By Matt Scotto, Assistant Entertainment Editor

MTV’s Video Music Awards has been a September staple for as long as anyone could remember. This year marks the first time a female has hosted the show in 16 years, with Roseanne Barr hosting in 1994. Chelsea Handler was the center of attention last night as she took the VMAs into a new decade.

The ‘Chelsea Lately’ host proved on Sunday that MTV needed a break from all the testosterone, as she opened the show with a hilarious Lady Gaga parody, wearing a house on her head. In fact, the show was pretty much Gaga’s night, as she took home eight moon men (including the coveted “Best Video of the Year” for Bad Romance) out of a whopping 13 nominations. The pop star changed into 3 crazy-as-usual outfits last night, with the most memorable being a “meat dress.”

The night was also jam-packed with performances from last year’s most talked about stars, Taylor Swift and Kanye West. Swift debuted her new single “Innocent,” which was actually written about West. While her performance was shaky in some parts, she more than made up for it with her always-fantastic stage presence.

The best performance of the night, however, came from a lesser known act, Florence and the Machines, who sung her smash hit “Dog Days Are Gone” in an uproarious performance that was fabulously choreographed.

Other performers included an awesome opener by Eminem and Rihanna, a lackluster performance from the usually entertaining Usher, and a two-song medley from tween superstar Justin Bieber. Techno powerhouse deadmau5 acted as DJ for the night and kept the crowd dancing through the annoyingly lengthy and product placement-ridden commercial breaks (which MTV is notorious for).

Overall, it was a great night for the award show, which has seen a ratings slump in recent years. This year’s show was MTV’s highest rated since 2002, bringing in over 11 million viewers.

The 2010 VMAs took place in Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater. (Photo Courtesy of MTV)