Something to Talk About: What Happened at the MTV VMAs

The MTV Video Music Awards show continued to cultivate controversy on Sunday, as it threw together titilating costumes, provocative performances, celebrity feuds and surprise announcements in an attempt to dominate Monday-morning watercooler conversation. So what were we supposed to notice? Here's a rundown:

First of all there was host Miley Cyrus, who successfully generated controversy on the VMA stage two years ago by dancing suggestively with Robin Thicke. This year Cyrus did her best to keep the controversy going by showing up at the event nearly naked, and at one point she even "accidentally" appeared a bit more than nearly naked. The biggest Cyrus news of the evening, though, was the surprise announcement - a la Beyonce - of a new album that's available for free on her web site.

Kanye West, who infamously interrupted Taylor Swift's award acceptance speech at the VMAs in 2009, behaved himself this time around. He graciously accepted his Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award for a lifetime of career excellence and then announced that he would run for president in 2020.

Nicki Minaj also behaved herself in regards to her recent Twitter feud with Taylor Swift, apparently because she wanted to start a new feud with Miley Cyrus. Cyrus had attacked Minaj in a New York Times interview that was published last week, and Minaj referred to Cyrus in an acceptance speech as "this bitch that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press." While the new feud feels more than a little contrived, MTV was quick to take advantage, quickly posting a reference to the fight on Instagram.