2014 Billboard Music Awards (2014) Reviews

• Not as horrible as other recent editions doesn't mean it's good though

  Horst_In_Translation2017-11-05

  Here we have the "2014 Billboard Music Awards" and the title is pretty self-explanatory. It is 3.5 years old now almost and runs for over 2 hours slightly. But for that runtime, the lengths were tolerable, which is because this event actually focused on handing out awards at times too and was not just basically an interrupted concert show as the BMAs have been recently. Still there was a great deal of music too and this aspect was also a bit better than usual I'd say, so the songs and performances were superior to other editions. Sure it needs a little while to get used to Miley Cyrus doing Beatles, but when you do it's fine and Lorde, one of the big winners of the night isn't too bad either. Justin Timberlake, even if he wasn't there and a bit cringeworthy in his video acceptance speeches, and Imagine Dragons are probably also better than most recent dominating acts. The host was Ludicrous and he was neither too good or bad. But I guess they really liked him as he returned several times. One of the strengths of this show was that they were actually daring. Sure stuff like the segment where MJ is brought back to life did not work out 100%, but hey at least they tried something this time. Yet with the ambition, this was an event that may be above-average for recent Billboard Music Awards level, but that is just because the other editions were so bad, not because this one was particularly good or memorable. The description I had for Ludicrous also fits the entire event: neither too good or bad. Let me add a general statement here: The awards winners here are also determined to some extent by their sales figures (thus the Billboard reference), certainly more than at the Grammys, MTV Music Awards etc. There has been a definite decline in music award shows in recent years and while this one here definitely doesn't hit rock-bottom, it confirms the deterioration that is visible in here too. The weakest moments of the night? Nothing was truly bad, but perhaps Perry's Birthday song (she has so many better ones) and performances and Jennifer Lopez' constant fidgeting around with her hands felt a bit awkward. All in all, not a good event to watch. I give it a thumbs-down.