The controversy quotient of the VMAs is dropping, and its attendant reverberations, now taper out much quickly than was the case before because the space now boasts of many performers. There was a time when one could count on the fingertips the performers whose actions raised the controversy quotient of the VMAs. But when, as basic economics teaches, the supply end of desperate sexual attention-seeking expressions increased significantly, the controversy consumption index naturally went south. When it goes south, it becomes boring instead of exciting. When there’s too many to choose from and a consumer is faced with the problem of choice, he balks, withdraws, or looks away, withholding further interest. Currently, there is a glut in the supply chain of twerking, see-throughs and other variants of nudity even though there is evidently some kind of desperation to keep pushing the boundaries of the proverbial envelope.

Performers continue to push the envelope in hope that the glory once vested on the most controversial and most popular performers who projected their ‘difference’ and ‘independence’ in the most controversial ways possible, would come to them. But the kind of guarantees the pioneers of the movement enjoyed remains some kind of forlorn hope. Simply because the circle of performers has since expanded and ‘market forces’ are dictating the tunes. However, hype performers and influencers are relentless in their pursuit of the horses that have bolted.