UPDATED, 1:15 PM: Memo to anyone who has suggested heads will roll at MTV over Miley Cyrus’ exuberant twerking of teddy bear and Robin Thicke at Sunday’s VMAs: The VMAs clobbered all competition for the week, with a 5.2 rating in the key 18-49 demo. The closest thing to actual competition faced by Cyrus and her Phallic Foam Finger — who continued to be a hot topic among morning infotainment hosts two days later — was the Robertson clan on A&E’s Duck Dynasty. DD clocked a 4.5 rating. (NBC’s Sunday Night Football, though tops among broadcasters, trailed far behind with a 2.7 rating.) Among all viewers, CBS’ Under The Dome reigned, despite the Time Warner Cable blackout in three of the country’s Top 5 markets, with 10.639 million viewers. That said, Dome didn’t beat Duck Dynasty by that many folks (10.07 million).
While Dome, Duck Dynasty and the VMAs all made the 10-Mil-And-Change Club last week, at the other end of the spectrum, Thursday’s edition of Al Jazeera America’s Real Money With Ali Velshi only scared up about 54,000 viewers — and that was the best showing for any of the news network’s debuting programs. In Al Jazeera America’s defense, it’s currently available in just 40-million-ish homes.
Related: About 10.1M Watch Miley Cyrus Clumsily Come Of Age On VMAs
Loads of TV industry navel lint gazers spent yesterday and today comparing former Disney Channel kid star Cyrus’ twerktastic image-adjusting performance to that of another former Disney Channel kid star, Britney Spears. Back in 2000, Spears also bunched undies nationwide when she too stripped down to an equally flesh-colored get-up and proclaimed her non-Disney-Channel-hood. All of those critics, so far as we can tell, gave an unqualified win to BritBrit in the comparison. “It was all so yawningly formulaic,” CNN’s Anderson Cooper complained of Cyrus’ performance, noting correctly that MTV is never going to change the gag, and forecasting that next year, if Cyrus still is performing, she’ll get up on the VMA stage and undergo a live colonoscopy. But, as TV has taught us, VMA Hot-Chick status is so fleeting — it takes just a bad breakup, a bad marriage, and one head shave to transform the VMA’s reining Queen of Naughtiness into last season’s dead-eyed X Factor mentor. Which is why it’s so heartening to get word from Disney Channel that they’re working like beavers to churn out the next kid star. Disney Channel reports today it has pulled off its second consecutive summer as cable TV’s No. 1 network among kids 2-11, its fifth consecutive summer as the No. 1 cable network with kids 6-11, and its 8th summer in a row as the top cable choice with tweens. The VMAs can hardly wait.
AND, the headline tells the story of why she had the performance that everyone is talking about. Ratings are top of the list for most all Hollywood Producers and Performers. “my thoughts”
I’m guessing TRASH is in and good taste is out,Dosnt say much about our youth today.
When the hell was good taste EVER “in”?
…said the old person after Elvis was on Sullivan in ’56.
…said the old person after The Beatles were on Sullivan in ’64.
…said the old person after Madonna was on Mtv in a wedding dress in ’84.
…said-
Forget it, hopefully you get the point by now.
You did NOT just compare Miley to all of the above?!?!
Except all the people you listed actually have talent.
EXACTLY!
“trash” to but “art” to others lol
She may be getting attention for this, but, for all the wrong reasons. From what I m seeing she is being laughed at. Awkward and rather embarrassing attempt to break out of tween idol status. Nothing sexy there regardless of how hard her publicists are working. Cringeworthy.
She is either being mis-managed by Larry Rudolph, or is completely unmanageable. I suspect the later. Larry is the person responsible for discovering Britney Spears and guided her career to incredible heights, (before her issues). As the years go on, MIley will be fading into oblivion, and is already a joke!
you’re terribly, wrong – her team is brilliant, and they did exactly what she needed to get “out there” – to be talked about – everyone else on the show was totally, eclipsed – no such thing as bad publicity – especially for today’s high speed news age.
This show had some wild moments in the past but it was about the talent of the performers. This appeared attention seeking and trashy…
You mean like Madonna rolling around on the floor in her dress? You ever tried singing while rolling around on the floor? The vocals are NOT going to be the highlight.
Briney’s talent has always been as a sex symbol and performer. Never her voice.
Etc., etc. It hasn’t been about the “talent” since the counterculture of the 60’s when people started listening to people who couldn’t sing well, while their parents wondered why they weren’t listining to Mario Lanza.
The music industry has simply merged with the fashion industry, and Miley is in fashion right now.
Bravo…….
All this fuss about something this show has been doing for years. Spears (who never met a lip synched song she did not love) never had a voice worth remembering. She gyrated, played with snakes, stripped and did just about the same things Cyrus is doing now. Madonna–please, she has always been about sex. Aguilera went from good girl to “dirty girl”, again, just like this chick. The only difference, is she actually has a voice.
MTV has never had good taste and never will. I stopped watching MTV ages ago, but the pearl clutching over this young “woman”, not “girl” is getting plain silly. She is past the age of consent and is free to make a fool of herself if she so chooses, so stop blaming others for what she herself does. Don’t like it, don’t watch (as I have so chosen), but these folks need to stop complaining.
you are so right, she is NOT a little girl anymore………… people lets talk about the thinks what going on in the world. And not how someone dresses at the show, it is a costume………….
Really? When’s the last time you heard someone remember the VMAs for a person’s singing???
In fairness, while I think Miley is a factor in the ratings, the other performers should also get credits – especially Lady Gaga, Kathy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars…
Trashy. And I’m in her age. Sorry Miles, bad move.
And clever MTV aired it early in the broadcast so people got talking about it ensuring the ratings win.
Personally, i don’t see what’s the fuzz is all about. Then again, my all time fave vid is Christina Aguilera’s Dirrty!
There will be a price to pay for getting mass attention for all the wrong reasons….lack of respect from former fans, huge drop in music sales, tainted image, lack of career advancement as one gets older, etc.
yes, madonna has paid a huge price for her music, her live shows and her behavior. Huge!
Yes Rico, because Duck Dynasty and Sunday Night Football are totally considered hi-brow television. And it’s totally the “youth’s” fault for the ratings, not the millions of cable subscribers.
I don’t think Miley’s performance had anything to do with the ratings unless you think all the people tuning in had knowledge of her doing that performance ahead of time. If anything the Justin Timberlake getting his special award and Lady Gaga’s return was the thing people tuned in to see. They were the draw. And if anyone took a poll I think that would be proven true.
@Greg – I was going to post the exact same thing! I definitely did not tune in in anticipation of a ridiculous performance by Miley Cyrus. Like many others, I was just an innocent bystander. Justin Timberlake and the reunion of *NSYNC is what I came to see. If I had known in advance that my eyes and brain were going to be assaulted by her rhythmless and off key hijinks on stage, I would have skipped the show and watch the show highlights on YouTube!
I didn’t have a moral issue with Miley’s performance. My issue is that it came across as manufactured, inauthentic and boring. More importantly, she chose the wrong outfit – her butt looked terrible and flabby in those shorts. Frankly, I thought she was much sexier in her “party in the USA video.
Britney, Christina and countless others have just been sexier at the same schtick.
To me, Gaga killed it. First, that girl has a crazy good body. Second, she can sing and perform at the same time. Thirdly, she’s authentic, and that’s sexy to me.
And major props to JT (and ‘NSYNC).
Timberlake performance was the most viewed moment of the night. Everyone and their mother keeps talking about miley but in a very negative way. Time will tell if you wanna go Jersey Shore or Madonna, Miley.
I love all the faux outrage over this 20 year-old pop star and her lame antics.
The shock and horror from a show that most people didn’t even watch and many more could care less about. Yet, an entire nation is having a conniption fit . . . lots more to really care about.
Plus, MTV is (or was) about Rock and Roll. Isn’t it supposed to give a collective middle finger to the status quo????
If anything, people tuned in for a potential ‘N Sync performance as that had the most buzz going into the weekend. Miley’s trashy performance is just what everyone ended up talking about afterwards.
This is exactly the reason that less and less celebrities attend MTV’s events. I bet from the look on the Smith’s it was probably the last for their family too.
the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries were full of good taste.
I have no problem with a child star breaking out of their former mold. Just do it with some damn style and talent already. Michael Jackson grabbed his crotch but he also Moonwalked us into mayhem. Madonna was never a child star so she shouldn’t even be a comparison. Janet Jackson did it with her dancing and songs. Aguilera made dirrty look sexy cause she could sing, dance and perform…and she NEVER wanted to be popcorn. The list goes on and on. But Miley Cyrus looked like a Larry Flynt escapee who was given a mic and let on stage.
When it’s obvious the gist of your entire show is to attempt to prove that you’re a sexual adult but pornographically act out when you’re clearly not fully comfortable in your body, it reeks of amateur hour. It’s as bad as Adam Lambert rolling around on stage trying to prove he belonged there cause he won a damn karaoke show then kissing a guy in his band. It’s pathetic and highly non-creative. “I wanna do something that pushes the envelope and introduces me as a sexual object. OH! I know! I’ll strap some bears on my body. Get some big bootied sistas to do the same, throw my hair in horns, gyrate badly, sing badly, gesture to my coochie every 10 secs, advertise my enormous tongue every 5, stroke a married man’s dick with a foam finger and simulate getting railroaded by him in front of a live audience, his wife, my dad and TV viewers….Yeaaah! That’ll prove I’m a hot commodity.” It proved she’s a hot mess. It looked ritualistic and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. She’s part of The Family now. OK sign to the Right Eye…yeah MC…we see you. Sould.
Couldn’t have said it better myself! Style, talent, skill, authenticity, sex appeal. Her performance lacked all of those. I also don’t understand how young women in entertainment haven’t learned the obvious lesson that basing your career on sex appeal means your career ends the day you turn 40. If she was a genuine artist, someone to whom we should be paying attention, then she’d promote her work along with the sexiness instead of just promoting her lame, 12-year-old-looking body. And don’t get me started about that whole tongue thing…
MTV should change its name to TTV, Trash Televison!
Really world who cares what she did with her freaking body it’s her choice not yours nor mine why are we making a big freaking deal out of this.BTW it is called show business.right now this very second she is making money.All while we are talking smack About The way she was dancing and yet we are still broke asses without anything better to do then,to write about Miley freaking Cyrus.I rather talk about the real issues in our world.P.S I still like her she was humping a real men not a beaver
The more people talk about this, the more Miley wins, and hence, the more music she sells. But really, Deadline, are the personal attacks against Britney necessary? She didn’t have anything to do with this performance. At least Britney had the dance moves to keep everyone entertained, even if she was stirring a little controversy along the way. Britney’s thing was the dancing, Christina’s thing was the voice, and Justin’s thing was just being an all-around badass. Miley’s thing: TBD.
It’s a mistake to equate Miley Cyrus’s “performance” to that of Elvis or The Beatles as she is simply not a pioneer or innovator. She comes across as much too desperate for attention. Her overuse of the goofy, extended tongue face and her clumsy, buffoonish “twerking” leads me to believe that within 5 years or so she will be diagnosed as bipolar. Miley, in my opinion, is heading for a crash as she appears to me to be acting out more than anything else. I’d bet she is on a pitiable mission to try and fill a void, a hollowness, within herself. I wish her the best, but fear she is sowing the seeds of her ultimate undoing.
Miley Cyrus on the VMA was totaling disgusting, and a slap in the face for Robin for allowing her to perform like that with him! Everything about her performance was nasty and ugly!
The positive slant to this article is disgusting.
She hit it out of the park
Wish I could twerk
If miley Cyrus has to exploit her body and degrade herself so cheaply, she is definitely a slut, a shameful example for our youth. She won’t have to wait til she is 50 or 60 to look old. She already looks old and used. The mileage shows Miley. Soon you’ll be an old clonker!