The 40th MTV Video Music Awards brought together the biggest stars in the music industry last night for an incredible show in New York City. With Megan Thee Stallion hosting, this year's ceremony featured amazing performances, special awards, accolades, and much more. Let’s recap it all!
With an array of presenters, everyone from Paris Hilton to Cyndi Lauper to Addison Rae handed out awards. Other presenters included Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles, Orlando Bloom, Halle Bailey, Lil Nas X, Miranda Lambert, Big Sean, and Suki Waterhouse.
The night started with Eminem taking inspiration from his memorable performance of "The Real Slim Shady" at the VMAs in 2000, but this year he sang both "Houdini" and "Somebody Save Me".
The first award of the night, Best Collab, went to Taylor Swift and Post Malone for their music video for the song “Fortnite.” Later on, Katy Perry received the Video Vanguard Award from her husband, Orlando Bloom, after performing a mashup of some of her greatest hits including "Dark Horse", “California Girls”, “Teenage Dream”, “Firework”, and more! When giving her speech, she gave a special thanks to her fans for supporting her through her 10+ years-long career as well as her team, noting that it takes a village to keep creating for so long.
The show also featured many throwback moments from previous shows over the past 4 decades, featuring Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Bieber. One moment that truly stood out was host Megan Thee Stallion dressing up as Britney Spears from her iconic 2001 VMA performance where she sang “Slave 4 U” with a snake wrapped around her body. Megan wore the same exact outfit, down to holding the snake in her arms before being scared and calling for it to be taken away.
Chappell Roan Took home the coveted award of Best New Artist, beating out Tyla and Gracie Abrams. Other winners included Sabrina Carpenter's “Espresso” for Song of the Year, Billie Eilish's “What Was I Made For” for Song for Good, SZA's “Snooze” for Best R&B Video, Tyla's "Water" for Best Afrobeats, Benson Boone's “Beautiful Things” for Best Alternative, Lisa's "Rockstar" for Best K-Pop, Lenny Kravitz's “Human” for Best Rock, and Eminem's “Houdini” for Best Hip Hop.
The night couldn’t be over without jaw-dropping performances, and there were lots of them. Singers such as Shawn Mendes, Teddy Swims, DJ Kahled & Anitta, Benson Boone, Halsey, and Lenny Kravitz took the stage. Chappell Roan set the stage on fire (literally) with a breathtaking, Medieval-inspired performance of her hit "Good Luck, Babe!"
We even got a special performance from Sabrina Carpenter, who won Song of the Year after she performed her three hit singles “Please, Please, Please”, “Taste”, and “Espresso”.
Lastly, Taylor Swift took home the biggest award of the night, Video of the Year for "Fortnite", officially breaking Beyoncé's record for most VMA Awards!
You can stream the VMAs on Hulu!