Her hips don't lie ... but can they shake up some awards at the VMAs?
Sultry Colombian pop star Shakira and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were the front-runners heading into Thursday night's 2006 MTV Video Music Awards (8 p.m. EDT), with seven nominations each for the videos "Hips Don't Lie" and "Dani California," respectively.
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The show, famous for headline-making kisses like those between Britney Spears and Madonna and Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, has plenty of fun in store.
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Justin Timberlake, who has the No. 1 song in the country with "SexyBack," was expected to kick off the show with a performance of that song. Beyonce Knowles, whose "Check on It" is nominated for best R&B video, will perform "Ring the Alarm," the second single from her new album "B'Day."
Newlywed Christina Aguilera will perform her bluesy new hit single "Ain't No Other Man." Aguilera is nominated for video of the year, best female video, best pop video and best choreography in a video.
The awards show will air live from New York's Radio City Music Hall with Jack Black as host, and include appearances by Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. Black's band, Tenacious D, was also slated to perform.
Competing for video of the year with Aguilera, Shakira and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are Madonna ("Hung Up") and Panic! At The Disco ("I Write Sins Not Tragedies").
Madonna, Shakira and Aguilera are also nominated for best female video with Kelly Clarkson ("Because of You") and Nelly Furtado ("Promiscuous").
Her Madgesty is up for another three awards, including best dance video and best pop video.
Lachey's "What's Left of Me," which recounts his breakup with Jessica Simpson, will vie for best male video with James Blunt ("You're Beautiful"), Kanye West ("Gold Digger"), T.I. ("What You Know") and Busta Rhymes (for his remix of "Touch It," featuring Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliot).
The bands for best group video include the Chili Peppers, Fall Out Boy ("Dance, Dance") and Gnarls Barkley ("Crazy").
But what really makes the VMAs fun is when the freaks come out.
Since the show’s debut in 1984, the VMAs have been host to some of TV’s most-played clips, created when superstars do the most peculiar things on camera, like the time in 2003 when Madonna planted a big fat wet one on Aguilera’s lips.
We can only imagine what Aguilera has up her sleeve for this year’s show, but in the meantime, we’ve put together some of the wildest and wackiest VMA moments culled from the show’s 20-plus-year history:
1994: King of Pop Michael Jackson brought new wife, Elvis-heiress Lisa Marie Presley, on stage and kissed her passionately after proclaiming, "No one thought this would last." Gross.
1997: While accepting the award for Best New Artist in 1997, 20-year-old Fiona Apple declared: "Everybody out there that’s watching, everybody that’s watching this world, this world is bulls--t and you shouldn’t model your life about what you think that we think is cool." Not sure we think being so ungrateful after just winning an award is cool, so we’ll try to forget that one.
2002: In celebration of Michael Jackson’s 44th birthday, Britney Spears introduced him, saying she considered him "the artist of the millennium." He then delivered an acceptance speech, saying, "When I was a little boy growing up in Indiana, if someone had told me I’d be getting the Artist of the Millennium award, I’d never have believed it." He also thanked magician David Blaine, saying "your magic is real and I believe in you." And Peter Pan too, apparently.
2003: Aguilera wasn’t the only girl Madge canoodled with at the show. Her most famous, headline-making kiss went to pop princess Britney Spears.
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