One Small Step...

Since its inception, MTV's Video Music Awards has been the setting for surprising performances and appearances. However, for the past few years, these aspects of the show have been perhaps more memorable than the awards themselves. While you probably can't readily name the past four Video of the Year winners, you probably know about Britney's striptease performance in 2000, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's appearances in 2001 and 2002 and P.Diddy's high-flying performance last year. When this year's ceremony airs tonight, the show will most likely be the site of such requisite events, but we're told that there will also be some awards handed out.

This year's nominees, with the possible exception of Missy Elliott's much-lauded "Work It" video, are not as blatantly innovative as Jamiroquai's floor-moving "Virtual Insanity" clip. However, across the board, many of the nominated videos are still original in their approach. While many of the rock and hip-hop videos embrace the songs themselves, offering creative yet literal interpretations of the lyrics, many of this year's pop nominees have taken a different tack. Star power can still be strong enough to cause a sub-par video to be nominated on the basis of the artist's popularity. This year, many such stars have produced meticulously conceptual videos that are more autobiographical than artistic, while adding a new dimension to the song that results in a different sort of innovation.

One of this year's most memorable videos, at least for its scandal value, was Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River." While director Francis Lawrence insists that he and Justin never discussed the details of his breakup with Britney Spears when collaborating on the concept for the video, the clip (???) strongly alludes to their relationship. In fact, Lawrence admits that he included certain details such as using a fairy statue as a doorstop and picking a house that looked as if a "specific girl might live in it." The video also helped Justin distance himself from his clean-cut, boy band image as he slinks around the house, enacting revenge. These personal details are reflected in the somewhat haunting, attention-grabbing video, casting a new interpretation on a nondescript song.

Even the video for 50 Cent's ubiquitous party song, "In Da Club" is embedded with the same sort of autobiographical and image-defining details. From the shooting range scene to the final scene of Eminem and Dr. Dre taking notes and observing 50 in the club, the video is both illustrative of 50's resilience and his role in the Shady/Aftermath universe with respect to Dre and Eminem.

Throughout the list of other nominated artists, more examples abound of autobiographical art. Consider Jay-Z's prominent role in Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" video, X-Tina's revelation, if you will, of her more sexually explicit personality in "Dirrty" and even J.Lo's reinterpretation of "Flashdance," perhaps the most narratively autobiographical of all. While more traditionally creative videos are still recognized, this year's VMA nominations may reflect the latest extension of MTV's philosophy of in-depth access to the artists and their lives.