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About 20 years ago, everybody made the same joke: “How can MTV have a Video Music Awards when they don’t air videos anymore?” (And in our comments section, people still make that same joke every year.)

But think about it, has the show ever been about the actual Moonmen as much as it is about the zeitgeisty memes, outsized personalities, and general pageantry of the broadcast?

Think about last year’s show: While everybody remembers the Beyoncé baby-bump reveal, Lady Gaga’s drag show, and Adele’s tear-jerking triumph, does anybody recall what clip won Video of the Year? (It was Katy Perry’s “Firework.”) This year’s show, which beams live from Los Angeles’ massive Staples Center Thursday night at 8 PM Eastern, prides itself on first-run moments, including new tracks from Green Day and Alicia Keys and the first live performances of new singles by Taylor Swift and Pink.

But since there’s not a whole lot of investment in the winner of Best Male Video (unless you literally have invested something with your local bookie), here are the seven questions you should keep on your mind if you tune in. (And even if you don’t, you’re still invited to hang out with the Music Mix tomorrow evening, as we’ll have a live blog, photo galleries, and a full breakdown of the show’s best performances and biggest moments.)

How will host Kevin Hart do?
The VMAs have had some pretty big names host the show before, though there have really only been a handful of memorable ones (see: Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, and pre-Fox News Dennis Miller). In the last few years, the role of host has been either ignored completely (neither the 2011 or 2007 shows had hosts) or given to people ill-suited for the job (Russell Brand, Chelsea Handler, and Jack Black all sort of punted it). READ FULL STORY »