InStyle.com Presents: VMA’s Most Shocking Style Moments Ever
Shocking Pop Star Transformation
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Can we still be ...
It’s been almost three decades since the first-ever MTV Video Music Awards. And from the very beginning, stars like Madonna aimed to please their fans by shocking them, with a combination of risqué routines--remember that “Like A Virgin” floor dance?--and outré fashion. So, in anticipation of the award show’s 29th iteration, InStyle looks back at some of the most memorable VMA performances and appearances ever, and wonders: Can we still be shocked, or have we seen it all? We’ll be watching to find out. (CREDIT: David Mcgough/DMI/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)
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Madonna
At the inaugural ceremony in 1984, Madonna attained instant superstar status thanks to a scandalous rendition of her already-controversial single, "Like A Virgin." Clad in a lingerie-inspired "wedding dress," complete with veil, "boy toy" belt, gloves and a see-through polka dot skirt, she danced atop a giant cake, writhed on the floor and generally set the bar sky high for all subsequent would-be pop stars. (CREDIT: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
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Lil' Kim
Lil' Kim didn't perform at the 1999 show, which may have been for the best, given the extreme precariousness of her glittering purple ensemble. Instead, she presented the award for Best Hip-Hop Video with the help of a slightly nonplussed-looking Mary J. Blige and Diana Ross, who couldn't resist reaching over and jiggling the pasty-covered part at the podium. (CREDIT: Scott Gries/Getty Images)
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Pam Anderson
Her date, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, was dressed as a flasher, but it's unclear what look Pamela Anderson was going for at the 1999 ceremony. Nevertheless, her combination of sparkling pants, a white corset top, and a giant, furry pink hat demanded--and received--plenty of attention. (CREDIT: Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
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Britney Spears
It was Britney Spears's second time at the VMAS--she'd debuted the previous year, singing a relatively tame version of her first single, “… Baby One More Time." But in 2000, she stepped up and changed the game, opening with a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" (which she performed while dressed in a menswear-style pinstriped suit), before segueing into her hit "Oops! … I Did It Again," and tearing off her shirt, jacket and pants to reveal a surprising nude-tone two-piece bodysuit. (CREDIT: Dave Hogan/Getty Images, Kevin Mazur/WireImage )
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Britney Spears
The next year, Britney's biggest challenge was topping herself: She managed, though, while singing "I'm A Slave 4 U," thanks to a super-skimpy, vaguely harem-esque ensemble complemented by a 7-foot albino python. (CREDIT: Kevin Kane/WireImage)
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Britney Spears a...
In 2003, VMA MVPs Britney and Madonna teamed up (along with Christina Aguilera) for a startling performance that nabbed each of them additional spots on our list. The show opened with each of the younger stars paying tribute to Madonna's first-ever VMA appearance nineteen years earlier, singing "Like A Virgin" in not-so-virginal white. Then the Material Girl herself turned up in a suit to sing "Hollywood"…and to kiss Britney, then Christina, on the lips. (Missy Elliot popped out of a "wedding chapel" to rap the finale.) (CREDIT: Kevin Kane/WireImage)
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Pink
When Pink donned a purple one-sided jumpsuit in 1999--exactly ten years after Lil' Kim generated controversy with a similar getup--people barely noticed; we were too mesmerized by the death-defying trapeze routine she performed while singing her hit single "Sober." (CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
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Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga began her performance at last year's VMAs precisely where Madonna ended hers 25 years before: dressed in white and rolling on the ground. But it's difficult to imagine anyone--even Madge--engineering the spectacle that followed as Gaga ran through "Poker Face" and "Papparazzi," then wrapped things up by rubbing fake blood all over her torso, face and hair. (She even got some in her eye, for maximum ick.) The other ensembles she donned that night were only slightly less startling: Her sheer red Alexander McQueen dress, topped with a lace mask and matching crown, was a standout. (CREDIT: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic )
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Shocking Pop Sta... Think you know who's in the photo above? (Photo: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library)
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