Taylor Swift dominated this year's VMAs, winning seven awards, including Artist of the Year and Video of the Year, while rising star Chappell Roan claimed the coveted Best New Artist prize.
ADVERTISEMENTIn a night full of show-stopping performances, politics, backstage buzz, and just the right amount of sparkle, Taylor Swift (unsurpisingly) stole the show at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, snagging the most coveted prize: Video of the Year, for her smash hit "Fortnight," featuring Post Malone.
In her speech, she gave a heartfelt shoutout to her “boyfriend, Travis,” thanking him for supporting her on set of the music video. "Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic,” she said of NFL star Travis Kelce, before shifting gears to the 2024 Presidential election and instructing her fans who are over 18 to register to vote.
While Swift avoided directly addressing Kamala Harris' presidential bid on stage, she publicly endorsed the vice president shortly after Harris debated former president Donald Trump.
The pop superstar didn’t stop there, waltzing away with seven shiny new VMAs, including Artist of the Year, Best Pop, Best Editing, Best Direction, and Best Collaboration, which she and Post Malone accepted from Flavor Flav and Olympian Jordan Chiles.
In her acceptance speech for Best Collabroation, Swift paid tribute to everyone who lost their lives and loved ones during 9/11: “Guys, I wanted to say, waking up this morning in New York on September 11th, I’ve just been thinking about what happened 23 years ago. Everyone who lost a loved one and everyone that we lost, and that is the most important thing about today — and everything that happens tonight falls behind that."
She then discussed Malone: “There is a reason Post Malone is everyone in music’s favorite person to collaborate with. It has taken forever for me to get him to stop calling me ma’am," she joked on stage.
Rising star Chappell Roan won the award for Best New Artist and dedicated her win to the drag artists and queer and trans community that inspire her. The 26-year-old followed her triumph with an unforgettable medieval-themed performance, complete with knights battling as she performed her summer hit "Good Luck, Babe."
Pop star Sabrina Carpenter took home the trophy for Song of the Year for her track "Espresso," thanking her fans in a charming speech that included a playful nod to her song: “And thank you to that me-espresso.” Earlier in the night, she brought her summery-pop to the award show, powering through her hit singles “Please Please Please,” “Taste” and “Espresso” while dancing with a moon man and an alien.
Elsewhere, Tyla claimed the Best Afrobeats award, and Katy Perry was honoured with the Video Vanguard Award, during which she teased her upcoming single “I’m His, He’s Mine.” Blackpink’s Lisa made her solo VMA debut and won Best K-Pop, while Anitta secured the Best Latin award for her track "Savage Funk."
The night was also packed with some incredibles performances, including Karol G, Lenny Kravitz, and Eminem, who opened the show with a medley of his hits.
Megan Thee Stallion, hosting the event for the first time, kicked things off with a joke about the VMAs standing for the "voluptuous Megan awards" before delivering a show-stopping performance later in the evening.
The star-studded 40th VMAs were held at UBS Arena on Long Island.
