Last night Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination for the presidency from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Meanwhile, across the country, MTV took its own big show, the Video Music Awards, to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles for the very first time. Not to conflict with that other big televised moment, MTV shifted its major spectacle ahead one hour. Still, folks at home had to make a choice between the award show or the convention on TV—not to mention Fashion's Night Out festivities in their hometowns.
While the V.M.A.s offered little in the way of the signature surprises previous years have delivered, the show still wowed with a splashy stage and performances by Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Alicia Keys, plus presenters like Andy Samberg, Miley Cyrus, and Rashida Jones. Comedian Kevin Hart hosted this year’s show.
Outside the arena, the requisite annual parties were going on at venues all over town. From Perez Hilton's bash with VH1's Save the Music Foundation at the Belasco Theater downtown, to In Touch weekly's "Icons & Idols" party at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, here's a look inside the night's big events.