Kanye West’s announcement to run in the 2020 United States Presidential election at the Video Music Awards has puzzled BYU–Hawaii students.
William Walter Arnett III, a senior music major from Arizona, said West’s candidacy is “as legitimate as Donald Trump’s.”
Jamie Loveridge, a sophomore from California studying linguistics, raised the very real question, “Is his vice president going to be Kanye West?”
Though West’s announcement was arguably the most talked about point of the night, students had opinions on other moments from the MTV Video Music Awards held on Aug. 30. While many students didn't watch the VMAs, they know about the highlights of the evening including Nicki Minaj verbally attacking this year’s host, Miley Cyrus, while accepting an award for Best Hip Hop Video.
F. Mat Sotogi, a senior graphic design major from Australia, said, “I just thought it was dumb. This is stuff that belongs on Twitter and Facebook and they brought it to the show where it’s live and little kids are watching it.”
Rebecca Adams, a senior psychology major from Arizona, agreed with Sotogi. She said this occurrence just shows “the public loves drama.” She said, “So stuff happening like Miley and Nicki Minaj is just everyday talk because we need something gossipy like that to talk about.” Adams said she thinks the drama at award shows is irrelevant.
When asked about his opinion on the winners, Sotogi responded, “If you had asked me five, six, or seven years ago, I probably would have had an opinion about it. Now I look at the artists, the way music is heading, and the kind of outfits they wear and I really don’t see much point to it anymore. It’s almost become like a parade now. It’s not about the talent.”
Sotogi said he doesn’t mind other people having opinions different from his. He said, “I think award shows can be fun and cool just like any other sports or corporate event. There are going to be awards shows and if this is how the VMAs hold it, then this is how they hold it. I think it’s a good thing, but some of the content involved is questionable. The world is going to go in all sorts of directions, but we can control what we view.”
The Video Music Awards (VMAs) is an awards ceremony show for music videos released over the previous year that has been held by Billboard, one of the most prominent music publication companies, on MTV for the past 31 years. West announced his candidacy upon receiving the Vanguard Award, which recognizes an artist’s creativity.