MUMBAI: The last Moon Person has landed at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.
Taylor Swift emerged the biggest winner of the night, earning nine awards, including Video of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects all for “Anti-Hero,” Album of the Year for Midnights, plus Artist of the Year and Show of the Summer.
She became the first artist to win Video of the Year two years in a row, and extended her record for the most wins in that category to four, after previously winning for “Bad Blood,” “You Need to Calm Down,” and “All Too Well: The Short Film.”
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Swift’s first award of the night was handed out by the reunited members of NSYNC, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick. “You guys are pop personified so to receive this from your golden pop hands is really, it’s too much,” she told the boy banders.
After Lil Wayne opened the show at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Olivia Rodrigo stunned the crowd with a performance of her singles “Vampire” and “Get Him Back,” featuring an intentional stage glitch that alarmed some members of the audience. Later, Demi Lovato performed a rockified medley of old hits like “Cool for the Summer” and “Sorry Not Sorry” ahead of her upcoming album Revamped.
Meanwhile, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion performed their new single “Bongos” for the first time, complete with a fittingly percussive backing band. Doja Cat also performed three songs from her upcoming album Scarlet — “Attention,” “Paint the Town Red,” and “Demons — in one of the most electrifying performances of the evening.
Before Wyclef Jean presented her with the Video Vanguard Award, Shakira performed a dazzling medley of some of her biggest hits, including “Hips Don’t Lie,” “She Wolf,” and “TQG.” And Sean “Diddy” Combs also performed an impressive medley of some of his most timeless songs, including “I’ll Be Missing You,” “It’s All About the Benjamins,” and “Bad Boy for Life” before Mary J. Blige presented him with the Global Icon Award.
Host Nicki Minaj also delivered an energetic performance, singing “Last Time I Saw You” and debuted new material from her upcoming album Pink Friday 2. Later, Fall Out Boy performed their updated version of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” and Tomorrow X Together and Anitta premiered their new single “Back for More.”
Near the end of the show, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Minaj, Wayne, LL Cool J, and DMC celebrated 50 years of hip-hop with a timeless medley.
The night’s presenters also included Ice Spice, Sabrina Carpenter, Emily Ratajkowski, Jared Leto, French Montana, and Rita Ora.
Going into the night, Swift led the nominations pool with 11, while SZA had eight, and Blackpink, Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Minaj, and Rodrigo each had six.
