Last year’s MTV VMAs was one of the first major events after the COVID outbreak, this year, the award show was hosted live at the Barclays Center in New York.
Justin Bieber lead this year’s list of nominees with seven, followed by Megan Thee Stallion with six nods. Billie Eilish, BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, Giveon, Lil Nas X and Olivia Rodrigo, a first-time nominee, each earned five nominations.
Rapper Lil Nas X last night went home with the Video of the Year award at Sunday’s VMAs. “I do not take this for granted,” Lil Nas X said while accepting the night’s final award for the music video for his song, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”
However, much of the early show belonged to Bieber, who for his first VMAs performance in six years, rappelled from the ceiling of the Barclays Center at the start of the show for an energetic performance of “Stay” with Kid LAROI, which was followed by his single, “Ghost.” Bieber was the leading nominee going into the ceremony. He took home the best pop honour for “Peaches,” a song that featured Daniel Caesar and Giveon – who accompanied him onstage.
The Song of the Year and Push Performance award to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License.”
On the history side of things, Blue Ivy Carter copped the award for Best Cinematography for Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl“, which appeared on the album The Lion King: The Gift. Since Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s 9-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter is credited on the song, she became the youngest VMA winner ever.
The VMAs celebrated MTV’s 40th anniversary, mixing moments between early network stars like Cyndi Lauper and show opener Madonna with high-octane performances by newer stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Camila Cabello and Chloe, whose performance was trending on Twitter last night.