Although the approach of a strong tropical storm (which became Hurricane Katrina prior to its first landfall just north of Miami) cancelled much of the pre-show activities, the show itself went on as scheduled after the storm passed. Later that year, the MTV VMAs for Latin America, scheduled for Cancún, were canceled due to Hurricane Wilma (which later made an identical but reverse path across South Florida as Katrina did).
Background
MTV announced on April 5 that the 2005 Video Music Awards would be held on August 28 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, marking the venue's second consecutive year hosting the ceremony.[1] Nominees were announced on July 25 at a press conference hosted by Kelly Clarkson, Kanye West, and Diddy in Miami.[2] At the same press conference, MTV announced that Diddy would host the ceremony.[3] The ceremony had a water theme, with several water features constructed for the ceremony by WET.[4] The ceremony broadcast was preceded by the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards Pre-Show by the Shore. Hosted by Kurt Loder and SuChin Pak with reports from John Norris, Sway, and Gideon Yago, the broadcast featured red carpet interviews and performances by Mike Jones featuring Slim Thug and Paul Wall, Rihanna, and Fall Out Boy.[5] The ceremony was also the first to expand beyond linear television with a "My VMAs" channel on MTV Overdrive featuring bonus material both before and after the ceremony. It also was one of the first to have a 16:9 format. [6]
The music for the telecast was scored by Linkin Park's co-vocalist Mike Shinoda and rapper Lil Jon. The score was released as an EP on August 31, 2005, and later released by Shinoda five years later on March 1, 2010.[8]
