After last year’s VMAs were plagued with Robin Thicke’s huge ego, teddy bears just as large, and foam finger gyration, the 2014 VMAs had to step it up in order to squeeze their way into Monday morning office conversation.

The awards show definitely received some buzz, just not the way you expected…

Memorable VMA moments were being made before the show even aired; one of Nicki Minaj’s backup singers was bitten by a snake during rehearsals and Iggy Azalea slipped and fell on-camera. Even if the show fell flat, we still got reptilian assault and I-G-G-Y busting face.

The show was kicked off by Ariana Grande (who knew entrance by UFO could be so dull?) followed by Minaj performing her new song, “Anaconda,” spinning off of the 80’s hit, “Baby Got Back.” Thankfully, sound bites of Sir-Mix-A-Lot’s booty-appreciative anthem drowned out Minaj’s stale and radically explicit rhymes. When the zipper on the front of the rapper’s dress supposedly malfunctioned later in the night, she had to hold herself together, literally.

The rest of the night consisted of Taylor Swift trying to redeem her career, Sam Smith proving that a truly talented artist is better than flashy sets and dazzling costumes, and Beyoncé’s groundbreaking 15-minute performance featuring snippets from each track on her new self-titled album.

However, the best moments of the night were the most genuine. Rapper Common led a moment of silence for slain teenager Michael Brown and the citizens of Ferguson, Mo. and tribute was made to entertainment legend, Robin Williams. After “Wrecking Ball” won Video of the Year, Cyrus looked on in tears as her date, a homeless man named Jesse Helt, accepted her award “on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are starving, lost, and scared for their lives right now.” Cyrus had mentioned earlier on the red carpet that she had “retired the twerk” to dedicate herself to her charity for homeless teens, My Friend’s Place, where she met Helt the Tuesday previous to the event. Cyrus has made quite a shift in attitude through her charitable works and it is without a doubt for the better.

However, the night truly belonged to Blue Ivy and her star parents. As rapper Jay-Z handed the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award to his sweaty and teary-eyed wife, Blue only had to mumble, “Yay mommy!” into the mic to bring the house down.

Although the performances fell short of the standard set by previous shows of being edgy and unpredictable, we saw several celebs show their true stars in their passion for the needy, passion for family…and passion for booty.