The winners of the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards

Have not received any news regarding how local rock group RiverMaya fared at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards held at the Radio Music Hall in New York last Thursday, Aug. 29. I do not also know if the winner of the Viewer’s Choice Award for Asia is still announced at the US of A Video Music Awards just like in the past, or if this is now done only in the Asian edition.

To top it all, there is still no news as to when local TV will air the awards ceremonies hosted by Jimmy Fallon of Saturday Night Live and Kirsten Dunst. I have a bad feeling this could take months as the awards rites of the MTV Movie Awards which took place last June was shown only a few days ago.

But one thing is sure, they have announced the winners and we have the list. Although we still have to see the show, we know it is always great fun to celebrate for winners of anything from anywhere. So this time will be no different as we go out and cheer for all our favorites who got their Moonman trophies from the MTV Video Music Awards.

Top winner of the evening was the controversial Eminem and his tune Without Me from the blockbuster album The Eminem Show. The rapper’s video of his latest hit won for him the Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, Best Direction by Joseph Kahn and the biggest prize of them all, the Moonman for Best Video of the Year. And this is all atop the fact that Eminem also triumphed over other deserving nominees in this category like In the End by Linkin Park; One Mic by Nas; Gone by ’N Sync; Alive by P.O.D. and Fell in Love with a Girl by the White Stripes.

Other multiple winners were Fell in Love with a Girl by White Stripes who got three awards and No Doubt’s Hey Baby and Pink’s Get the Party Started, which won two trophies each. Newcomers Michelle Branch and Avril Lavigne also won their first Moonmen, and these should augur well for them in next year’s Grammy Awards. Take note that Britney Spears did not win anything and neither did MTV’s eternal favorite Will Smith. But most of all, no Moonman went home with any boy group at the end of the ceremonies.

Here is the list:

Best Male Video: Without Me by Eminem

Best Female Video: Get the Party Started by Pink

Best Group Video: Hey Baby by No Doubt featuring Bounty Killer

Best Rap Video: Without Me by Eminem

Best R&B Video: No More Drama by Mary J. Blige

Best Hip Hop Video: I’m Real (Remix) by Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule

Best Dance Video: Get the Party Started by Pink

Best Rock Video: In the End by Linkin Park

Best Pop Video: Hey Baby by No Doubt featuring Bounty Killer

Best New Artist in a Video: Avril Lavigne in Complicated

Best Video from a Film: Hero from Spider-Man by Chad Kroeger with Josey Scott

MTV2 Award: Dashboard Confessional, Screaming Infidelities

Viewer’s Choice Award: Michelle Branch, Everywhere

Breakthrough Video; Fell in Love with a Girl by The White Stripes

Best Direction: Joseph Kahn for Without Me by Eminem

Best Choreography: Michael Rooney for Can’t Get You Out of My Mind by Kylie Minogue

Best Special Effects: Michael Gondry, Oliver "Twist" Grundy and Sebastian Fau for Fell in Love with a Girl by The White Stripes

Best Art Direction: Tim Hope for Trouble by Coldplay

Best Editing: Samuel Denesi for Fell in Love with a Girl by White Stripes

Best Cinematography: Brad Rushings for We are Made of Stars by Moby.

This year’s VMA show took note of the fact that Sept. 11, the date that forever changed the world and New York in particular, is fast approaching. Former New York City mayor Rudi Guillani, one of the heroes of that disastrous event, was a guest. Tribute was also paid to Lisa Left Eye Lopez of TLC who died in a car crash some months ago and the remaining members of the R&B trio announced the establishment of the Lisa Lopez foundation that will help victims of AIDS.