MTV VMAs 2010: Live Blog Coverage

The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are finally here, and we’re live-blogging it! Hop on in to see if the pop gods will allow Lady Gaga, Eminem and Beyonce to cash in on their multiple nominations. Also, check out our predictions for who will win and who should win in the Best Pop Video, Best Female Video, Best Male Video and Video Of The Year categories. (Hey—we’re psychic.) Click “more” to read on!

VMA WHITE CARPET PRE-SHOW

8:04 p.m.: Jim Cantiello is interviewing Paramore, and it seems Hayley Williams may be explaining the whole never-speaking-to-B.o.B-despite-having-a-hit-with-him thing for a long, long time.

8:08 p.m.: Katy Perry has a cold. But her boobs are on full display (business as usual, then), in what looks like a tattooed-on shirt.

8:10 p.m.: Oh, no—an exclusive clip of Jersey Shore is royally botching up the whole “I’ve managed to avoid Jersey Shore thus far, thank you” schtick.

8:18 p.m.: Snooki: what happens when you set the spray tan on the Oompa Loompa setting.

8:20 p.m.: Best Collaboration Video: Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce, “Telephone.” Absolutely deserved!

8:27 p.m.: Dynamic duo Usher and Justin Bieber are being interviewed. Biebz looks just the right amount of disaffected cool and white carpet pimp.

8:31 p.m.: Gaga also had an early win for Best Dance Video with “Bad Romance.”

8:33 p.m.: Nicki Minaj and will.i.am pre-show performance time. Her pink beehive alone should win a VMA! The two of them are doing their new single “Check It Out.” (Listen to the recorded version!)

8:35 p.m.: Will.i.am is in black face. Oh, wait…

8:41 p.m.: Wait—the Jackass cast got invited to the VMAs and we didn’t?!?

8:42 p.m.: Wait—Jackass 3-D?

8:43 p.m.: Wait—Wee Man = Snooki?

8:49 p.m.: B.o.B was given an entire three seconds of airtime for his white carpet interview. He’s finally made it!

8:51 p.m.: Hmmm. Glimpse of Kanye West‘s short film Runaway with ominous plunking piano keys.

8:53 p.m.: Ke$ha in a trash bag. Thanks for the reminder that it’s garbage night here!

8:57 p.m.: Lady Gaga giving props to Alexander McQueen by wearing a dress from his last collection (the one she wore in Vanity Fair). She’s flanked by folks from SLDN.org

2010 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

9:01 p.m.: Eminem‘s set is stunning—full lit-up virtual city skyline as he performs “Not Afraid/Love The Way You Lie” medley with Rihanna (backed by a full drum troupe, no less). RiRi’s vocals sound shaky, though :(

9:06 p.m.: Brilliant entrance for VMAs host Chelsea Handler—dressing as Lady Gaga and wearing a house on her head. ♥ her.

9:09 p.m.: Chelsea admits she’s high as a kite, and she wants to turn this mother out: “Get your tongues ready because I want one shoved where it’s not supposed to be.”

9:12 p.m.: Chelsea Handler: “Just imagine how good [Justin Bieber’s] music will be when he sees a vagina.”

9:13 p.m.: Chelsea just straddled Rick Ross on a motorcart and rode off. She could not come back and still be the best VMAs host ever.

9:16 p.m.: Best Female Video: Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”  (We said that she should win earlier this week—though figured Taylor Swift might snag the moon man. Glad we were wrong on the latter!)

9:24 p.m.: Okay, the Jackass cast is getting way too much airtime. Who still cares?!?

9:26 p.m.: Best Rock Video: 30 Seconds To Mars, “King And Queens”

9:28 p.m.: BIEBER! He’s performing outside the Nokia Theatre .

9:30 p.m.: Okay, Bieb—lip syncing? This isn’t a Britney concert, kiddo!

9:33 p.m.: Oh, well—Biebz drummed live, at least.

9:38 p.m.: Ke$ha and Trey Songz are presenting Usher. She towers over him! Wait, is Usher lip-syncing, too? Of course not—he’s not even moving his lips.

9:42 p.m.: Okay, hats off to Ush, though, because the dancing was off the hook. “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love/OMG” medley.

9:44 p.m.: Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj presenting Best Male Video. Why do we have the need to see them make out? Oh, right—cheap champagne.

9:45 p.m.: Best Male Video: Eminem, “Not Afraid” (We called this win earlier this week!)

9:53 p.m.: Florence + The Machine live performance! We’ve been dying to see this. Check out our pre-VMA interview with Flo here.

9:56 p.m.: Florence is killing it! This is how you do a live performance, Usher. “Dog Days Are Over”

9:58 p.m.: Travie McCoy performance FAIL. Of course, following Florence was always going to be tough. They even cut away from him after 40 seconds to some jacked-up Pharrell/Ciara duet. Zzzzzzzzzz.

10:05 p.m.: Lady Gaga after her Best Pop Video win for “Bad Romance”: “God bless pop music…!” PREACH.

10:10 p.m.: Taylor Swift is dressed up like Kim Basinger as Veronica Lake in L.A. Confidential, but still sounds off in her live performance…just like at the NFL Opening Kickoff concert earlier this week. So far it’s Florence for the win tonight, folks.

10:19 p.m.: More of the VMA commercials, please! Chelsea Handler calling out Justin Bieber for wearing a wig is comedy gold.

10:25 p.m.: Drake, Mary J. Blige and Swizz Beatz are on stage together. But sorry—we’re still reeling from Florence + The Machine‘s performance. It’s the one to beat tonight!

10:33 p.m.: Nasty. Chelsea just got in a hot tub with the Jersey Shore cast and probably got spray tan rings around her handler.

10:35 p.m.: Best Hip Hop Video: Eminem, “Not Afraid”

10:42 p.m.: Bruno Mars, who has the #1 single on iTunes now with “Just The Way You Are,” is performing with B.o.B, looking and sounding dapper!

10:45 p.m.: OMG! Hayley Williams and B.o.B finally meet in person, months after having a hit single together with “Airplanes.”

10:49 p.m.: ROBYN! Performing with Deadmau5! And then cut off after 30 seconds! Sad face….

10:54 p.m.: Best New Artist: Justin Bieber

10:55 p.m.: Linkin Park performing new single “The Catalyst” outside L.A.’s Griffith Park Observatory. James Dean would approve…we think. (Where’d we put that third bottle of booze?)

11:05 p.m.: Florence’s performance has just been beat by Cher….CHER…presenting Video Of The Year!

11:07 p.m.: Video Of The Year: Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”—and she announced the name of her next album, Born This Way!

11:12 p.m.: Final performance = Kanye West performing his apologetic jam “Runaway” in a red suit with ballet dancers.

11:13 p.m.: Kanye is asking for a toast for the douchebags, the assholes and the scumbags. He’s being a bit hard on himself, no?

11:15 p.m.: That’s it, folks. Thanks for hangin’, and be sure to check out all our VMA galleries from the evening and our roundup of the live performances right here on Idolator!