So now that the dust has settled, I think it’s safe to objectively reminisce on the magic and mayhem that is the MTV Video Music Awards. Obviously the buzz was about Miley Cyrus and her (in)famous performance. But there were other exciting events, Lady Gaga’s first performance of her new single “Applause” and Katy Perry closing the show with her biggest hit ever, “Roar.”
I’m not going to lie, I love the VMAs, in fact all things award-showy. I love the fashion, the performances, agreeing or disagreeing with each award won, and above all: watching the crowd’s reactions.
I know what I was excited about but I was interested to see what everyone else in the social world was excited about, talking about….and is still talking about.
The calm before the storm
Top Topics prior to airing 8/23-8/24:
- Justin Timberlake
- Lady Gaga
- Song of the Summer
- Best Song Ever
- Miley Cyrus
- Kanye West
- Nsync
- Robin Thicke
- Katy Perry
- Taylor Swift
Prior to the actual event it’s unsurprising that the preforming heavy weights dominated the conversation. This year MTV awarded the “Song of Summer” which was chosen by the fans and fury of hashtags. While a number of songs were nominated clearly the One’Ders were in full force well ahead of schedule supporting One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” which was nominated and eventually won.
Top Topics on air date 8/25:
- Miley Cyrus
- Justin Timberlake
- Lady Gaga
- NSync
- Taylor Swift
- One Direction
- Robin Thicke
- Song of the Summer
- Macklemore
- Kanye
Katy Perry just barely missed the list, ranking as the 11th most prominent topic. Taylor Swift was well acknowledged for her Best Female artist win and her style. Love them or hate them, performances reigned supreme and thus Miley-Gate was born.
8/26-8/27: 
- Miley Cyrus
- Robin Thicke
- Justin Timberlake
- Lady Gaga
- Twerking
- Taylor Swift
- Hannah Montana
- Nysnc
- Selena Gomez
- Macklemore
In the days after the show, Miley became nearly synonymous with VMA or any incarnation. Robin Thicke jumped to the top of the list in terms of conversation and lo’ and behold! Twerking joined the map!! with Hannah Montana just behind. The top performers, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Justin “coolest person ever” Timberlake and crew were the clear heavy hitters in terms of volume trends. But how did they stack up against one another?
If we define the true impact and chatter of the VMAs as the day of show and those two days after, the % can’t lie but they can be skewed.
The left chart depicts volume based on artist mentions. The chart on the right backs out affiliated mentions, for instance Justin Timberlake without mentions of Nsync. Between the two charts Robin Thicke takes the biggest hit, going from 6.5% to only 3.0% of the conversation. The scandal free crowd, Justin Timberlake, Nsync, Macklemore, Katy Perry, and, ironically, Lady Gaga all see increases in conversation share. Stay tuned for Part 2 of our VMA analysis – The Fashion and the Finance.
