On Wednesday, September 11th, MTV aired the 40th annual Video Music Awards. Hosted by Megan Thee Stallion, the award show attracted its largest television audience in four years with over four million viewers. Although some scripted jokes may have fallen flat, Megan’s genuine personality carried the show smoothly. There is something very likable about Thee Stallion, whether it's her playful attitude or friendly demeanor, that made her an enjoyable host.
The show opened with a passionate performance by Eminem, who performed a mashup between songs from his latest project, “Houdini”, and his classic hits from the 2000s like "Without Me." The energy then amped up as Karol G and LISA lit the stage with choreography and electric stage presence. LISA notably took the stage for the first time as a soloist since debuting under the group BLACKPINK.
First-time main show performer, Sabrina Carpenter, delivered an excellent performance, giving a glimpse of what will come in her upcoming worldwide arena tour. She commanded the stage with a charisma and charm that is addictive, taking the stage with her hit songs “Please Please Please”, “Taste” and “Espresso”. The crowd echoed every lyric, acting as Carpenter’s background singers, with viewers inside and outside of the arena singing along to her unforgettable hits.
This year’s “Video Vanguard Award” winner, Katy Perry, took over the stage with a captivating compilation performance. She began with a rendition of the #1 hit, "E.T." Her captivating aerial choreography was truly supernatural. Katy also teamed with Doechii and performed her latest collaboration titled “I’m His, He’s Mine” which samples the 90s hit “Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)” by Crystal Waters. The performance attempted to reach the provocation of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP" but fell short of that energy. She then delivered a fiery rendition of her 2008 single, "I Kissed a Girl" featuring a live rock ensemble. Her vocal performance peaked during her emotional rendition of “Firework.” Despite a decline in popularity since her golden years, Katy embraced this chance to shine in the spotlight again, and you could feel that energy. She closed out her medley with her 2024 single, “Lifetimes” which is not as strong as "Firework", but acted as a chill way to end the performance.
The night's “Best New Artist” winner, Chappell Roan, showed out for her first televised career performance. Initially, the Missouri-born singer was met with backlash when she allegedly canceled her Paris and Amsterdam shows to prepare for her debut VMA performance. Despite the controversy, Chappell delivered. Her vocals in this stage of “Good Luck, Babe!” were the biggest highlight of her set. Featuring imagery drawn from Joan of Arc, her stage performance was captivating. The use of pyrotechnics tied with the costume design paired very well and the performance has received mass praise.
Host, Megan Thee Stallion, didn’t hold back during her multi-stage performance of "BOA", "HISS", "B.A.S." and "Mamushi." The Houston-born rapper showed her staple strengths in stage presence and energy. The rapper also brought out "Mamushi" collaborator, Yuki Chiba, for his first US televised performance.
One of my highlights of the night was Rauw Alejandro's medley performance, especially of "Dejame Entrar." Despite not being the biggest name, the music spoke for itself. I couldn't help but thoroughly enjoy the production of the music and groove along to it.
One of my dislikes from the night's show was the constant performances from Teddy Swims and Jessie Murph’s Extended Play Stage. Teddy Swims was a fine choice and he held himself fairly well on the Doritos-sponsored stage. Still, Jessie Murph’s vocal performance lacked individuality and sounded a little too much like Amy Winehouse, even down to the attire.
Despite not performing, Taylor Swift was the night's big winner, taking home 7 awards (the most of any artist). Of these awards, she brings home Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration, and (most divisively) Song of the Summer. She also officially became the artist with the most solo VMAs in VMA history.
Swift's dominance was unsurprisingly met with backlash from some groups, especially those that felt her wins were undeserving. In the final polling, the Song of the Summer leaders were "Fortnight" by Taylor Swift and "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" by Billie Eilish. Eilish's song technically led in streams throughout the June-August period, but the main key is fan voting, and the Swifties have yet to lose voting mobilization.
As we reach the end of the year, Grammys season gets closer and I’m interested if we’ll see any trends in common to the VMAs when nominations get revealed.
Here’s a recap of the main categories of the night:
- Best Afrobeats: "Water" by Tyla
- Best K-POP: "Rockstar" by LISA
- Best Latin: "Mil Veces" by Anitta
- Best New Artist: Chappel Roan
- Best Collaboration: "Fortnight" by Taylor Swift and Post Malone
- Song of the Year: "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter
- Video of the Year: "Fortnight" by Taylor Swift and Post Malone
- Video Vanguard Recipient: Katy Perry
Here’s a full list of all the nominations and winners.
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