The MTV Video Music Awards were once the premier playground for pop culture superstars of their respective eras: think Madonna in the '80s and '90s, Britney Spears in the '90s and '00s, and Kanye West in the '00s and '10s.

But its impact has diminished just as MTV's has, and much like the network that birthed it, the VMAs are currently struggling to find their place in the culture.

Sunday night's VMAs are set to air, for the first time, on CBS. (They will also be broadcast on MTV, which will take a few hours off from airing "Ridiculousness" to mark the occasion.) While it marks a new era for the show, its days as the most outrageous, unpredictable awards show on television are well in its past.

These days, the VMAs are lucky to make a ripple in the pop culture landscape. But once was a

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