>>> IT IS TIME FOR WHAT WATCH. AND TO BE CELEBRATED 40 YEARS OF THE VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS LAST NIGHT, AND IT WAS A BIG NIGHT FOR WOMEN. THIS YEAR'S AWARDS ALSO FEATURED A HUGE LIST OF PERFORMERS, FROM TODAY, AND A FEW NOTABLE THROWBACK ARTIST AS WELL. ON JOINS US NOW, THE EXECUTIVE MUSIC DIRECTOR AT VARIETY. THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US, LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NIGHT. OBVIOUSLY, TAYLOR SWIFT WINNING A LOT. WHAT WERE YOUR SOME OF YOUR TAKEAWAYS? >> I MEAN, TAYLOR WINNING IS NOT A SURPRISE. BUT, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT SOME OF THE BEST PERFORMANCES, I THOUGHT MEGAN WAS REALLY GOOD, I THOUGHT SABRINA CARPENTER WAS FANTASTIC. AND OBVIOUSLY CHAPEL ROAD, SHE NEVER HALF STEPS ANYTHING, AND THIS TIME, YOU KNOW-- WASN'T MENTIONING ANYTHING SPECIFIC, BUT SHE COMES OUT AS A MINI MEDIEVAL NIGHT, AND WE CALLED HER CHAPEL ROAN OF ARC. >> I ALSO MUST MENTION THAT BEYONCI WAS NOMINATED THREE TIMES, BUT DIDN'T WIN ANYTHING. >> YEAH. THE REALITY OF AWARD SHOWS IS SOMETIMES, THE WINS AND THE NOMINATIONS GO TO THE PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP AND, YOU KNOW, SHE DOESN'T REALLY DO AWARD SHOWS VERY OFTEN ANYMORE, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THEY ASKED HER WHAT, BUT YEAH. >> IS THIS NOTABLE CONSIDERING A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT SHE WAS NOT THAT THE CMA'S? >> NO, MAYBE, WHAT MAYBE ACTUALLY HAPPENING THERE, IT MAY SORT OF BE FALLING IN BETWEEN CATEGORIES, YOU KNOW? SHE IS NOT GOING TO BE EMBRACED BY THE NATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT, THAT HAS ALREADY BECOME PRETTY CLEAR, BUT MAYBE PEOPLE FELT THAT THIS ALBUM WASN'T REALLY THAT MUCH OF A POP RECORD EITHER. AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU IT KIND OF WASN'T. I WAS REALLY SURPRISED BY HOW INNOVATIVE AND DIFFERENT AND CHALLENGING AND WEIRD PARTS OF IT WERE. SORRY, MY DOG IS JUMPING ON ME. BUT YOU KNOW, IT IS A BRILLIANT ALBUM, BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARILY AN EASY ALBUM, IF YOU ARE A CASUAL BEYONCI FAN, OR IF YOU ARE A COUNTRY FAN. >> BRILLIANT ALBUM THOUGH, GOOD LUCK, SINGER, CHAPEL ROAD TOOK HOME THE BEST NEW AWARD TELL US ABOUT HER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH >> LIKE I SAID IT WAS BASICALLY MEDIEVAL THEMED, SHE BASICALLY HAD DANCING NIGHTS AROUND HER, KNIGHTS IN ARMOR. AND HER SPEECH, IT WAS VERY MUCH DIRECTED AT THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY, LIKE A LOT OF HER COMMUNICATIONS IN GENERAL HAVE BEEN LATELY. SHE WAS EMBRACED, I MEAN, I SAW HER A YEAR AND HALF AGO. I SAW HER AT WEBSTER HALL IN NEW YORK, I THINK FEBRUARY 20th, 2013, AND YOU COULD JUST FEEL IT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'VE BEEN AROUND AS LONG AS I HAVE, YOU GET SO YOU CAN RECOGNIZE, AND JUST THE FEELING IN THE ROOM, IT JUST, IT SEEMED LIKE THE AUDIENCE FELT LIKE THEY WERE-- SHE WAS THEIR IN A WAY, AND WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT YOU ARE JUST LIKE OH MY GOSH, THIS IS GOING TO BLOW UP, I MEAN, THE LAST TIME I REMEMBER SEEING IT IN THAT WAY AT AN ACTUAL CONCERT WAS WHEN I SAW BILLIE EILISH IN JUNE OF 2019, WHO WAS JUST BEFORE HER ALBUM REALLY STARTED TO BLOW UP AND YOU JUST GET THIS FEELING WHERE, IT ALMOST SWEEPS YOU ALONG WITH IT, SO, IT IS REALLY EXCITING TO SEE THAT COME TO THIS FRUITION, AND I THINK SHE HAS GOT MUCH FARTHER TO GO. >> YEAH, YOU SEE SOMETHING IN YOU KNOW THAT IS MAGIC IN A BOTTLE RIGHT THERE. KATY PERRY, SHE PERFORMED A MEDLEY OF SOME OF HER GREATEST HITS, IT'S JUST-- IT'S LIKE SEEING CHICAGO, YOU KNOW, FACING THAT AND THEY SING THAT AND THEY SING THAT? AND ALSO THE MICHAEL JACKSON VIDEO OF THE VANGUARD AWARD, I BELIEVE, BY ORLANDO BLOOM, TALK TO US ABOUT THAT. >> I MEAN, HER PERFORMANCE WAS FANTASTIC. >> YEAH. >> SHE HAS KIND OF BEEN AWAY, WITHOUT REALLY BEING AWAY FOR A LITTLE WHILE, YOU KNOW, SHE DID LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY WHICH, SHE STARTED RAISING A FAMILY AND ALL OF THAT AND SORT OF SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT, FROM THE POP, THE POP FAST LANE. AND HER NEW MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EMBRACED THAT STRONGLY, IT IS KIND OF HARD TO SAY WHY, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE-- SHE IS IN A POSITION, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IS IN THIS POSITION, JENNIFER LOPEZ IS, WHERE, THEY ARE AT A POINT IN THEIR CAREER, WHERE IT IS HARD TO GET PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE NEW MUSIC, BECAUSE THERE ARE ALREADY SO MANY HITS, QUITE HONESTLY AND WE SAW THAT IN PRACTICE LAST NIGHT, BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS-- YOU KNOW, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HEARD CALIFORNIA DREAM? I HAVEN'T HEARD IT IN A WHILE COMMAND VEGAS KEPT HER PERFORMING CHOPS UP. SHE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT PERFORMER, BUT I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY SET UP AND WERE JUST LIKE OH, I JUST FORGOT ABOUT HOW GREAT SHE IS. >> YEAH, SHE SOUNDED GREAT, SHE LOOKED GREAT. BIG NIGHT FOR WOMEN. WE ALSO SAW A FEW SEASONED GENTLEMEN, LENNY KRAVITZ AND LL COOL J, WHAT A COOL PERFORMANCE. >> YEAH, LENNY, I SWEAR HE'S GOT AT LEAST SOME OF THE SAME BAND HE HAD 30 YEARS AGO. IF YOU LOOK AT THE ORIGINAL VIDEO, I THINK IT IS THE SAME GUITARIST AND DRUMMER. YOU KNOW, BUT I MEAN, HE'S ANOTHER ONE WHO JUST KEEPS PERFORMING AND IS STILL GREAT. WHEN YOU SEE THESE PEOPLE COME BACK, YOU REMEMBER WHY THEY WERE GREAT IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND ALL THREE OF THOSE, KATIE, LENNY, AND LL, I THINK OUR PEOPLE THAT THEY HAVEN'T SEEN VERY MUCH I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER LL VERY MUCH IN THE HISTORY OF HIP-HOP CELEBRATIONS LAST YEAR, AND YOU SAW A LOT OF PEOPLE THERE, BUSTA RHYMES WAS THAT EVERYONE OF THOSE, PUBLIC ENEMY, I SAW THEM BACK IN THE DAY, AND THERE WAS AN ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FOR DE LA SOUL'S THREE FEET RISING LAST YEAR, AND THEY ARE A BUNCH OF GUEST WRAPPERS, AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN PUBLIC ENEMY'S CHUCK D STARTS RAPPING, AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN CONTINUE YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS, BECAUSE HIS VOICE IS SO BIG, AND I WASN'T EVEN UPSTAIRS I WAS DOWNSTAIRS AND IT WAS COMING THROUGH A SPEAKER AND I'M LIKE HEY, LET'S GO.