The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2006 to June 2007, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, and renaming many of the remaining awards. The 2008 awards restored most of the categories. Overview On August 7, 2007, the nominees were announced live on TRL with a special performance by Kanye West. The week before the ceremony, the network aired VMA Week on TRL, along with VMA-related programming, including performances from top artists. The VMAs aired live that evening at 9:00 p.m. ET on MTV. MTV originally announced that the show would never be re-aired in its entirety, but program listings eventually showed that that was not the case. Perhaps as a concession that TV viewing audiences for the VMAs were decreasing year over year, the 2007 VMAs were produced on a smaller budget and in front of a smaller crowd. Unlike in past years where the show was shown on MTV in 16:9 HDTV letterboxed format, this year the ceremony was aired in 4:3 on the main channel. However, it was still produced in high definition, and was scheduled to air in full on MHD (the current MTV Live), Viacom's high definition channel, on September 22. At the last moment, a 'best of' 90 minute clip show was substituted due to the various issues with the ceremony. The venue at the Palms was criticized for its small stage. Only four performances took place on the main stage, which consisted of a small layered stage that led off to a number of "island" stages that served as guests' tables. Other performances occurred in other locations in the Palms, including guest suites. Kanye West was especially critical of this setup, claiming that he would "never return to MTV" after he was slotted to perform in the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa instead of the main stage. Awards Winners are in bold text Video of the Year Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z) – "Umbrella" Beyoncé – "Irreplaceable" Justice – "D.A.N.C.E." Justin Timberlake – "What Goes Around... Comes Around" Kanye West – "Stronger" Amy Winehouse – "Rehab" Male Artist of the Year Justin Timberlake Akon Robin Thicke T.I. Kanye West Female Artist of the Year Fergie Beyoncé Nelly Furtado Rihanna Amy Winehouse Best Group Fall Out Boy