I’ve cringed and cried several times while watching the MTV Video Music Awards. I still can’t… I’ve cringed and cried several times while watching the MTV Video Music Awards. I still can’t decide which was more horrific to watch: Britney Spears kissing Madonna or Michael Jackson kissing Lisa Marie Presley.

It’s for reasons like those awkward VMA lip locks — and poorly written scripts — that I have lost interest in the annual event. Besides, it’s rather easy to predict the winners. (Anyone who had a video on Total Request Live for more than five weeks, then appeared on the show is usually a smart choice.)

More than watching the actual awards show, I love watching the artists enter on the red carpet. It’s not as much of a fashion show as it is a long line of fashion faux pas, but I’m a sucker for celebrities — the well dressed ones at least. You know, the ones who realized an award show, hosted by MTV or anyone else, is an occasion to step up the dress code.

Whether or not it is the practical thing to do, fans emulate their favorite artists. When I go to the clubs, my peers are dressed like the models and dancers seen on TV. In the same way, if an artist shows up at an awards show with a flower over a breast or in jeans and a throwback jersey, fans will normally think that’s what’s hot to wear to a real event.

That’s why, as much as I can’t stand them sometimes, I have got to give praise and respect to the artists who look as polished as their music. They are the ones who understand that music is an influential industry and that as stars, they are not only meeting the public’s demand for entertainment, but are also looked upon for creating new styles.

Alica Keys. Take a gorgeous young woman with a sense of self and a passion for music; put her at a piano and let her sing her heart out and you’ve got a heck of an artist! Taking home a moon man for her video “If I Ain’t Got You,” Keys is one of the best examples of personal style at an awards show. She hardly wears famous designer gowns, but her natural poise and confidence add to her elegance every time I see her.

Usher. Remember when Usher was about 12 years of age and had that horrible flat top with the part to the side? I’m so glad he grew out of that. I’m glad we all did. And if you or someone you know is still doing that, tell them to let it go. Anyway, Usher has grown into quite a fashionable and still very talented man. He also has a very clean sense of style, and I wouldn’t mind running into a man like Usher on the dance floor. He dresses well and is quite a dancer. He learned from one of the best: Sean “Puffy” Combs. P. Diddy has known all about those dress shirts ever since his days at Mount Saint Michael’s Academy for Boys in the Bronx. Known as one of the most fashionable men in hip-hop, Puffy was named the menswear designer of the year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America for his Sean John clothing line.

Jay-Z. Is it just me, or did Jay-Z’s lips get smaller when he started dressing better? Perhaps it’s the fitted baseball caps that hide them. Whatever it is, he has come quite a long way from that video with Foxy Brown. What was he wearing? A T-shirt from his last vacation and a pair of faded shorts? Whatever it was, it was bad. When the buzz got out about Jay-Z, he was known around my block as “that cat with the big lips from Queens.” The white suit and matching hat he wore at the VMAs were much better. I’ll let those sunglasses go by even though he was indoors — at night. And when he’s not in a flashy suit, he’s comfortably coordinating his shirts and hats — usually from his own clothing line, Roc-A-Wear.

Outkast. I don’t even need to get into how big of an impact this dynamic duo had at the awards show this year. “Hey Ya!” was just such a hit. Big Boi and Andre 3000 won me over when Andre started wearing those turbans. I’ve been questioning his fashion sense ever since, but I’ve never thought him senseless. While Big Boi came in the more traditional suit — looking so fresh and so clean — Andre opted to express his personal style in a more creative way. And that’s what makes them great, musically and in fashion. They don’t necessarily complement each other, but it works. The key with these guys is that what they wear fits, and they fit each other. I can’t wait to hear and see what comes out of those two next!

Maria Nicole Smith is the assistant opinions editor for The Pitt News and hopes to be a commentator for at least one Hollywood red carpet event in her lifetime. E-mail her horrible fashion sightings at [email protected].