VMA highlights: Gaga, The Weeknd and tribute to Boseman
The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) show was a little different this year due to the global pandemic. For one, the stars had to enjoy the stage with no audience.
The artists also performed in various locations around New York City as opposed to the usual packed event. It would have been held at Brooklyn’s Barclay Centre.
The Weeknd opens VMAs
The Weeknd opened the show with an over-the-rooftop performance of his hit Blinding Lights.
He was “dressed” with the cosmetic cuts and bruises he also has on the cover of his After Hours album. Blinding Lights won him the MTV VMA award for Best Song of the Summer.
Lady Gaga takes the night
Lady Gaga generated the most noise at the VMAs because of her stellar performance and the number of awards she won.
Gaga and Arianna Grande had nine nominations each and Gaga won five of those.
Gaga won Artist of the Year as well as the first Tricon Award. She also won Song of the Year, Best Collaboration (with Arianna Grande) and Best Cinematography for Rain on Me.
Wearing different masks, Gaga performed a medley of songs from her 2020 album Chromatica.
Grande then joined her to perform their winning track Rain on Me, choreographed by Thomas Kloss.
‘Dynamite’ VMA performances
Although this was its first social distancing and mask-wearing award show, MTV did not compromise on performances.
K-Pop band BTS performed for the first time at the VMAs with their latest single Dynamite.
BTS also took the VMAs “moonman” astronaut trophies for Best Pop, Best Group, Best K-Pop and Best choreography categories.
Doja Cat performed Say So and honoured the history of MTV. She also won Push Best New Artist.
Miley Cyrus took us back to her Wrecking Ball days but this time she performed Midnight Sky with a disco ball.
DaBaby performed a few of his songs with his famous Rockstar thrown in there. He referenced police brutality in his performance as he was in a “cop car”.
The Black-Eyed Peas then closed the show by taking us a decade back with hits like I Gotta Feeling and a feature by Tyga.
Chadwick Boseman tributes
The death of actor Chadwick Boseman on Friday sent shock waves across the world and these also washed up on the VMA stage.
Host Palmer dedicated the show to the Black Panther star as she explained his spirit touched many, as a superhero on and off screen.
The VMAs honoured the actor with an emotional clip of one of his acceptance speeches from the MTV Movie Awards.
The stars also put their influencer statuses to good use by maintaining social distancing and accepting awards remotely.
Megan Thee Stallion, Taylor Swift, BTS and others did not go to the VMAs in person.
The show also paid tribute to frontline medical workers with a clip of workers singing and dancing.
- See the full list of winners here.
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