The MTV Video Music Awards were held at Forum Theater in Inglewood, California, on Sunday, bestowing accolades on musical talent producing the year's best music videos. Miley Cyrus took home the top honor, winning the award for best video this year. Beyonce, who lead the list of nominees with eight nominations, won three awards. Other big winners included Lorde for Best Rock video, Ariana Grande for Best Pop video and Drake for Best Hip Hop video.
While top performances included those by Nikcy Minaj, Ariana Grande and Beyonce.
- Katy Perry took the first trophy of the night winning best female video for her video "Dark Horse" featuring Juicy J. In an homage to the all-denim outfits worn by Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake at the 2001 American Music Awards, Perry received the award in a denim dress.
- Miley Cyrus took a backseat at the VMAs this year, watching the show from the audience. The singer said at the red carpet that she had retired from twerking, saying,"It’s not about twerking — it’s about music."
This is a far cry from her performance last year where she made headlines with her performance of 'Blurred LInes' with Robin Thicke and invited a lot of backlash .
Cyrus was accompanied by Jesse as her date, who went on stage to receive her award instead of her. The 22-year-old homeless, longhaired man to read out a note when her name was called as the winner. The singer also posted a note on her Facebook page calling for awareness funds to support homeless youth.
- This year it was Nicki Minaj who brought the twerk on stage during the first live performance of her single 'Anaconda'. While there was no actual snakes in the performance, there was definitely a lot of writhing and shaking. Minaj also sang 'Bang Bang' with singers Ariana Grande and Jessie J, where she seemingly suffered a wardrobe malfunction.
- Taylor Swift who announced her first official pop album last week, performed her single 'Shake It off' for the first time on stage. Other performances included ones by Maroon 5, Sam Smith, Rita Ora and Iggy Azeala.
- Before presenting the award for best Hip Hip video, Rapper Common called for a moment of silence for Michael Brown, the African-American teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer in Fergusonm, Missouri.
- The VMAs also had a 20 second tribute to the late Robin Williams, a slideshow of photos with Coldplay's 'A Sky Full of Stars' playing in the background. While MTV called the tribute heartrending, it drew of flak from several fans.
- But, the night belonged to Beyonce who stole the show with a power-packed performance. She won three awards for Best Video with Social Message, Best Collaboration and Best Choreography.
Dressed in a bejeweled body suit, the queen of pop did a 15 minute medley of her hit songs. She opened her performance with an interlude from 'Mine' and sang the songs 'Haunted', 'Jealous', 'Blow', 'Drunk in Love', 'Rocket', 'Partition', 'Flawless', 'Yonce', 'Blue' and 'XO'.
Beyonce was presented the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award by her husband, rapper Jay Z who called her "greatest living entertainer". Jay Z came on stage with their daughter Blue Ivy who clapped and said, "Yay mommy!"
Here is the full list of winners:
Video of the Year
Miley Cyrus, “Wrecking Ball”
Best Hip-Hop
Drake ft. Majid Jordan, “Hold On (We’re Going Home)”
Best Male
Ed Sheeran, “Sing”
Best Female
Katy Perry ft. Juicy J, “Dark Horse”
Best Pop
Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea, “Problem”
Best Rock
Lorde, “Royals”
MTV Artist to Watch
Fifth Harmony, “Miss Movin On”
Best Collaboration
Beyoncé ft. Jay Z, “Drunk In Love”
MTV Clubland Award
Zedd ft. Hayley Williams, “Stay the Night”
Best Video With a Social Message
Beyoncé, “Pretty Hurts”
Best Cinematography
Beyoncé, “Pretty Hurts”
Best Editing
Eminem, “Rap God”
Best Choreography
Sia, “Chandelier”
Best Direction
DJ Snake & Lil Jon, “Turn Down For What”
Best Art Direction
Arcade Fire, “Reflektor”
Best Visual Effects
OK Go, “The Writing’s On the Wall”
Best Lyric Video
5 Seconds of Summer, “Don’t Stop”
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