Courtesy MTVKaty Perry hosted the show and Taylor Swift’s new video premiered, but the two rivals didn’t actually appear together at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night to officially bury the hatchet for good.
Instead, the night was more about political and social messages than celebrity feuds. From powerful performances by Pink and Logic to an emotional appearance by the mother of Heather Heyer — the young woman killed at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the ceremony was ready to address deeper issues.
But first, the VMAs kicked off by knocking out two performances before Katy even took the stage. The night’s most-nominated artist Kendrick Lamar opened the show with a fiery performance of “DNA” and “HUMBLE.” The latter song later won him the night’s top honor, Video of the Year.
Then Ed Sheeran performed “Shape of You,” departing from his usual one-man show in favor of a full band. He was joined by Lil Uzi Vert, and the two performed the rapper’s hit “XO Tour Llif3.”
Once Katy appeared, it was clear why she took so long — she landed from “outer space.” She was lowered onto the stage in an astronaut suit and wasted no time cracking some political jokes. There was a Handmaid’s Tale reference and even a fidget spinner gag.
As for the night’s standout performances, this year’s Vanguard Award recipient Pink delivered a jaw-dropping medley of some of her biggest hits and made full use of the arena, hopping from stage to stage. At one point she even floated over the audience in a pink convertible.
The medley culminated with her new hit, “What About Us,” an emotional tune with a political message.
But it was her acceptance speech after receiving the Vanguard Award that proved most moving. She recounted an empowering message she gave to her six-year-old daughter, Willow, about self-acceptance and not confirming to beauty standards.
“We don’t change,” Pink said. “We help other people to change so that they can see more kinds of beauty.”
Alessia Cara had that same sentiment for her performance of “Scars to Your Beautiful.” She began in full makeup, a wig and a red gown, and slowly stripped it all away to reveal her true self.
But perhaps the most emotional performance of the night was Logic’s “1-800-273-8255” featuring Alessia and Khalid. The rapper brought out real-life survivors of attempted suicide and ended his performance with a strong call for equality and unity.
That call was echoed by Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer. She appeared on stage to announce the formation of The Heather Heyer Foundation, a non-profit providing scholarships to help more people join the fight against the hatred.
Besides Kendrick Lamar, who took home the top prize of Video of the Year along with five others, the night’s other big winners included Ed Sheeran for Artist of the Year, Fifth Harmony for Best Pop Video, Khalid for Best New Artist, and Taylor Swift and Zayn for Best Collaboration.
Neither Taylor nor Zayn were there to accept their award, but Taylor, of course, made her presence known with the premiere of her new video for “Look What You Made Me Do.”
The video begins in a graveyard with a headstone that reads, “Here Lies Taylor Swift’s Reputation.” A zombie Taylor comes up from the ground and starts singing, “Thriller”-style.
What follows is a series of self-referencing gags as Taylor pokes fun at her own reputation. There’s a scene where a group of male dancers are all revealed to be wearing “I [heart] T.S.” shirts – an obvious reference to when her ex Tom Hiddleston was mocked for wearing the same.
The video ends with Taylor feuding against…herself. Lots of versions of herself, to be exact. There’s Taylor from the 2009 VMAs when she was interrupted by Kanye West, there’s Taylor from her country music days, and so on. All the Taylors bicker with each other before they all yell, “SHUT UP!”
Katy closed out the ceremony with a basketball-themed performance of her song “Swish Swish,” a song that was rumored to be about Taylor. She was joined on stage by Nicki Minaj, but fans hoping for a surprise Taylor appearance were left disappointed.
Some of the night’s other memorable performances included:
Lorde dancing to her track “Homemade Dynamite,” but not actually singing the song live. She had tweeted earlier that she had the flu, so presumably she was resting her voice.
Miley Cyrus delivering a ‘50s-themed performance of “Younger Now” for all ages with both little kids and senior citizens joining her on stage.
Demi Lovato taking the stage from Las Vegas to perform “Sorry Not Sorry.”
DNCE and Rod Stewart joining forces in Vegas to perform their new version of Stewart’s classic “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”
Here’s the complete list of winners at Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards:
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
Pink
Song of the Summer
Lil Uzi Vert – “XO Tour Llif3”
Best Pop
Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane – “Down”
Best Dance
Zedd and Alessia Cara – “Stay”
Best Collaboration
Zayn & Taylor Swift – “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)”
Best Hip-Hop
Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.”
Artist of the Year
Ed Sheeran
Best New Artist
Khalid
Video of the Year
Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.” (TDE/Aftermath/Interscope)
Best Rock
Twenty One Pilots – “Heavydirtysoul” (Fueled by Ramen/Atlantic Records)
Best Fight Against the System
Logic ft. Damian Lemar Hudson – “Black SpiderMan”
Best Cinematography
Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.” (Scott Cunningham)
Best Direction
Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.” (Dave Meyers & the little homies)
Best Art Direction
Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.” (Spencer Graves)
Best Visual Effects
Kendrick Lamar – “HUMBLE.” (Company: Timber/Lead: Jonah Hall)
Best Choreography
Kanye West – “Fade” (Teyana Taylor, Guapo, Jae Blaze & Derek ‘Bentley’ Watkins)
Best Editing
Young Thug – “Wyclef Jean” (Ryan Staake & Eric Degliomini)
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