Most award shows wait until the end of the show to give out the really big awards, but this year’s MTV VMAs, which aired live from UBS Arena in New York on Sunday night, were forced to move up their schedule because one winner had a more pressing engagement.
The first award given out was artist of the year, and it went to Lady Gaga, who accepted the honor wearing a fabulous head-to-toe black ruffled gown. In her lengthy speech, she thanked her fans and her fiancé, Michael Polansky. “Thank you little monsters, my fans, for always supporting me and for always supporting the monster in me,” she said. “And to my partner in all things, Michael, creating this year with you was a beautiful, beautiful dream, and you have been my partner every step of the way.”
Gaga then left, since she had to be onstage at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 90 minutes. Later in the show, she was introduced as performing from the iconic venue, and sang “Abracadabra” and her new single, “The Dead Dance.” While it did take place at the Garden, the performance was prerecorded on Sept. 6.
Gaga was one of the night’s big winners, taking home four Moon Persons in all, including best collaboration for “Die with a Smile” and two technical awards for “Abracadabra.” The other big winner was Ariana Grande, who won three, including the big one, video of the year, for her short film Brighter Days Ahead. Ari thanked her fans, noting, “I love you with all my heart: I have since I was a teenager, when we first crossed paths, and I will for my whole life.”
Ari was also on hand to present the Video Vanguard Award to Mariah Carey. “As a vocalist, there’s only one queen, and that’s Mariah,” Ari said.
Mariah took the stage to perform a medley of hits, including “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed,” “It’s Like That” and “We Belong Together.” In her speech, she noted that prior to Sunday, she’d never won a VMA before, and joked, “What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” In fact, on Sunday, she won two: She also picked up best R&B for “Type Dangerous.”
ROSÉ‘s collab with Bruno Mars, “APT.,” was named song of the year, and the BLACKPINK star dedicated her award, first to her “16-year-old self,” before adding, “As my therapist tells me to do every day, I’d like to thank myself — for not giving up, even in the toughest of times.”
Sabrina Carpenter won best pop artist and best album for Short N’ Sweet; her video for “Manchild” also won a technical award. Plus, she performed her new single, “Tears,” on a big city-themed set where she emerged from a manhole. She was surrounded by drag queens for the performance, holding signs with messages like “Protect Trans Rights” and “If You Hate, You Will Never Get Laid.”
Other notable performances included:
Doja Cat opening the show with an ’80s-coded rendition of her new song “Jealous Type.”
Alex Warren enlisting a huge choir and a troupe of drummers and dancers to perform a medley of “Eternity” and “Ordinary.”
Tate McRae doing her usual incredible choreography while performing “Revolving Door” and “Sports Car.” She also won song of the summer for “Just Keep Watching.”
Conan Gray singing “Vodka Cranberry” while dressed as a prince mourning his dead lover.
Huge production numbers by Latin Icon honoree Ricky Martin and Rock the Bells Visionary Award honoree Busta Rhymes, who both performed medleys of their many hits.
A tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne from Yungblud and Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.
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