currently at an all-time high. The man is nominated for Best International Video and he’s performing at this year’s MMVAs! And here’s to hoping that his back-up dancers will be wearing Apple Bottom jeans and boots with the fur. It would only make sense, ya know? (PS: It seems as if the MMVAs love it when T-Pain is featured in songs, because this is his second time in the same category where he’s reared his collaborative head.)

Kanye West – Stronger

If you were to tell me that your various limbs don’t start shaking every time Kanye’s Stronger starts up, I’d know you were a dirty liar. This great 2007 redux of what was already a great Daft Punk song took the world by storm with its killer beats and rhymes – and the video ain’t too bad either, what with its clean futuristic imagery and all. Now, Kanye West will do anything for a Klondike, but what will he do for an MMVA?

Madonna – 4 Minutes f. Justin Timberlake

If you have only 4 minutes to save the world, what do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?! Well, if you’re Madonna, you call up Justin Timberlake and Timberland and together you write a club-ready pop song and then film a video that turns you inside out – literally. We’ve now seen the inside of Madonna’s cheek and the inside of Justin’s ribs – if that’s not called putting your heart and soul into a project, I don’t know what is.

Miley Cyrus – Start All Over

Miley Cyrus’s hit song may be called Start All Over, but that’s the last thing this girl has got to do. Her career keeps going up and up, even when she’s the centre of photo scandals every few months. If anything has upstaged this music video as of late, it’s her infectious and endearing self-made YouTube videos in which she dances up a storm in her bedroom, like any other teenager. She’s so unapologetically normal that we’re almost afraid an MMVA win would give this girl an ego.

Rihanna – Don’t Stop The Music

Oh Rihanna. May it be a dance-able club jam (Umbrella, Don’t Stop The Music) or a well-constructed ballad (Take A Bow), this girl is taking over the world one hit at a time. She has worked with the best (Jay-Z), has been compared to best (Beyonce), and is (allegedly) dating the best (Chris Brown), but still manages to stand out all on her own. Here’s to hoping that Rihanna never does stop the music – because we simply can’t get enough!

Sean Kingston – Beautiful Girls

Only 18-years old and he’s sampling Ben E. King? I know what you’re thinking: how could he?! But Sean Kingston’s Beautiful Girls, an homage to the good ol’ days with a stylish video full of jukeboxes and poodle skirts, is so sweet and hummable that you can’t help but let it suck you in. And then come the strings and the grandiose percussion at the end and it’s like you’ve fallen in love all over again – yearning for that milkshake to share with your high school sweetheart at make-out point. (Too far? OK – you get the point.)

Usher – Love In This Club f. Young Jeezy

The situation that Usher finds himself in in his Twilight Zone-esque video for Love In This Club doesn’t seem so bad. It seems he can’t get out of the club in which the gorgeous Keri Hilson is trying to get freaky with him. Sticking around in such an enviable situation warrants him an MMVA. Oh yeah, the song is pretty damn good too.

Next award category recap: VideoFACT Best Independent Video!

Posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 6:15 pm by Soja and is filed under MMVA2008.