Hosted by Megan Thee Stallion, the MTV VMAs celebrated their 40th anniversary on Wednesday, September 11th. The show paid homage to many iconic moments from its history, while also giving new artists their time to shine.
The show opened with Eminem performing two hits from his most recent album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), with hundreds of lookalikes in tow, reminiscent of his 2001 MTV VMA act.
Later in the night, Eminem’s single “Houdini” won two awards– Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Visual Effects. These awards brought the Detroit rapper to a total of 15, making him the most awarded male artist at the VMAs.
Several other homages were made to moments in the show’s history, including Megan Thee Stallion’s outfit featuring a live snake, a callback to Britney Spears’ 2001 “I’m a Slave 4 U” outfit. Katy Perry also performed a nearly ten-minute-long medley of her hits from 2008-2013, featuring songs like “California Gurls” and “ET”.
Taylor Swift won an astounding seven awards out of her ten nominations. This impressive list includes the night’s biggest honor, Best Video, for her collaboration with Post Malone on the song “Fortnight.” She earned this award for the third time in a row, after her songs “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” and “Anti-Hero” won in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
“Fortnight” was also awarded Song of the Summer, in a highly competitive category that also included more ubiquitous hit singles, such as “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter, and “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan. Swift also won Best Artist, Best Editing, Best Pop Video, Best Collaboration, and Best Direction, making her tied with Beyoncé for the most VMAs with 30 each.
This year has featured the explosions of several pop artists, but perhaps none have blown up as much as pop singer Chappell Roan. With the aforementioned single “Good Luck, Babe!” and performances aplenty at festivals throughout the summer, Roan reached viral success on social media, which was reflected at the VMAs, where Roan won Best New Artist. The singer also performed “Good Luck, Babe!” on a medieval-themed set in one of the most memorable moments of the night.
Another pop musician who found success at the VMAs was former Disney Channel star Sabrina Carpenter, who released her first four albums under Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned label. With her 2021 switch to Island Records, Carpenter has been able to reach mainstream success of her own accord, and her most recent singles have reached new heights of popularity. With an amazing seven nominations, Carpenter won Song of the Year for her single “Espresso” and performed a medley of hits from her newest album, Short and Sweet.
Singer Benson Boone won Best Alternative, one of his three nominations, for his song “Beautiful Things” which he performed at the show. Other notable winners include “Rockstar” by Lisa for Best K-pop, Korean boy band Seventeen for Best Group, “Houdini” by Dua Lipa for Best Choreography, and “Water” by Tyla for Best Afrobeats.
The VMAs are a unique award show because, except for technical awards such as Best Direction, artists win awards based on their fans’ opinions. Unlike award shows such as the Grammys, fans can take part in the voting process and have a say in which one of their favorite artists will win big. This aspect of the show increases engagement and excitement, helping the VMAs survive even after MTV’s tragic death.
