[3] Nominees were announced at a press conference held at Top of the Rock and hosted by Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, Beyoncé, and Justin Timberlake on July 31.

[6] Hosted by Kurt Loder and SuChin Pak with reports from John Norris, Sway, and Gideon Yago, the pre-show featured red carpet interviews and performances from Fergie and My Chemical Romance.

[7] Expanding the previous year’s use of MTV Overdrive for bonus material, MTV Overdrive simultaneously aired a VMA Live: Backstage Uncensored channel, providing live footage of presenters and performers in the backstage areas, which was heavily promoted during the linear broadcast.

In addition, The Raconteurs served as the house band, being joined by Lou Reed and Billy Gibbons on select songs.

[1] The winner selected by voters at mtv.com [2] received a paid trip to the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, and was allowed to interview all the stars on the red carpet.