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The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) happened again.
Although, if you’ve listened to the radio lately, I’m not entirely sure who they’d give awards to, apart from Lady Gaga.
Is the radio is still a thing following the advent of Spotify?
These are questions for later.
This year, the awards happened a little differently, for obvious reasons, although there were some live performances thrown into the mix of physically distanced video offerings from around the world.
The show kicked off with a performance of ‘Blinding Light’ by The Weeknd, whose song won Video of the Year:
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande took home the award for Best Collaboration on ‘Rain on Me’, which also took the award for Song of the Year:
Artist of the Year went to Gaga for her new album Chromatica.
DaBaby, Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Post Malone, and The Weeknd never stood a chance.
By now you’ve probably figured out that I’m a Gaga fan, and I don’t care who knows it.
Doja Cat beat out Jack Harlow, Lewis Capaldi and YUNGBLUD, taking home Best New Artist.
In the genre categories:
You can check out the full list of winners and losers, here.
Strange times also apparently bring about new awards with CNCO taking home the prize for Best Quarantine Performance.
If you had any doubts that we’re living in a ‘new normal’, this should dispel them.
Now that the admin is out of the way, and you know what went down, let’s get going on some of the best moments of the night, with The New York Post.
Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who recently succumbed to a years-long battle with cancer, was honoured at the awards with a flashback to a speech that he gave in 2018:
The world needs more superheroes, and we all deserve to see ourselves in them. Chadwick Boseman helped make that happen. Rest in power. pic.twitter.com/d05kkkQR6b
— MTV (@MTV) August 31, 2020
Lady Gaga
This was hands down the best performance of the night.
In classic Gaga style, she managed to ramp it up to her level of performance excellence despite the odd circumstances, even managing multiple mask changes throughout the night.
Put your paws up.
Chloe x Halle
Billed as one of the “most electric performances of the night” by TIME, the R&B duo Chloe x Halle broke out this year with their immaculate album Ungodly Hour and their poised, expertly shot home performances.
Right, time to move on the people who didn’t crack the new online medium, with some of the worst performances of the night.
DaBaby
After a powerful, albeit controversial reenactment of George Floyd’s murder at the BET Awards, DaBaby decided to tone it down for the VMAs. It was depressingly low on energy.
Miley Cyrus
Now sporting a rather unfortunate mullet, Miley Cyrus decided to treat audiences to a flat rendition her new single ‘Midnight Sky’, before a face-saving move when she returned to her ‘Wrecking Ball’ video, swinging on a disco ball, and reminding everyone that she does actually have some skills.
BTS
The hyped-up K-Pop band performed their new single, ‘Dynamite’, in what was essentially a music video, and it bombed.
Black Eyed Peas
No Fergie, so what was the point? Also, it was boring.
There you have it – another year, another awards ceremony.
It’s good to know that some things don’t change.
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