OMG: MTV is bringing back “Unplugged,” and the first guest is perfect
MTV is going back to the future this year. After announcing that they’d be bringing back Total Request Live, MTV is bringing back Unplugged, too. This is the second time that the live music show has been revived — some fans might remember Unplugged 2.0 from 2000 to 2009. But the first guest this time around is a sign that the show is trying to go back its glory days in the ’90s.
Shawn Mendes will be the first guest on the refreshed Unplugged.
The singer/songwriter is the perfect kind of musician for the Unplugged series. But it won’t be all music this time around! In addition to featuring tunes, the new Unplugged will also feature comedians, too. When the show originally used to air throughout the nineties, MTV will put out album versions of the episodes. Some of those, like Nirvana’s legendary 1993 set, were more classic than albums the artists ever released themselves. With this new music and comedy format, the episodes might be must-sees again.
That’s definitely the plan, according to the network. It said in a statement, “Live performances are the beating heart of every episode and this show will provide a platform for artists to experiment with the unexpected, express their creativity in new ways and deliver one-off performances that will become inked in the public consciousness.”
Mendes’ episode, which was filmed at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, will air on September 9. He told Variety that was excited to be a part of the institution, especially after he watched the Pearl Jam episode from 1992. Mendes said, “It wasn’t so much about the commercial, showman side of it; It was really about the music.”
And that’s something Mendes thinks he and his fans will really be able to get into. He said:
"People come to my shows not really knowing what to expect, and they leave experiencing a real rock-pop concert. We’re playing 100 percent of the time. To be able to film that and put it out to the people is exciting."
MTV is making a bunch of changes this year, and a lot of them involve bringing back from gems from when it was all music, all the time. In addition to Unplugged, TRL is also making a comeback. The network is even rebuilding the iconic Times Square studio again, in an attempt to make MTV a proper destination again, both on TV and in real life. Given that 2017 isn’t exactly panning out to be the greatest year ever, we have to admit that we’re all about making the old new again — especially if it means more live music to add to our playlists.
