First YouTube Music Awards Features Lady Gaga’s Tears

A false double suicide and Lady Gaga with no make-up created the unexpected surprises on the very first music awards organised by YouTube.

The maiden YouTube Music Awards had a lot of unexpected moments which might have gone beyond the imagination of the director of the ceremony, Spike Jonze, and the unusual pair of hosts, Reggie Watts and Jason Schwartzman. The winners of the very first YouTube music awards included Taylor Swift, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Eminem. The ceremony was aired live online from New York.

Jonze directed live videos with Lady Gaga, Earl Sweatshirt, Eminem and M.I.A. while Watts and Schwartzman moved along the soundstage as they only had notecards to guide them. Eminem had been awarded as the Artist of the Year before he performed Rap God, which was filmed in black and white. I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift was awarded the YouTube Phenomenon, while Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were awarded the YouTube Breakthrough.

Actress Gina Gerwig started the award ceremony by being the protagonist of a live video, Afterlife by Arcade Fire. The live video was directed by Jonze. Gerwig seems to break up with her boyfriend. After that, she expresses her feelings through an interpretive dance which goes from an apartment to a forest to the soundstage. The entire thing was designed with visual trickery.

Watts and Schwartzman explained it in the very beginning that they would host the entire show with no script. They said that they would only have notecards to guide them in the show which would run for 90 minutes. They also faced technical difficulties and awkward pauses.

Lady Gaga performed Dope, her new number, as she wore only sunglasses, a plaid shirt and a black cap. She sat at the piano alone as the camera had a tight close up of her face. The glasses were eventually removed and tears were seen on Gaga's face as she kept on singing. On the other hand, Avicii performed as a dumb guy in a short film which included a false double suicide.