On Sept. 7, the MTV Video Music Awards celebrated its 25th anniversary. However, this was one of the worst years to date for all those involved with putting on the show.

There were no drawn-out out speeches or wardrobe malfunctions, but there was an extremely bad host. Russell Brand was undoubtedly one of the trashiest and most ignorant hosts to date. Had MTV not hired Russell Brand, the show would’ve had the potential to at least be decent.

However, they did hire Brand along with his super-tight pants and insanely unkempt mane. For some reason, Brand felt that it was his moral duty as a non-U.S. citizen to beg voters to elect Obama. This line was followed by many harsh Bush and Palin jokes, which were all completely uncalled for, as the VMAs is not a political function.

His next stunt was to “take” one of the Jonas Brothers’s promise rings and make fun of all of their commitments to abstain from sex before marriage. Looking at the targeted age group for the brother’s music, one can only hope that the young teens knew Brand was joking.

Brand’s high point came at the end of the show, however, when he said, “If there was a female Christ, it’d be Britney [Spears].” Need any more be said about Brand’s state of mind? Spears, the woman who seems to have lost all sanity, somehow walked away with three awards (Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year).

This was her first year winning a VMA, and none seem well deserved. If the competition was based off of pity points, then sure, Britney would be a shoo-in.

The good performances during the show were few and far between. Pink was by far one of the best acts during her performance of “So What” with her truly unique voice. Rihanna also amazed viewers with her live performance of her “Disturbia” video. However, her voice seemed out of key for the entire song. Kanye West closed the show with a great performance of a new song entitled “Love Lockdown.”

The list of bad performances goes on and on. Whether it was T.I. or Rihanna appearing to lip-synch during their duet, or when Christina Aguilera performed a new version “Genie in a Bottle,” it helped prove that the VMAs were better in years past.

The VMAs certainly aren’t the Grammy Awards, where musicians are acknowledged for their talent and ability to perform, but there should still be some sort of expectation that those who deserve to win awards for their videos do. Britney Spears has become a publicity stunt gone wrong, not an example of what musicians should strive to become.

If MTV wants to make the VMAs more popular for next year, they should get a respectable (or at least sane) host and actually judge the nominees based on merit, not celebrity standing.