You know what would have been amazing? If Calvin Harris and Kanye West coordinated their speeches so that they both did a “THAT’S WHY I CALLED HER” reference. Calvin Harris was up for a few awards at the VMAs, but he did not attend. He still won though – he won for “This Is What You Came For,” the song which we now know was co-written by Taylor Swift. Taylor didn’t want her name on a Calvin Harris song, so she went by the nom-de-plume Nils Sjoberg, and Rihanna did the bulk of the vocal work, although you can hear Taylor’s voice a little bit within the song. After Taylor tried to push stories about how Calvin was a big meanie for not admitting their collaboration, he came out and said that it was Taylor’s call to use a fake name and he went even further, calling her out in a Twitter rant for the ages, basically saying that her M.O. is to “bury” her enemies/exes like “Katy ETC.”
So, with that backstory, listen to Calvin’s VMA acceptance speech:
Yeah, he didn’t thank Taylor. Or Nils, her alter ego. This would have been a moment for Calvin to be a bigger man, to give Taylor a shout-out and thank her for coming up with the song. But let’s face it: Calvin and Taylor were able to maintain a relationship for more than a year because they are both equally petty and equally drama-queeny. Of course he didn’t thank Tay-Tay. And Tay’s next album will reflect all of the petty grievances lodged against him, trust.
As for Taylor’s absence at the VMAs…um, people loved the fact that she wasn’t there. Beyond the Calvin Harris and Kanye West stuff, everyone was talking about how the VMAs this year were so good because there was no Tay-Tay. I would also argue that they were great this year because there was no Miley. Right?
Photos courtesy of MTV screencaps, Fame/Flynet.
Lol still petty both of them. I hope he remember her whenever he play the song…congrats Nils
“I would also argue that they were great this year because there was no Miley. Right?”
Who?
I honestly forgot about Miley. Happy the public got over her shtick real fast.
The judges on The Voice, Blake, Adam, Alicia, and Miley, did a fantastic cover of Aerosmith’s Dream On. I have to say Miley rocked it out.
She’s coming into her own maturitywise.
I have a soft spot for Miley. I think she over-corrected the Disney image… but she can do some decent work when she puts her mind to it.
Miley is a talented musician with a set of pipes on her. The live grassroots video of Jolene etc are amazing. She KILLED 50 ways to leave your lover on SNL. She’s talented! She doesn’t need so many gimmicks to be successful. I’ll be excited when she grows up a little more and takes her gift more seriously.
Miley is a very good singer.
it floors me when people say she is a good singer, like they have their own dumbed down standard for her
i’ve heard all of these songs people mention and it sounds to me like she is singing out of an inflamed nasal polyp
I love Miley and think that she is authentically growing up and finding her way
He has d-bag face.
I thought that was John Mayer. 😉
Ugh. I’m not a fan of all things Taylor but I’ll take her over Calvin any day. He’s far more petty (just ask Rita Ora).
He is so f*cking petty. It also came out that she composed the melody, not just the lyrics, and he first tried to claim on twitter that she only did the lyrics. When he was doing press for this song, his biggest hit, there was not one shout out for Nils either. Ugh, I’ve never liked him after that Rita Ora debacle…He totally strikes me as the type of guy who tells his girlfriend that he wants a “break” but then when the girlfriend sees another guy he calls her all sorts of slurs and plays the victim.
Agreed Div, Also, I looked back at the story about this song when it was first discussed on CB (click on Calvin Harris Link above) and I don’t think Taylor would have said anything if Calvin’s douchiness hadn’t been steering the ship. Didn’t TMZ dig around and Taylor’s people then confirmed to People magazine. His behavior was gross. He took credit where credit wasn’t due and yes, they agreed not to reveal her name but, humility and gratitude would find a way to not take all the credit even without the reveal. He is a serious little boy who wants so badly to be out of the playpen and in the sandbox with the big boys. And no, I don’t think he should have thanked her in his speech but, there are ways to acknowledge to the world his gratitude especially when the world knows she played a big role in this song.
Speaking of Miley, the last time I watched the MTV awards live was her referee debacle with Robin Thicke. After that I realized I am way too damn old for these shows anymore. The was confirmed reading these posts and not knowing who half of the people were.
Taylor.
She made such a show of letting us ALLLLLL know she wasn’t going to be there. That is annoying to no end.
Calvin.
Nice accent. I’ve never heard him speak before. The accent helps all the rest that’s awful about him.
that awkward moment when West is fine, but this guy… no.
Why would he thank her? She went out of her way not be publicly credited for it until she needed a distraction. If she actually wanted credit she’d have used her name or a fake name easily traced back to her. She chose to write it incognito, and despite later pettiness it seems to me it would be much ruder to publicly credit her for something she actively chose not to put her name to.
Besides which it’s an award for Best Male Video, not best song. It’s not about the lyrics. Taylor had nothing to do with the video.
Thank you.
He seemed genuinely happy. Good on him. And Rhianna.
THIS. That anybody could seriously believe that he put a pillowcase over the mouth of one of the thirstiest people alive and not only forced her to use a pseudonym but successfully kept her quiet for that long is ridiculous. That was an image management call on her part and it’s time to stop blaming him.
Seriously. Taylor is one of the most powerful people in the music industry and if she wanted her name credited from the very beginnng it would have happened. Her fans talk about how boss she is but when it comes to this songwriting mess all of a sudden she’s poor wittle Taylor Swift.
Taylor didn’t thank her co-writers when she won either. Such a double-standard, no-ones allowed to snub her because of her profile or because she’s so beyond criticism.
@Pepper: Definitely agree. I’m baffled why this is a story. I haven’t watched the VMA’s in several years but nobody thanks the songwriter. It’s a video award not a songwriting award. Saying that Calvin is petty is ridiculous. It’s really annoying that so many try to act like Taylor is a victim.
I’m just glad Adam Wiles a.k.a Calvin Harris eventually get the best out of their relationship.
Defend Taylor all you want, but still Calvin Harris is a self-made man.
Calvin is on record saying he decided to call himself Calvin instead of Adam because he wanted people to think he was black. He also tried to wreck Rita Ora’s career, and even if she did cheat on him (which I doubt) that was so uncalled for in the long run.
Some of us think Taylor can be a petty, spiteful, and immature girl-woman and still find him to be the absolute douchiest of the douches. I’m Team Kanye, Kim, and Taylor before I’d be Team Calvin.
But he’s still self made, even if he is a misogynistic racist.
I agree with the OP that Calvin is a self made man – daddy didn’t buy him a record company so that he could have a career. People don’t seem to be aware that Tay Tay’s father bought 60% of her record company, which he used to hand Taylor her career on a silver plate. She didn’t get where she is because she’s some sort of talented child protege, Daddy bought it for her.
Being self-made doesn’t make him any more likable or less of a douche.
His reason for adopting that stage name is side eye worthy but let’s not forget about Taylor’s issues with racism. The Wildest Dreams video, which was a colonialist wet dream, is also problematic. Neither of them are winners in this category.
I didnt say that he’s not a douche or should be more likeable. The whole point about TIWYCF shenanigan was because Taylor and her team tried to play down his role on that song after Taylor herself decided she didnt want her involvement to be known in the first place.
If I were Calvin whose been working hard for more than a decade (after finished school he’s working and saving money to buy his first equipment) to build my own career, I would fight back Taylor’s team for trying undermine me. and really, I don’t see any pettiness in his action on this matter.
Calvin seems petty, but to be fair, do the VMA winners usually thank the songwriters? They’re being awarded for their video, unlike, say the Grammys, where the songs are rewarded. I haven’t watched in years, so I don’t know whether or not it’s the norm to thank the songwriters.
They generally don’t. Occasionally up and coming artists will if the writer is a famous singer as its a good way to get a little more attention, and sometimes they’ll be indirectly thanked if they actually had a hand in the video too.
But mostly no. Even at the Grammy’s, people don’t tend to thank their co-writers. If they did you’d have heard ‘thanks to Max Martin’ about a bajillion times.
Well for one thing Taylor is petty af I wouldn’t speak her name either. She didn’t want credit until she needed it as ammo against him.
Second Taylor had ZERO to do with the video. So yea I don’t blame him.
And yea my timeline was full of people happy Taylor wasn’t there bringing her drama with her. I was happy too. I’m over her and her antics IMO
I hope Taylor’s next album is full of gushy love songs (or something) instead of revenge tracks. That’s the best way to get the last laugh if she really wants it–make it seem like none of these people had any effect on her at all.
I don’t think Swiftie thanked Shellbach and Martin when she won that VMA last year, did she?
These people are older than me, but I could have sworn they were all 16.
That’s a little extreme. 13 at most.