Women took the spotlight at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards in a show that had a female-dominated Artist of the Year category for the first time since it was introduced in 2017. As anticipated, Taylor Swift swept the show’s 40th edition which celebrated the big names in pop music, leading the pack with an impressive 11 nominations. She won in nine categories, including Video of the Year and Song of the Year, for Anti-Hero. Swift, along with Rita Ora and Olivia Rodrigo, also turned heads in eye-catching gowns as they arrived for the gala ceremony, hosted on the night of September 12 (early morning of September 13 in India) at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey. Emceeing for the second consecutive time, Nicki Minaj hosted a show that brought in the hottest acts, highlighted the most exciting newcomers and honoured the trailblazers of popular music. The night also welcomed the brand new category Best Afrobeats. Shakira, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B., Demi Lovato and Olivia Rodrigo were among the night’s big performers.
Thirteen important categories including artist of the year, show of the summer, group of the year, song of the summer, album of the year, best alternative video and best rock video, were however not televised as the night ended with Taylor Swift winning Video of the Year. In addition to a star turn by Diddy earlier in the show, Grandmaster Flash, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and LL Cool J performed a closing segment that comprised a special 50th anniversary salute to hip-hop. Glimpses.
Taylor Swift took home the top prize for Video of the Year for her Anti-Hero music video. After her name was announced, the pop superstar hugged her collaborators and held their hands before taking the stage to receive the award from LL Cool J. “This is unbelievable. I just want to say, the fact that this is a fan-voted award means so much to me,” she said in her acceptance speech. After the show, MTV announced that Swift “solidifies her place in show history tying for most wins in one night and now second-most overall wins.
Ice Spice capped off a breakout year with an award for Best New Artist. In her acceptance speech, the Bronx-born rapper reserved a special shoutout for her fans after thanking her manager and her record label. “I just want to thank my Munchkins,” she said, referencing the name for her fanbase. “I love you guys so much.”
Colombian stars Shakira and Karol G received the VMA for Best Collaboration for their song TQG, taking the stage during an emotional moment, sharing how proud they are of representing their home country and sending out a special message to their fans in Spanish. “If collaborating with the legendary Shakira had been impressive, having an award with her is something from another planet,” Karol G said, before sharing her appreciation with her fans, “Thank you everybody I love you!” she concluded, hugging Shakira and blowing kisses to the crowd.
Shakira won the Video Vanguard Award, the first South American artist to win the coveted award. She looked back at her career and thanked her fans and those who have played a key role in her “visual history” while accepting the award. Earlier, she performed Hips Don’t Lie, Objection (Tango), Whenever, Wherever and more in her showstopping Video Vanguard performance.
Emcee Nicki Minaj who bagged the Best HipHop award for Super Freaky Girl also took the stage for the debut live performance of her latest single Last Time I Saw You.
Rapper Diddy accepted the Global Icon award with a moving speech that began with “Love wins!”
Italian rockers Maneskin posed with the Best Rock Award for The Loneliest. The band comprising Ethan Torchio, Thomas Raggi, Victoria De Angelis and Damiano David also performed their recently released single Honey (Are U Coming?) at the awards.
Rema and Selena Gomez received the first Best Afrobeats Award from actress Tiffany Haddish for their viral song Calm Down. While Rema thanked his fans and Selena in his speech, Selena added, “Thank you Rema for believing in me.”
Stray Kids were ecstatic to receive the Best K-Pop award for their song S-Class, following up their win with a pulse-pounding performance of the single, packed with their signature lockstep choreography, dynamic visuals and multi-layered vocals.
Fresh off the release of her sophomore album Get Him Back, singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo made a jawdropping appearance at the MTV VMA, walking the carpet in a sparkly silver gown by Ludovic de Saint Sernin embellished with 1,50,000 Swarovski crystals. The star, who performed Vampire and Get Him Back for the audience, also walked away with the award for best editing for Vampire, edited by Sofia Kerpan and David Checel.