Kanye Steals the Spotlight

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• cause a stir
• touched
• outburst
• class act

• outspoken
• cross the line
• brat
• steal the spotlight

• publicity stunt
• country

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Last week, Taylor Swift’s dream came true when she won an MTV Video Music Award. But her dream was rudely interrupted when Kanye West grabbed the microphone from her and said that Beyonce should have won instead.

This isn’t the first time Kanye has created a controversy by being outspoken. And the VMAs have always included plenty of surprises, like when Madonna and Britney Spears kissed on stage. But this time Kanye may have crossed the line from outspoken to just plain mean. Find out what Devan and Jason think about the incident.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Devan

Jason

Devan:  So, last night I was watching the MTV Video Music Awards. Did you see what happened?

Jason:  No.

Devan:  With Kanye West?

Jason:  What did he do?

Devan:  What a brat. He totally stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift as she was accepting her award for Best Female Performance.

Jason:  Isn’t it cool that she won, I mean like a country singer winning a VMA?

Devan:  It was really cool, and she was really excited. But he decided to cause a stir by going up and grabbing the microphone from her while she was making her speech, and she was totally touched. And he just had this huge outburst, saying he thought Beyonce deserved to win.

Jason:  Woah! How did he even get up there and get the microphone?

Devan:  That’s what they were saying, they were like why didn’t security stop him?

Jason:  Apparently Kanye can just do whatever he wants.

Devan:  Apparently. But at the end Beyonce acted like a real class act when she won her award, because she brought Taylor back on stage and let her make her acceptance speech that Kanye ruined before.

Jason:  Woah. Do you think there’s any chance it’s a publicity stunt?

Devan:  Absolutely not.

Jason:  He was just really hurt that Beyonce didn’t win?

Devan:  He was just drunk, I think.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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