The MTV Video Music Awards returned with gusto, showcasing the best the music world has to offer. Following a virtual, pre-recorded ceremony last year in the midst of the pandemic, the VMAs went live once again, straight from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Hosted by Doja Cat, the rapper-singer-songwriter had a big night. Performing her single “Be Like This” and “You Right”, she took home the award for Best Collaboration with SZA for “Kiss Me More”.
https://youtu.be/FIvS374wMuw
The night was packed with live performances from such names as Twenty One Pilots, Ed Sheeran, Kacey Musgraves, and many, many more. Notably absent from the list was Lorde. Originally slated to perform, she backed out due to restrictions from COVID19. Her desired setup for the show did not comply with restrictions, so the Kiwi passed on this year’s ceremony.
And the award goes to…
Leading the pack in nominations was Justin Bieber with a whopping nine nominations. Justin took home the awards for Best Pop Song (“Peaches”) and Artist of The Year. Later on, he performed with Aussie singer The Kid LAROI on their single “Stay”.
Next in line for nominations was Megan Thee Stallion with six, including Best Artist of the Year and Best Collaboration. She went home empty-handed.
Following her in nominations were Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo, each with five. Lil Nas X won big, taking home the coveted Video of the Year Award, Best Direction, and Best Visual Effects for his smash single “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)“. Lil Nas X also performed with Jack Harlow, the two artists crushing it on “Industry Baby” and “MONTERO”.
https://youtu.be/0RiU2APCzN4
Billie Eilish collected the Video for Good award for her single “Your Power” and Best Latin Song with Rosalia for their collaboration on “Lo Vas A Olvidar”.
Olivia Rodrigo joined Bieber with three wins, taking home Song of the Year, PUSH Performance of the Year–for her hit song “Drivers License”–and the Facebook-sponsored Best New Artist Award. She went on to perform her single “good 4 u” in classic, silky style.
https://youtu.be/kkTraI380Qs
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, making up the power duo Silk Sonic, bagged two awards for their single “Leave the Door Open”, winning Best R&B and Best Editing.
The award for Best Cinematography was a historic one. Blue Ivy Carter, the daughter of Jay-Z and Beyoncé, won the award alongside her mother for the latter’s video “Brown Skin Girl”. This makes Blue Ivy Carter, aged nine, the youngest VMA winner in history.
Check out the full list of winners and nominees below:
Video of the Year
Cardi B: ‘WAP’ ft. Megan Thee Stallion
DJ Khaled and Drake: ‘POPSTAR’ (starring Justin Bieber)
Doja Cat: ‘Kiss Me More’ ft. SZA
Ed Sheeran: ‘Bad Habits’
Lil Nas X: ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’
The Weeknd: ‘Save Your Tears’
Artist of the Year
Ariana Grande
Doja Cat
Justin Bieber
Megan Thee Stallion
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift
Group of the Year
BTS
Blackpink
CNCO
Foo Fighters
Jonas Brothers
Maroon 5
Silk Sonic
Twenty One Pilots
Song of the Year
24kGoldn: ‘Mood’ ft. iann dior
Silk Sonic: ‘Leave the Door Open’
BTS: ‘Dynamite’
Cardi B: ‘WAP’ ft. Megan Thee Stallion
Dua Lipa: ‘Levitating’
Olivia Rodrigo: ‘Drivers License’
Best New Artist, Presented by Facebook
24kGoldn
Giveon
The Kid LAROI
Olivia Rodrigo
Polo G
Saweetie
Best Breakthrough Song
Claire Rosinkranz — ‘Backyard Boy’
Masked Wolf: ‘Astronaut In The Ocean’
Bella Poarch: ‘Build a Bitch’
Young Baby Tate ft. Flo Milli: ‘I Am’
Whoheem: ‘Let’s Link’
PUSH Performance of the Year
September 2020: Wallows – ‘Are You Bored Yet?’
October 2020: Ashnikko – ‘Daisy’
November 2020: SAINt JHN – ‘Gorgeous’
December 2020: 24kGoldn – ‘Coco’
January 2021: JC Stewart – ‘Break My Heart’
February 2021: Latto – ‘Sex Lies’
March 2021: Madison Beer – ‘Selfish’
April 2021: The Kid LAROI – ‘WITHOUT YOU’
May 2021: Olivia Rodrigo – ‘Drivers license’
June 2021: Girl In Red – ‘Serotonin’
July 2021: Fousheé – ‘My Slime’
August 2021: jxdn – ‘Think About Me’
Best Collaboration
24kGoldn: ‘Mood’ ft. iann dior
Cardi B: ‘WAP’ ft. Megan Thee Stallion
Doja Cat: ‘Kiss Me More’ ft. SZA
Drake: ‘Laugh Now Cry Later’ ft. Lil Durk
Justin Bieber: ‘Peaches’ ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon
Miley Cyrus: ‘Prisoner’ ft. Dua Lipa
Best Pop
Ariana Grande: ‘positions’
Billie Eilish: ‘Therefore I Am’
BTS: ‘Butter’
Harry Styles: ‘Treat People With Kindness’
Justin Bieber: ‘Peaches’
Olivia Rodrigo: ‘Good 4 U’
Shawn Mendes: ‘Wonder’
Taylor Swift: ‘Willow’
Best Hip-Hop
Cardi B: ‘WAP’ ft. Megan Thee Stallion
Drake: ‘Laugh Now Cry Later’ ft. Lil Durk
Lil Baby: ‘On Me (Remix)’ ft. Megan Thee Stallion
Moneybagg Yo: ‘Said Sum’
Polo G: ‘RAPSTAR’
Travis Scott: ‘FRANCHISE’ ft. Young Thug & M.I.A.
Best Rock
Evanescence: “Use My Voice”
Foo Fighters: “Shame Shame”
John Mayer: “Last Train Home”
The Killers: “My Own Soul’s Warning”
Kings of Leon: “The Bandit”
Lenny Kravitz: “Raise Vibration”
Best Alternative
Bleachers: ‘Stop Making This Hurt’
Glass Animals: ‘Heat Waves’
Imagine Dragons: ‘Follow You’
Machine Gun Kelly: ‘my ex’s best friend’ ft. blackbear]
twenty one pilots: ‘Shy Away’
WILLOW: ‘t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l’ ft. Travis Barker
Best Latin
Bad Bunny / Jhay Cortez: ‘Dákiti’
Billie Eilish / Rosalía: ‘Lo Vas A Olvidar’
Black Eyed Peas / Shakira: ‘GIRL LIKE ME’
J Balvin / Dua Lipa / Bad Bunny / Tainy: ‘UN DIA (ONE DAY)’
Karol G: ‘Bichota’
Maluma: ‘Hawái’
Best R&B
Beyoncé / Blue Ivy / SAINt JHN / WizKid: ‘BROWN SKIN GIRL’
Silk Sonic: ‘Leave the Door Open’
Chris Brown / Young Thug: ‘Go Crazy’
Giveon: ‘HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY’
H.E.R.: ‘Come Through’ ft. Chris Brown
SZA: ‘Good Days’
Best K-Pop
(G)I-DLE: ‘DUMDi DUMDi’
BLACKPINK / Selena Gomez: ‘Ice Cream’
BTS: ‘Butter’
Monsta X: ‘Gambler’
SEVENTEEN: ‘Ready to love’
TWICE: ‘Alcohol-Free’
Video for Good
Billie Eilish: ‘Your Power’
Demi Lovato: ‘Dancing With the Devil’
H.E.R.: ‘Fight for You’
Kane Brown: ‘Worldwide Beautiful’
Lil Nas X: ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’
Pharrell Williams: ‘Entrepreneur’ ft. JAY-Z
Best Direction
Billie Eilish: ‘Your Power’ (dir. Billie Eilish)
DJ Khaled ft. Drake: ‘POPSTAR’ (dir. Director X)
Lil Nas X: ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’ (dir. Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino)
Taylor Swift: ‘Willow’ (dir. Taylor Swift)
Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A: ‘Franchise’ (dir. Travis Scott)
Tyler, the Creator – ‘LUMBERJACK’ (dir. Wolf Haley)
Best Cinematography
Beyoncé / Blue Ivy / SAINt JHN / WizKid: ‘BROWN SKIN GIRL’ (cinematography: Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, MOHAMMAED ATTA AHMED, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant)
Billie Eilish: ‘Therefore I Am’ (cinematography: Rob Witt)
Foo Fighters: ‘Shame Shame’ (cinematography: Santiago Gonzalez)
Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper: ‘Holy’ (cinematography: Elias Talbot)
Lady Gaga: ‘911’ (cinematography: Jeff Cronenweth)
Lorde: ‘Solar Power’ (cinematography: Andrew Stroud)
Best Art Direction
Beyoncé / Shatta Wale / Major Lazer: ‘ALREADY’ (art direction: Susan Linns, Gerard Santos)
Ed Sheeran: ‘Bad Habits’ (art direction: Alison Dominitz)
Lady Gaga: ‘911’ (art direction: Tom Foden, Peter Andrus)
Lil Nas X: ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’ (art direction: John Richoux)
Saweetie ft. Doja Cat: ‘Best Friend’ (art direction: Art Haynes)
Taylor Swift: ‘Willow’ (art direction: Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez)
Best Visual Effects
Bella Poarch: ‘Build A Bitch’ (visual effects: Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova)
Coldplay: ‘Higher Power’ (visual effects: Mathematic)
Doja Cat & The Weeknd: ‘You Right’ (visual effects: La Pac, Anthony Lestremau, Julien Missaire, Petr Shkolniy, Alexi Bailla, Micha Sher, Antoine Hache, Mikros MPC, Nicolas Huget, Guillaume Ho Tsong Fang, Benjamin Lenfant, Stephane Pivron, MPC Bangalore, Chanakya Chander, Raju Ganesh, David Rouxel)
Glass Animals: ‘Tangerine’ (visual effects: Ronan Fourreau)
Lil Nas X: ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’ (visual effects: Mathematic)
P!NK: ‘All I Know So Far’ (visual effects: Dave Meyers, Freenjoy Inc)
Best Choreography
Ariana Grande: ’34+35′ (choreography: Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson)
BTS: ‘Butter’ (choreography: SON SUNG DEUK With BHM PERFORMANCE DIRECTING TEAM)
Ed Sheeran: ‘Bad Habits’ (choreography: Natricia Bernard)
Foo Fighters: ‘Shame Shame’ (choreography: Nina McNeely)
Harry Styles: ‘Treat People With Kindness’ (choreography: Paul Roberts)
Marshmello & Halsey: ‘Be Kind’ (choreography: Dani Vitale)
Best Editing
Silk Sonic: ‘Leave the Door Open’ (editing: Troy Charbonnet)
BTS: ‘Butter’ (editing: Yong Seok Choi from Lumpens)
Drake: ‘What’s Next’ (editing: Noah Kendal)
Harry Styles: ‘Treat People With Kindness’ (editing: Claudia Wass)
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon: ‘Peaches’ (editing: Mark Mayr, Vinnie Hobbs)
Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa: “Prisoner’ (editing: William Town at Modern Post)
Song of the Summer
Billie Eilish: ‘Happier Than Ever’
BTS: ‘Butter’
Camila Cabello: Don’t Go Yet’
DJ Khaled feat. Lil Baby and Lil Durk: ‘Every Chance I Get’
Doja Cat: ‘Need To Know’
Dua Lipa: ‘Levitating’
Ed Sheeran: ‘Bad Habits’
Giveon: ‘Heartbreak Anniversary’
Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon: ‘Peaches’
The Kid LAROI with Justin Bieber: ‘Stay’
Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow: ‘Industry Baby’
Lizzo feat. Cardi B: ‘Rumors’
Megan Thee Stallion: ‘Thot Shit’
Normani feat. Cardi B: ‘Wild Side’
Olivia Rodrigo: ‘Good 4 U’
Shawn Mendes and Tainy: ‘Summer Of Love’
Garrett C. Owen
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