MTV’s Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Sept. 11 made for a night of broken records, fun performances and inspirational speeches from America’s favorite artists.
This year’s categories were highly competitive, with some of the year’s biggest artists battling for awards like Artist of the Year, Best New Artist and Video of the Year.
Out of her 12 nominations, Taylor Swift brought home seven awards, many for her collaboration with Post Malone on “Fortnight.” These awards include Video of the Year, Best Collaboration, Song of the Summer, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Pop and the highly coveted Artist of the Year.
Throughout her many acceptance speeches, Swift reminded viewers of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and urged viewers to register to vote. She also thanked her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, for cheering her on on the “Fortnight” set.
With these seven wins, Swift has reached 30 total VMAs, breaking the record for the most VMAs for a solo artist. The accomplishment follows a successful year for Swift, with the continuation of her Eras Tour and the release of her album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
This summer’s pop sensation Chappell Roan took home the Best New Artist award against fellow nominees Gracie Abrams, Tyla, Teddy Swims, Benson Boone and Shaboozey.
Roan’s acceptance speech, which came from her diary, shouted out the LGBTQ+ youth in the Midwest who grew up like she did: “And for all the queer kids in the Midwest watching right now, I see you. I understand you because I’m one of you. And don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t be exactly who you want to be…”
Sasha Colby, Roan’s idol, introduced Roan’s Joan of Arc-inspired performance, adopting Roan as her drag daughter. The performance lit up the stage, literally. The medieval performance featured flames and suits of armor as Roan sang her hit song, “Good Luck, Babe.”
Another iconic performance came from Sabrina Carpenter, who sang a medley of “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste.” Carpenter’s space themed set provided a fun accompaniment to the melody, where Carpenter even kissed an alien.
Carpenter, who was nominated for seven awards, won Song of the Year for her smash hit, “Espresso.” Other artists in the category were Beyonce, Jack Harlow, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift and Teddy Swims, so winning this award was a huge accomplishment. Carpenter referenced the catchy bop in her acceptance speech, thanking “that me espresso.”
Eminem won the Best Hip-Hop award for his song “Houdini,” which he performed in his opening performance. The song was performed in conjunction with his Jelly Roll collaboration, “Somebody Save Me.” Eminem’s performance closely resembled his “The Real Slim Shady” VMAs performance in 2000, with a group of Eminem-look-alikes wearing platinum blonde wigs.
Host Megan Thee Stallion won two of her seven nominations: Best Trending Video for “Boa” and Best Art Direction for “Mamushi.” Megan’s stunning looks, including a recreation of Britney Spears’s “Slave 4 U” outfit, and superb performance of a medley of her latest hits, made her an iconic figure during the show.
Another medley performance that has generated conversation is Katy Perry’s greatest hits performance. Perry performed songs “Roar,” “California Gurls,” “I Kissed a Girl,” E.T.,” “I’m His, He’s Mine” and more.
Perry was the recipient of this year’s Video Vanguard Award, previously the Lifetime Achievement Award, for her profound impact on music videos and pop culture.
Perry said, “Thank you MTV for always believing in my weirdness from day one and helping artists extend their world beyond a song.” Perry’s iconic videos for songs like “Dark Horse” and “Firework,” among many others from the 2000s and 2010s, made Perry shine among her competitors.
Outside of the aforementioned performances, the VMAs featured many memorable performances from current music stars Karol G, Lisa, Shawn Mendes, Anitta, Benson Boone, Rauw Alejandro, Halsey, Lenny Kravitz, Camila Cabello, GloRilla and LL Cool J.
To view the full list of winners, visit MTV’s website.
