{"id":268,"date":"2020-08-31T21:43:05","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T11:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=176889"},"modified":"2020-10-16T02:11:46","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T02:11:46","slug":"the-weeknd-mtv-vmas-performance-2020","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/the-weeknd-mtv-vmas-performance-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"The Weeknd\u2019s Performance At the 2020 VMAs Proved NYC Isn\u2019t Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 30: The Weeknd performs at Edge at Hudson Yards for the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, broadcast on Sunday, August 30, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur\/MTV VMAs 2020\/Getty Images for MTV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In case you missed it, Jerry Seinfeld wrote an op-ed piece<\/a> in the New York Times<\/em> last week titled \u201cSo You Think New York Is \u2018Dead.\u2019\u201d The 66-year-old American comedian\u2019s words were a direct rebuttal to \u201csome putz on LinkedIn\u201d who had proclaimed \u201cEveryone\u2019s gone! I want 2019 back.\u201d<\/p>\n

That putz wasn\u2019t wrong. Everybody is<\/em> gone (myself included) \u2013 but as Seinfeld points out, this waiting period isn\u2019t forever and New York indeed will bounce back just like it has time and time again.<\/p>\n

\u201cReal, live, inspiring human energy exists when we coagulate together in crazy places like New York City,\u201d wrote Seinfeld. \u201cFeeling sorry for yourself because you can\u2019t go to the theater for a while is not the essential element of character that made New York the brilliant diamond of activity it will one day be again.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s MTV Video Music Awards did a very good job at bringing this point to life. The VMA organizers weren\u2019t taking cues from the fashion world; there were no surrealist films a la Dior\u2019s 2020 haute couture collection<\/a> or Schiaparelli\u2019s wondrous sketches<\/a>. No, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and many more brilliant musicians performed at various outdoor spots across NYC\u2019s five boroughs. There were no fans and some were pre-taped \u2013 but damn, there was atmosphere. There was fire. There was energy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"The
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 30: The Weeknd performs at Edge at Hudson Yards for the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, broadcast on Sunday, August 30, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur\/MTV VMAs 2020\/Getty Images for MTV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Take for instance this performance of \u201cBlinding Lights\u201d from The Weeknd which took place at Edge at Hudson Yards in Manhattan, AKA the highest outdoor Skydeck in the Western Hemisphere. The spectacular footage, captured by a roving helicopter, showed the 30-year-old surrounded by huge beams of light before a series of fireworks erupted on the Hudson River below \u2013 and the apt lyrics \u201cI can\u2019t sleep until I feel your touch\u201d rang out.<\/p>\n

READ: BELLA HADID\u2019S NEAR-NAKED VMAS MOMENT<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

On April 24, veteran Times<\/em> journalist Roger Cohen talked about this same NYC energy<\/a>. He asked his readers, \u201cWhen, when will New York come back? It\u2019s a city of energy. Energy defines New York. And how will that energy reconstitute itself?\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, The Weeknd\u2019s performance certainly breathed some of that vigor back into the city last night \u2013 and reminded the world how resilient and innovative New York really is when faced with hardship.<\/p>\n

Watch the moment below \u2013 2:36 is the climax point that you need to see. A brilliant diamond of activity, indeed.<\/p>\n