An unsuspecting CBS viewer tuning in at about 8:30 on Sunday night may have been in for a shock. For the first time ever, the network was airing MTV’s annual Video Music Awards —and showing a performance that might have seemed cutting edge in 1999 . The show devoted about 10 minutes to a celebration of Ricky Martin, who sang a rousing medley of his hits and accepted the first ever Latin Icon Award.

It was the first in a series of retrospective moments throughout the three-hour show, which was hosted by early 90s MTV standby (and five-time Grammy host on CBS) LL Cool J and featured performances from Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes, along with a cameo from Aerosmith in a Yungblud -fronted tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. After decades of cultural pandering to Baby Boomers—a generatio

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