YouTube gives awards to artists whom YouTube users like the most, stretching definition of “award” to breaking point

The inaugural YouTube Music Awards webcast took place this Sunday in New York, an event that combined the glamour and prestige of the Grammys with the dubious cultural relevance of the Grammys. YouTube has posted the winners on its site, allowing the users who decided the awards (by posting videos on their Facebooks and tweets and such) to offer their erudite comments on the results. Eminem was named artist of the year, perhaps because—as awards voter Eva MM points out in the comment threads—“Eminem the only one who doesn't wear skinny jeans and shit, he came back with baggy clothes at the YTMA and NFL haha 🙂 and he didn't go into that electronic shit! Lets keep it 2000s baby.” Other members of the YouTube Music Awards Academy noted that “He is the beest..” and “Check out my latest gaming video.”

Video Of The Year honors went to Girls’ Generation (pictured above) for “I Got A Boy,” a choice that, according to voters, reflected the Korean group’s “KPOP KPOP KPOP” and their groundbreaking interpretation of “rights??? and they are Koreans plus america is in debt to China Korea has nothing to do with this.”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are this year’s YouTube Breakthrough, with the awards committee observing that “I was internet explorer lagged like shit so didnt get the other p lol soz nice comment HERE HAVE MY LIKE.”

Other awardees included Destorm’s “See Me Standing” for Innovation Of The Year and Lindsey Stirling & Pentatonix’s “Radioactive” for Response Of The Year. The award for YouTube Phenomenon went to “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Walk Off The Earth. Thus concluded this brief experiment in which YouTube commenters were allowed to run a tiny part of this world, and suddenly that lazy Oscar voter from earlier this year doesn’t seem so bad.