August 19, 2005

Rihanna, Fall Out Boy, Mike Jones To Play During VMA Pre-Show

By James Montgomery (MTV.com)

The American Airlines Arena in Miami is plenty big: It can comfortably seat more than 19,000 (including all of Shaq's posse), features more than 100 luxury boxes and covers over 1,425,800 square feet.

And all of that room is still not enough to contain the sheer amount of musical acts scheduled to perform at the 2005 Video Music Awards, including Coldplay, 50 Cent, Shakira, Ludacris, Mariah Carey, the Killers, Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson and Green Day. So MTV was forced to take over the area surrounding the arena too.

Caribbean phenom Rihanna, a trio of Houston's hottest MCs - Mike Jones, Paul Wall and Slim Thug - and pop-punks Fall Out Boy will perform outside American Airlines Arena during the "2005 Video Music Awards Pre-Show by the Shore," airing on Sunday, August 28, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Rihanna will perform her summer smash "Pon De Replay," while the Houston trio will slur their way through the song that brought chopped-and-screwed music to the masses, "Still Tippin'." Fall Out Boy are hoping to add a few tan lines to their tattoos as they rip through their "TRL" fave "Sugar, We're Goin Down."

When MTV News recently caught up with the Fall Out guys, they reflected on just how far their band has come - from opening shows for an ungrateful magician to opening the VMAs.

"On one of our first tours, we got taken out by the guy who owned our record label's band, Less Than Jake, and so the band that was supposed to play between us dropped off the tour, so they would get whoever they'd think was funny and have them play after us," Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz laughed. "One day they got a magician, and we thought he'd be opening the show, but he ended up playing after us. It was absolutely ludicrous. So to jump from there to playing the pre-show at the VMAs - which is something we've watched a lot of bands we thought were bigger than us play - is kind of bizarre for us. And really amazing."

Viewers will also get to preview new music and videos from My Chemical Romance, Missy Elliott, Green Day and Ricky Martin. And, of course, artists and performers will be making their grand entrances via yachts, but this year some celebs will also be showing up in their very own tricked-out rides.

And in news that will no doubt make Fall Out Boy very happy, there will be absolutely zero magicians present.