The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards took place on Wednesday in New York, where the show served as the 40th anniversary of the cultural event.
Rapper Eminem opened the show with a performance of his songs, “Houdini” and “Somebody Save Me,”with a crowd of people dressed up like his “Slim Shady” persona. This performance harkens back to his 2000 VMA performance of “The Real Slim Shady.”
Following this performance, the show was welcomed by this year’s host rapper Megan Thee Stallion, dawning a VMA bodysuit inspired by Beyoncé’s 2024 Paris Olympics bodysuit. From there, the show was filled with performances by LISA, Sabrina Carpenter, Camilla Cabello, and more.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift had a big night. Walking into the show as the most nominated with 12 nominations, the “Fortnight” singer walked away with seven wins including, Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Best Collaboration. She is now tied with Grammy-award winning singer Beyoncé for most-awarded VMA artist with 30 awards.
Chapelle Roan took home the Best New Artist award, after having a smash summer with her songs “Hot to Go” and “Good Luck Babe”. Performing in a Joan of Arc inspired outfit, her performance has been noted by various publications as being one of the “main highlights of the awards.”
Amongst other performers like Lenny Kravitz, Anitta, and Karol G, Katy Perry received the other high honor of the night which was the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. The award is given to artists who have shown excellence within the music video space. This honor has been received by Beyoncè, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, and more.
To celebrate her win, the “Firework” singer performed a 10 minute medley of her hit songs, including tracks from her upcoming album “143.”
Host Megan Thee Stallion performed a medley of songs off her self-titled third studio album, including the viral hit “Mamushi” with japanese rapper Yuki Chiba. Megan, who outside of performing, referenced iconic moments from past VMA performances throughout the night.
The “Body” singer cosplayed as pop-singer Britany Spears in an outfit inspired by her 2001 VMAs performance of “Slave 4 U.” Megan even dawned a live snake just as Spears did, which gave her a spook.
“Stop the music! Stop the music! I’m just playing, come get this snake,” Megan said to the stage crew. “I don’t know this snake, this snake don’t know me.”
The final performance of the night was a Def Jam Celebration, led by rapper LL Cool J, and featured Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav and Chuck D. The group performed some of Cool J’s greatest hits like, “Headsprung,” and “The G.O.A.T.” with audience members dawning the rapper’s signature Kangols hats in red.
Notably, no performers in R&B categories were on the VMA stage despite Coco Jones, Tinashe, and other known R&B artists being present at the award show.
Despite any criticism of the show, this year’s VMAs were able to pull 4.08 million viewers and experience a 8% increase in viewership compared to last year according to Variety. They also showed to have the highest VMA audience in 4 years.