On Sunday, September 12, MTV hosted its annual Video Music Awards. The event was packed with many celebrities and musicians. Due to the pandemic, this was the first time in two years that MTV was able to host the VMAs in a somewhat normal way. But that wasn’t the only reason why this was a memorable event.
As is customary with many award shows, the red carpet looks are a focal point of the evening. Many celebrities wore very stylish outfits at this year’s VMAs, including Machine Gun Kelly, Megan Fox, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, and Doja Cat. Olivia Rodrigo wore a pink and orange Versace dress. Doja Cat wore a black, purple, and red Vivienne Westwood ensemble. Lil Nas X stole the show with a purple Versace suit and cape outfit.
The main purpose of the evening was the awards. Lil Nas X, a pop singer, won Video of the Year for his single, MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name), which was also a number one trending song on the social media platform TikTok. To no one’s surprise, BTS, a boy band, won Group of the Year.
There were a few surprising winners at the show as well. Many people were surprised that singer Justin Bieber won Artist of the Year, especially since he was up against some very popular musicians like Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, and Taylor Swift, who have all had big musical accomplishments this year. All five artists Bieber was up against released incredibly successful albums and singles that were all musical hallmarks of the past year.
“I think he deserved the award,” Junior Nyla Scarber said. “His songs Peaches, Holy, and Lonely were all top hits. Do I think that the other artists deserved the award? Yes. Potentially more than him? Yes… Justin is really making a comeback whereas the other artists have already been putting out music, aside from Olivia Rodrigo, she would’ve been my first choice to win, so I think that should be recognized.”
Olivia Rodrigo, a popular singer known for her heartbreak anthems, walked home with her first VMA awards for Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and Push Performance of the Year for her single drivers license and her album SOUR. Doja Cat and SZA won the award for Best Collaboration for their song Kiss Me More and Harry Styles won Best Choreography for the music video of his song Treat People With Kindness.
Another mentionable part of the VMA’s is the performances. Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker shared the stage to perform Kelly’s new single ‘papercuts’ as the show’s finale. The Foo Fighters, band, performed their songs Learn to Fly, Shame Shame, and Everlong. Lil Nas X performed his award-winning single, MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name), and was joined by Jack Harlow, singer, to perform their new single, Industry Baby. Another great performance was Olivia Rodrigo, joined by a group of backup dancers and an impressive light display, who sang her incredibly popular song Good 4 You. Other performers included Kacey Musgraves, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, and many more.
Even though the night was eventful enough, there were a few behind-the-scenes events that the cameramen failed to catch. Ultimate Fighting Champ star, Connor McGregor, got into a bit of a scuffle with singer Machine Gun Kelly on the red carpet, lunging and throwing a cocktail at him. The situation was diffused very quickly with MGK (Machine Gun Kelly) and his girlfriend, Megan Fox, being promptly escorted away by security.
“I only fight real fighters,” McGregor said. “People that actually fight. I don’t even know the guy, don’t know anything about him except that he’s with Megan Fox”.
This year’s VMAs was a great and memorable night in, potentially, a long line of post-pandemic award shows. Although, many people are questioning whether we are ready for in-person and maskless award shows, especially with the rise in COVID-19 cases in the US. Whether or not we are ready for them, award shows will most likely continue, giving us many more memorable award winners, outfits, and moments from them.