2015 BBMAs Moments: The Good, the Bad, and the Kanye

The 2015 Billboard Music Awards, held Sunday at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Garden Arena, had its share of great performances. But many of those performances were upstaged by one artist who didn’t even say (or sing) a word; one that didn’t perform at all; and another who did perform but could barely be seen through a haze of pyro smoke, and could barely be heard above the din of audience boos (and between ABC censors beeping out his every other word).

Here are our picks for the most memorable moments from this year’s BBMAs. And keep in mind, “memorable” does not always mean “good.” Enjoy.

11. He’s Got It Bad, Got It Bad, Got It Bad… He’s Hot for Nicki

David Lee Roth used to be hot for teacher. Apparently now he’s hot for Nicki Minaj. On Sunday, the Van Halen lothario amusingly, slightly ickily inserted an ad-lib during his band’s comeback performance of “Panama,” changing one of that song’s already famously lecherous lines to “I’m gonna reach down between my legs and I’m gonna get Nicki Minaj to help me ease my seat back.” The “Dance the Night Away” showman, who told Yahoo Music that he only listens to EDM these days, would probably love to do some sort of remix with Nicki (who later performed at the BBMAs with superstar DJ David Guetta). He surely would have loved to at least dance with her at the awards’ afterparty. But since Nicki has yet to respond to Diamond Dave’s flirtation, we’re guessing she doesn’t want to be his Yankee Rose.

10. Taylor Swift Is Out for “Blood”

Taylor won more BBMAs trophies than any other artist Sunday, but she didn’t even perform (aside from her notorious, instantly GIF-able “Shake It Off” dance moves, which were of course on full front-row display all evening). Instead, Taylor and her ever-expanding girl-gang of celebrity besties opened the show by debuting her big-budget, Tarantino-esque “Bad Blood” video. And they practically broke the Internet anyway.

9. Fall Out Boy Is Stranger Than Fiction

Speaking of Tarantino, Fall Out Boy celebrated the release of their single “Uma Thurman” by performing it with a troupe of black-bobbed, Uma-circa-Pulp Fiction lookalikes, who all did the famous Jack Rabbit Slim’s dance. John Travolta wasn’t there to join in, but we’re sure BBMAs presenter Idina “Adele Dazeem” Menzel appreciated FOB’s spectacle. This was bizarre, but it was kind of awesome.

8. Iggy & Britney’s “Pretty Girls” Is Pretty Dull

Going into Sunday’s telecast, the television debut of Iggy Azalea and Britney Spears’s “Pretty Girls” duet seemed like it was going to be the night’s most gabbed-about moment. But disappointingly, their performance was a pretape (over at Planet Hollywood’s Axis Theater, home to Britney’s “Piece of Me” Vegas revue), and seriously, we’ve seen way more impressive miming-to-track on that other show featuring BBMAs hostess Chrissy Teigen, Spike TV’s Lip-Sync Battle. This was not good. (The much better Iggy-centric girl-powered moment of the night came when Iggy accepted Top Rap Song honors for “Fancy” and was joined at the podium by another collaborator, fabulous rising star Charli XCX, who co-wrote that track and sang its hook.)

7. Mariah Carey Goes to “Infinity,” But Not Beyond

Mimi, who like Britney now fronts her own Vegas show, has, like Britney, come under fire in recent years for allegedly lip-syncing. Well, to her credit, Mariah’s first BBMAs performance in 17 years (of her career-launching classic “Vision of Love” and new single “Infinity”) did sound live, not Memorex. But that doesn’t mean it sounded pleasant. Surely Mariah’s former arch nemesis, Nicki Minaj, was smirking in the audience during this uneven effort.

6. Ed Sheeran Is “Blood”-y Brilliant

Tori wasn’t the only artist who wowed with just an acoustic guitar. British troubadour Ed Sheeran’s “Bloodstream” provided another refreshing antidote to all of the night’s canned pop spectacles, proving that sometimes, even in Vegas, less truly is more.

5. Kelly & Kelly Receive Some Idol Worship

Say what you will about the fading, fledgling American Idol franchise, which was canceled this week, but that show created some stars whose careers will likely outlast those of many other BBMAs artists. The phenomenal Kelly Clarkson, who won Season 1 and put the show on the map, wowed with her pitch-perfect performance of “Invincible,” and then the Scooter Braun-championed Tori Kelly, who oddly only made it to the Hollywood Week round of Idol Season 9, absolutely slayed her “One to Watch” spotlight performance of “Nobody Love.” It was ironic that the performances by ex-Idol judges Nicki and Mariah weren’t nearly as excellent as the ones by the show’s alums. (Side note: Kelly Clarkson was introduced by The Sing-Off winners Pentatonix, and Nicki Minaj got an intro from The X Factor’s breakout girl group Fifth Harmony. Hurray for reality TV veterans!)

4. Nick Jonas Goes Totally ‘80s

Judging from the Patrick Nagel/Lisa Frank graphics that accompanied Nick’s blindingly neon-hued performance of “Jealous,” you would have thought he was a former member of 1980s boy band Duran Duran, not the 2000s’ JoBros. But incredibly, the youngest Jonas Brother was born in 1992. Everything old truly is new again.

3. Taylor Swift Doesn’t Forget About Molly Ringwald

Well, speaking of the ‘80s… when ageless ingénue Molly Ringwald appeared to introduce Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” performance in honor of the 30th (!!!) anniversary of The Breakfast Club, she joked that the club she really wanted to join was Taylor Swift’s above-mentioned circle of BFFs. Minutes later, Molly was spotted in the audience at Taylor’s side, dancing along Claire-style to the John Hughes anthem. And it was adorable. If Taylor ever makes a sequel to “Bad Blood,” Molly really needs to have a plum role in that video.

2. Sam Smith Gives the BBMAs the Silent Treatment

Unable to attend the BBMAs because he is currently recovering from vocal cord surgery, the Top Male Artist winner delivered a remote video message using Sharpie-scrawled, Love Actually-inspired flashcards that namechecked Taylor, Nicki, and Ed. It was far and away the best “speech” of the night. And really, the idea of Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran getting turnt up at a Vegas Chippendales is enough to render anyone speechless.

1. Kanye West Gets Booed All Day

When the BBMAs’ announcer teased Kanye’s show-closing appearance before the last commercial break, the MGM Grand audience was already vociferously booing. When Kanye’s sisters-in-law, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, introduced his performance of “All Day”/“Black Skinhead,” the booing grew louder. And then, when ‘Ye finally hit the stage, every other syllable out of his mouth had FCC-fearing soundboard operators lunging for the seven-second delay button. Additionally, there was so much fire and smoke onstage that Kanye was almost completely hidden from view; one confused audience member in the arena even asked Yahoo Music’s editor who was performing. When it was all over, disgruntled spectators streamed out of the arena before the just-released finale confetti had even hit the floor, but not before booing one more time. Kanye has given some great awards show performances in the past, but this was not one of them, since great performances usually involve the audience being able to actually see and hear the artist.

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