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Madonna is Joined in Showstopping Opening Performance By Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott

Metallica Pays Homage To 20 Years Of VMAs

New York, NY, August 28, 2003 – The "2003 MTV Video Music Awards," honoring the best in music video, was flooded with celebrities at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Thursday, August 28. Chris Rock hosted the ceremony (his third time hosting the VMAs – 1997 and 1999) where he had the audience laughing at his signature wit and sardonic tone. Repeat air dates of the broadcast include Thursday, August 28 at 11:30pm (ET/PT), Saturday, August 30 at 1:30pm (ET/PT) and 9:30pm (ET/PT) and Sunday, August 31 at 11:00am (ET/PT).

Madonna Performs

Beyoncé ("Crazy in Love"), Coldplay ("The Scientist") and Justin Timberlake ("Cry Me a River") topped the list of winners for their music videos each nabbing three moon men. 50 Cent ("In Da Club") and Missy Elliott ("Work It") each won two Video Music Awards, with Missy Elliott clinching Best Video of the Year. Rounding out the list of winners were Eminem, Johnny Cash, Linkin Park, Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead, and White Stripes with one award each. At press time, the Viewer's Choice Award and the MTV2 Award were yet to be determined.

The night started off with a surprise performance by Madonna. In a nod to 20 years of Video Music Awards history, many of which Madonna has been a part of, the incomparable star's daughter Lola along with her friend Honour, walked onto the stage dressed as flower girls at a wedding. Suddenly, pop sensations Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera emerged dressed in wedding gowns from a wedding cake, reminiscent of the one Madonna danced on during her 1984 VMA performance, and singing and dancing to "Like a Virgin" just like Madonna did during her original rendition. Madonna then materialized out of the cake, this time dressed as the groom. The trio then moved into Madonna's current hit, "Hollywood," and were joined by hip hop performer Missy Elliott. Towards the end of the performance, Britney, Madonna and Christina locked lips. And that's all in the first five minutes of the show!

Host Chris Rock then took the stage with a humorous turn as he delivered a gut-bursting opening monologue, taking on everything from politics to several of this year's nominees ranging from J Lo to Christina Aguilera to Britney Spears to Justin Timberlake to 50 Cent to Kobe Bryant.

Kicking off the second act, skating icons Tony Hawk and Bam Margera skateboarded onto the stage to introduce a rousing performance by Good Charlotte of "The Anthem," where they were joined by fans dressed like Goth cheerleaders.

Madonna and Christina

To keep the momentum going, Christina Aguilera performed a sensual medley of "Dirrty" joined by Redman and "Fighter" joined by Dave Navarro on guitar. The hall later took on a more serious tone when P Diddy and Run DMC paid homage to Jam Master Jay before presenting the award for Best Rap Video to 50 Cent for "In Da Club."

Then, in a show-stealing moment, Eminem was joined on stage by Special Ed, the puppet from Comedy Central's "Crank Yankers." The rapper said Ed was part of anger management therapy as a result of his run-in with another puppet, Triumph the Dog, during the 2002 VMAs. The duo then introduced 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg who impressed the audience with their performance of "P.I.M.P."

Another hysterical moment occurred when last year's host, Jimmy Fallon is "questioned" about his sexual persuasion by the cast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy before introducing the award for Best Female Video. Just when you thought the comedic elements couldn't get any better, Fred Durst and Jack Black took the stage with Black dressed as Michael Jackson to accept what he thought was the "Comedian of the Millennium Award."

The stage began to sizzle when DMX introduced Mary J Blige who performed a special medley of hits, with featured guests 50 Cent and Method Man, live from the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza.

In honor of MTV's 20^th annual Video Music Awards show, Avril Lavigne and Kelly Osbourne presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to music video pioneers Duran Duran, who have never won a VMA during their career due to the fact that their pioneering early work was before there was a Video Music Awards show.

Next, Coldplay performed a beautiful rendition of "The Scientist" which they dedicated to the hospitalized Johnny Cash, who was unable to attend the awards show, but received an award for "Best Cinematography."

Beyoncé and Jay Z

After that, the audience was brought to their feet as Beyoncé descended from the ceiling upside down for a hot rendition her new single "Baby Boy" and #1 hit "Crazy in Love" with Jay-Z.

The night drew to a climactic close with Metallica performing a medley of pop and rock songs including Lenny Kravitz's "Are U Gonna Go My Way?," White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and a surprising version of Michael Jackson's "Beat It." They finished with their newest single, "Frantic."

The star-studded talent list included Madonna, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliot, Ashanti, LeBron James, Good Charlotte, Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, Kelly Clarkson, Ludacris, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Drew Barrymore, Ben Stiller, Eminem, Crank Yankers, Nelly, Murphy Lee, Iggy Pop, Justin Timberlake, David Spade, Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, Run DMC, P Diddy, 50 Cent, Coldplay, Hilary Duff, Jason Biggs, Lil' Jon, Snoop Dogg, Jimmy Fallon, cast of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," Linkin Park, Fred Durst, Jack Black, Mary J. Blige, Redman, DMX, Duran Duran, Serena & Venus Williams, Pamela Anderson, Mya, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Osbourne, Pharrell, Chester Bennington, Adam Sandler, Evanescence, Sean Paul and Metallica.

Salli Frattini and Dave Sirulnick are the Executive Producers for the "2003 MTV Video Music Awards." Alex Coletti is the Producer. Beth McCarthy-Miller is the Director.

The telecast was for the second year presented in 24P format, which gave viewers a crisp film-like image.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was the official business advisors to the VMA's during the live premiere broadcast and all subsequent repeat telecasts of the show.

The "2003 MTV Video Music Awards" will be available to a potential viewing audience of over 1 billion people via MTV's 38 music programming services in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Russia reaching 381.2 million households in 164 territories, and its convergent and original mtv.com programming will reach the entire online nation.

2003 MTV Video Music Awards Winners

General Categories

Professional Categories

The official sponsors of the "2003 MTV Video Music Awards" are Taco Bell, Pepsi, Levi's Brand, Revlon, Procter & Gamble, and Motorola/Cingular.

MTV Networks owns and operates the cable television programming services MTV: Music Television, MTV2, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, TV Land, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, and Spike, as well as The Digital Suite from MTV Networks, a package of thirteen digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.

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