Confessions of an Awards Show Fanatic

A recent view of E! Entertainment's repeat broadcast of the red carpet show at the SAG Awards has caused me to reflect on my fixation with Awards shows. I have been watching awards shows for many years. Early on, my main interest was in the celebrity performances at events such as the BET music awards, Lady of Soul awards, MTV music video awards and of course, The Grammys. While the editors of People magazine were determining who the best and worst dressed celebrities were, I was trying to learn new dance moves and sing along with artists like Boyz ll men, Monica and TLC.

I was not concerned with the awards themselves. However, I did pay attention when rapper Jay-Z decided to boycott the Grammy Awards. It wasn't until that incident that I became aware that the hip-hop music genre was not celebrated much at the Grammy awards. Since I listened to various genres of music, the boycott news did not affect me. I still watched and enjoyed the Grammys. However, it becomes irritating to have to sit through award presentations that you care nothing about.

That is one downside to award shows. Numerous categories are included. Those who are waiting for Whitney Houston or Justin Timberlake to perform will still have to watch Tim McGraw or Sheryl Crow receive an award for their respective categories or perform one of their hit songs. This is not to say that one artist or genre is more appealing than another. This example could work both ways, using the same artists. When watching an awards show, you will either have to tough it out, or turn the channel.

Unfortunately, turning the channel may cause you to get sucked into a prime time television show such as Grey's Anatomy or The Simpsons. By doing so, you could possibly miss that great Beyonce performance that you were waiting to see. If you really wanted to know who won in a particular category, you could miss that as well. In the end, you will end up having to wait and read about it in the newspaper or online. That is not a fun awards show experience.

Throughout the years, awards shows have been very important events for me. Music award performances were like watching a concert on television, for free. These performances are usually grand in nature. They do not look like the typical musical performance on the Late Show with David Letterman or The Today show. I have scheduled time to view award shows and record them. Doing do has contributed to my library or over 30 VHS tapes that include various televised award ceremonies.

I even switched the recording speed so that I could fit 6 hours of television onto a 2 hour tape. As I became older, I have begun to take interest in additional award shows such as the NAACP awards, People's Choice awards, Golden Globes and The Academy Awards. I had developed an interest in making movies. That interest made me care about the actual awards that were given out and for which movie. I also developed an interest in the dresses and hairstyles that actresses and singers were wearing.

That brought me to adding People magazine into the mix. People magazine does a great job with their post-show coverage. I have been familiar with the Screen Actor's Guild awards. However, I never had interest in watching it on television. Recently, I had the chance to see the SAG awards. I spent an entire day watching the celebrity red carpet interviews conducted by American Idol's host, Ryan Seacrest. I was content with watching these interviews because I was either a fan of or familiar with people such as Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, and Patrick Dempsey.

I was very interested in seeing Jennifer Hudson because there has been a lot of buzz about the talented singer. After more than five hours had passed, I had watched some of the same interviews over again. I did not understand what was happening. I couldn't figure out if I missed the actual ceremony because I went out to the store or changed the channel. After reviewing the TV guide, I became aware that the SAG awards were not scheduled to be re-broadcasted. The entire day was filled with repeat broadcasts of the celebrity red carpet entrance.

It was at this time that I wondered what I have been doing with my day. So much time had been wasted on my desire to watch the SAG awards. After becoming angry from watching the same Ryan Seacrest interviews start over again, I started to realize that awards ceremonies are not that important. They can be fun to watch, but it is ok to miss them. I realized that I have spent entirely too much time on Award ceremonies. I have recorded them for future viewing and now I have tons of VHS tapes that I have not watched in at least three years.

When it came time for an Awards show, I recorded the ceremony and everything attached to it. I recorded the red carpet interviews, the post-show, Access Hollywood episodes covering the shows on the following day. I recorded it all. In the end, I have VHS tapes that are collecting dust and taking up space. Although I was not able to watch the SAG awards, I will be fine. Life goes on.

Many people can agree that award shows are really boring unless you are the one who is receiving the award. This is evident at many other events including high school graduations. If you have attended a high school or college graduation, you know that it feels like they will never end. Awards shows are the same. The only thing that makes them interesting is the celebrities that attend these widely publicized events.