1980s , site of 12 VMAs, including the
first 1984: at the
first MTV Video Music Awards in
1984,
Madonna performed her hit "
Like a Virgin" wearing a combination
bustier/
wedding gown, including her trademark "Boy Toy" belt. During the performance, she rolled around on the floor, revealing lace stockings and a
garter.
Cyndi Lauper spoke in "
Exorcist-esque gibberish" to explain the VMA rules right before winning the Best Female video for "
Girls Just Want to Have Fun".
David Bowie,
the Beatles and director
Richard Lester were rewarded with the first ever
Video Vanguard Awards for their work in pioneering the
music video. The Cars' "
You Might Think" won the very first video of the year, beating out
Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and
Herbie Hancock's "Rockit".
1987: At the
1987 MTV Video Music Awards,
Peter Gabriel won ten awards, including the
Video Vanguard Award and
Video of the Year for his video "
Sledgehammer", holding the VMA record for most Moonmen in a single night.
1988: At the
1988 MTV Video Music Awards,
Michael Jackson appeared for the first time. A pre-recorded live performance of
Bad was shown." which was later renamed in his honor.
1989: Comedian
Andrew Dice Clay appeared at the
1989 Video Music Awards to promote his new movie,
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, earning a "lifetime ban" from the network when he introduced
Cher with some of his recently notorious
nursery rhymes that contained vulgar language and references. After performing with
Tom Petty,
Guns N' Roses guitarist
Izzy Stradlin was assaulted by
Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil, leading to a verbal battle between Neil and Guns N' Roses lead singer
Axl Rose.
Jon Bon Jovi and
Richie Sambora turned out a stripped-down acoustic performance of the
Bon Jovi hits "
Livin' on a Prayer" and "
Wanted Dead or Alive", and in the process possibly provided the inspirational spark for
MTV Unplugged. While the
showrunners have stated that it was already in development by the time of the event, they've also credited the pair's performance with influencing the show to go from initially being meant only for "young, up-and-coming artists" into being a simplified showcase for the "big, stadium, electric-arena-type acts".
Paula Abdul was nominated for six awards, picking up four wins. She performed a seven-minute medley of her singles "
Straight Up", "
Cold Hearted", and "
Forever Your Girl". She also gave one of the most memorable performances of her hit "
Express Yourself", as a preview of what would become her
Blond Ambition World Tour.
1991: during the award show the MTV Video Vanguard Award was renamed to the
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from then on, in honor of his contributions to the culture of music videos by changing them from a promotional tool featuring musicians playing instruments and singing, to a "short film" with a storyline. A conflict between
Poison's
Bret Michaels and
C.C. DeVille culminated in a fistfight at the
1991 MTV Video Music Awards. DeVille was fired and replaced by
Pennsylvanian guitarist
Richie Kotzen. After his appearance,
Van Halen made their television debut, performing "
Poundcake".
Metallica was another highlight of the performances with "
Enter Sandman".
Prince and
The New Power Generation performed their song "
Gett Off" on a
Caligula-esque set, with Prince dressed in a yellow mesh outfit which exposed his buttocks. His trousers were parodied numerous times throughout the following year, on the sketch comedy TV series
In Living Color, and even at the following year's VMAs by radio
shock jock Howard Stern. It also marked the final TV appearance of
Kiss with
Eric Carr prior to Carr's death in November 1991.
1992: in the
1992 show, MTV requested
Nirvana perform "
Smells Like Teen Spirit", while the band itself had indicated it preferred to play new songs "
Rape Me" and "In Utero (album)|". Network executives continued to push for "Teen Spirit" but finally offered the band a choice to play either "Teen Spirit" or "
Lithium", which the band appeared to accept. At the performance, Nirvana began to play, and
Kurt Cobain played the first few chords of the song, "Rape Me", much to the horror of MTV execs, before continuing their regular performance of "Lithium". Near the end of the song, frustrated that his amplifier had stopped functioning, bassist
Krist Novoselic decided to toss his bass into the air for dramatic effect. He misjudged the landing, and the bass ended up bouncing off of his forehead, forcing him to stumble off the stage in a daze. Backstage and before the show,
Guns N' Roses vocalist
Axl Rose challenged Cobain to a fight after he, his wife,
Hole lead singer
Courtney Love, and Nirvana bandmates
Krist Novoselic and
Dave Grohl egged him on. At the end of Nirvana's performance, while Cobain was trashing the band's equipment,
Dave Grohl ran to the microphone and shouted "Hi, Axl! Where's Axl?" repeatedly. Guns N' Roses' video for the
ballad "
November Rain" won the MTV Video Music Award for best cinematography. During the show, the band performed "November Rain" with singer
Elton John. Because of the dispute Rose had with Cobain, moments before the "November Rain" performance, Cobain spat on the keys of what he thought was Axl's piano. Cobain later revealed that he was shocked to see Elton John play on the piano he had spat on. During the commercial break, the Alien 3 Pepsi commercial was shown. Radio host
Howard Stern appeared as
Fartman, Stern's radio superhero, wearing a buttocks-exposing costume obviously inspired by Prince's outfit from the previous year. Stern was a presenter for best hard rock/metal performance with actor
Luke Perry (after several other celebrities turned him down).
1993: at the
1993 MTV Video Music Awards,
Madonna opened the show in a gender-bending performance of her song "
Bye Bye Baby", in which Madonna and her two backup singers, dressed in tuxedos and top hats, danced with women in corsets in a choreographed, highly sexual routine. Recently betrothed couple
Michael Jackson and
Lisa Marie Presley received a standing ovation as they walked on stage hand-in-hand. After turning to the audience and proclaiming, "And just think, nobody thought this would last", Jackson grabbed Presley and kissed her.
1995: at the
1995 MTV Video Music Awards,
Hole perform the song "
Violet" from their major-label debut album
Live Through This. This was one of the first major televised performances given by frontwoman
Courtney Love following
the death of her husband
Kurt Cobain and the death of her band's bassist
Kristen Pfaff in 1994. Before beginning the song, Love dedicated the performance to her husband and different people in the entertainment industry who had recently died: "This is for Kurt, and Kristen, and
River, and
Joe, and today Joni Abbott, this is for you." Abbott worked in the Talent Relations department at MTV and had recently committed suicide. The song ended with Love throwing her guitar, knocking the microphone stand into the crowd and pushing over speaker-boxes with bandmate
Eric Erlandson before exiting the stage. Love also caused a stir when she interrupted a post-ceremony interview with
Kurt Loder and
Madonna by throwing her make-up compacts at the singer as they broadcast outside the awards venue.
Michael Jackson performed for over 15 minutes to a medley of his main songs, including "
Scream", and danced his signature moves, including the robot, moonwalk and the relatively unknown "
Bankhead Bounce". While Slash accompanied Jackson and played guitar on "
Black or White and the beginning of Billie Jean".
TLC was the big winner of the night won four awards, including "Viewer's Choice", "Best Group Video", and "Video of the Year" (Waterfalls).
1996: at the
1996 MTV Video Music Awards, the four original members of
Van Halen received 20-second
standing ovation when they made their first public appearance together since their break-up in
1985. Several weeks later, the public learned that Van Halen would not reunite with Roth. Roth released a statement apologizing to fans, stating that he was an unwitting participant in a publicity stunt to sell more copies of the greatest hits album,
Best Of Vol. 1, and that he had been led to believe that he was rejoining Van Halen. The following day, Eddie and
Alex Van Halen released a statement, stating that they had been honest with Roth, and never led him to believe that he had been re-hired. During British band
Oasis' performance at the show, lead vocalist
Liam Gallagher made rude gestures at brother
Noel as he was playing his guitar solo, then spat beer all over the stage before storming off.
Tupac Shakur made his final public appearance before
his murder.
1997: at the
1997 MTV Video Music Awards,
Pat Smear announced that he was leaving
Foo Fighters halfway through their performance and presented his replacement,
Franz Stahl, who had been a member of the band
Scream with
Dave Grohl. The
Spice Girls, who won the best dance video award for their music video "
Wannabe", wore a black strap on their left arms as a sign of grief because of
Diana, Princess of Wales's
death four days prior to the event. While accepting the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist Video that year for "
Sleep to Dream",
Fiona Apple appealed to her audience not to be enamored of
celebrity culture. She proclaimed, "this world is bullshit" and quoted
Maya Angelou, saying "go with yourself". Though her comments were generally greeted with cheers and applause at the awards ceremony, the media backlash was huge. Some considered her remarks to be hypocritical, however she was unapologetic: "When I have something to say, I'll say it."
Marilyn Manson performed the song "
The Beautiful People", as the grand finale, and the video for this song was nominated for "Best Rock Video" and "Best Special Effects", marking one of the most significant performances for the band.
1998: at the
1998 MTV Video Music Awards, during the original broadcast of the show, a commercial faded in the
Nine Inch Nails NIN logo on a black screen while playing a combination of music that started as a solo piano piece and morphed into an electronic/industrial beat (which would later found out to be the songs "La Mer" and "
Into the Void", which share many melodic components and can be considered variations on a theme) and ended with
Trent Reznor screaming "Tried to save myself, but myself kept slipping away" and the word "ninetynine" in the trademark NIN reversed-N font. This was only shown once during the original broadcast, was edited out of all repeats.
Geri Halliwell attended the event, one of her first public appearances since she left the
Spice Girls. At the red carpet, actress
Rose McGowan was wearing a see-through dress, no bra, and a thong, while
Mariah Carey and
Whitney Houston poked fun at their rumored rift by wearing lookalike chocolate brown dresses by
Vera Wang. In an attempt to outdo each other, the singers tore off pieces of their dresses to reveal minidresses then staged a faux
catfight that left the audience in disbelief. "People thought Whitney and I had some kind of beef", explained Carey.
1999:
Lil' Kim showed up at the
1999 MTV Video Music Awards with an entire breast exposed and only a small pasty over the nipple. Kim's outfit became even more controversial later when she appeared on stage with
Diana Ross and
Mary J. Blige to present the Best Hip-Hop Video award, and Ross reached over, cupped her hand under Kim's exposed breast and jiggled it while Kim laughed.
Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace, the mothers of the recently deceased
Tupac Shakur and
The Notorious B.I.G., met for the first time at the ceremony.
TLC won Best Group Video for "
No Scrubs", receiving a
standing ovation from the audience and artists. For the second year in a row, the
Backstreet Boys took the Viewer's Choice Award for "
I Want It That Way", a song they performed during the broadcast. Before presenting the final award, a group of
drag queens paid tribute to Madonna wearing her most iconic outfits with a medley of her hit songs. Madonna herself then appeared onstage and remarked, "All I have to say is that it takes a real man to fill my shoes." She then introduced
Paul McCartney, who presented the Video of the Year to "some guy called Laurence Hill" (
Lauryn Hill).
2000s 2000: at the
2000 Video Music Awards,
Limp Bizkit won the award for Best Rock Video. As vocalist
Fred Durst spoke,
Rage Against the Machine bassist
Tim Commerford climbed onto the scaffolding of the set. Durst egged Commerford on, saying "Stage dive, dude" and "Take a dive", finally ending his speech with "and [Commerford]'s a pussy 'cause he won't jump". Commerford and his
bodyguard were sentenced to a night in jail. RATM vocalist
Zack de la Rocha reportedly left the awards after Commerford's stunt. RATM guitarist
Tom Morello recalled that Commerford related his plan to the rest of the band before the show, and that both de la Rocha and Morello advised him against it immediately after Bizkit was presented the award.
Eminem performed his two singles "
The Real Slim Shady" and "
The Way I Am". The performance began with Eminem's single "The Real Slim Shady" which started outside the
Radio City Music Hall on
6th Avenue, Manhattan. Eminem continued his performance into the arena and was followed by a hundred Eminem 'clones' wearing white tank tops and baggy jeans with bleached blonde hair.
Napster co-founder
Shawn Fanning co-introduced
Britney Spears. Fanning wore a
Metallica T-shirt, much to the displeasure of Metallica drummer and anti-Napster advocate
Lars Ulrich. Britney performed "
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and her newest smash hit "
Oops!... I Did It Again", which gained media attention mostly due to Spears's ripping off a tuxedo to reveal nude-colored performance attire. At performance's end, VMA co-host Marlon Wayans proclaimed, "Girl done went from '
The Mickey Mouse Club' to the strip club." At the end of
Christina Aguilera's performance, Durst walked onstage and performed part of his band's song "Livin' It Up" with Aguilera. After eliciting charged reactions from his fans, Durst stated: "I already told you guys before, I did it all for the
nookie, man." The feud died weeks later. Aguilera denied Durst's statement, saying Durst "got no nookie". Aguilera and Spears disproved rumors of a rivalry when they came onstage, holding hands, and introduced
Whitney Houston. Houston, who had been targeted by the media for erratic behavior, canceled appearances, drug use rumors and being busted for carrying
marijuana at a Hawaii airport just a few months prior, came out to a standing ovation and introduced an award to Eminem with husband
Bobby Brown, who was recently let out from jail. Houston revealed more erratic behavior, jumping up and down saying "free" in reference to Brown's recent jail release.
Aaliyah would win two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film for
"Try Again".
2001: at the
2001 Video Music Awards,
Britney Spears performed her single, "
I'm a Slave 4 U". while dancing in a very revealing outfit, the performance featured the singer in a cage with a
tiger and briefly dancing with a real
albino snake on her shoulders. The inclusion of a tiger and a snake in the performance bought a great deal of criticism from
PETA.
U2 had been set to perform a medley including "
Elevation", "
Beautiful Day" and "
Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of". The riser they were performing on lost power and MTV had to cut to several minutes of promos while everything was set up again. They lost power again and finally the band was lowered to the ground and performed without the riser. After the performance, lead singer
Bono explained that MTV "forgot to pay the electricity bill".
2002: in 2002,
the VMAs took place on
Michael Jackson's birthday.
Britney Spears introduced Jackson as the "artist of the millennium" and presented him with a birthday cake and a statue. Jackson, believing he won an honor, gave an acceptance speech. In his speech he said, "When I was a little boy growing up in Indiana if someone told me I'd be getting 'the artist of the millennium award,' I'd have never believed it." MTV confirmed no such award existed, and the statue was merely a birthday gift. A year later, at the
2003 VMAs, this was parodied by presenters
Fred Durst and
Jack Black, with Durst stating that Black was the "funniest man alive".
The Hives and
The Vines both performed on the night after the sudden
garage rock revival during the year, with rumors spreading around that it was to be 'battle of the bands' performance. Once The Hives performed, singer
Howlin' Pelle Almqvist said to the crowd "I know you want us to play more, but that's all the time we have for so you can turn off [your TV] now", just before The Vines came on the bigger stage to perform their hit single "
Get Free", ultimately destroying their set after their performance.
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog appeared and had a confrontation with Eminem. Eminem had a confrontation with
Moby, who had called the rapper's music
misogynistic and
homophobic. By that time, there were multiple boos from the crowd. The Best Male Video award was given to Eminem right after the confrontation with Triumph and Moby, and when Eminem went to stage to pick up the award, in the middle of his speech, he challenged Moby to fight if he continued to boo him.
Justin Timberlake made his solo performance debut on the show, performing his single "
Like I Love You".
Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and
Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, the surviving members of the top-selling
R&B trio
TLC, made their first television appearance since the death of bandmate
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. Canadian artist
Avril Lavigne won her first award ever as Best New Artist in a Video, getting the record for the youngest artist so far to win this award at the age of 17. She kicked off the 2002 VMAs with a "
Complicated" / "
Sk8er Boi" pre-show performance and together with
Lisa Marie Presley they gave the award for Best Female Video to
Pink who was under the effects of alcohol during her acceptance speech.
2003: at the
2003 Video Music Awards,
Madonna played a
groom kissing her
brides,
Britney Spears and
Christina Aguilera, on stage. The gender role-reversal and
lesbian theme instantly made front-page headlines. The three singers performed a
medley of her classic hit, "
Like a Virgin", and her then latest release, "
Hollywood", with a guest rap by
Missy Elliott. A quick camera cut to the reaction of
Justin Timberlake, who dated Spears until 2002, also gained media attention. The design resembled Madonna's performance of "Like a Virgin" at the
1984 VMAs: the same wedding cake set, wedding dresses and "Boy Toy" belt worn by Madonna 19 years ago now adorned Aguilera and Spears.
Beyoncé opened her performance by descending upside down from the
rafters at Radio City Music Hall. Knowles performed "
Baby Boy" as she was gently lowered to the stage, dressed in harem pants. She was later joined by
Jay-Z as they performed their duet "
Crazy in Love". The performance marked Knowles' solo debut.
2004: the
2004 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the
American Airlines Arena in
Miami, Florida. This was the first time the awards show was held outside of New York City and Los Angeles. It was the first video music awards to not have a host.
2005: at the
2005 show,
Green Day returned, taking home the Best Rock Video, Best Group Video, and Video of the Year Moonmen for "
Boulevard of Broken Dreams", which they performed during the broadcast. They also took the Viewer's Choice award for "
American Idiot". The 2005 VMAs were the first to have a performance in
Spanish, when
Shakira performed her single "
La Tortura" with
Alejandro Sanz. It was also the first time that Spanish-language videos were nominated at the awards. Reggaeton artists
Daddy Yankee,
Tego Calderón and
Don Omar performed. Actress
Eva Longoria caused a stir when she appeared barely dressed to introduce
Mariah Carey.
Gwen Stefani and
Snoop Dogg won best dressed female and male and received prizes to donate to a charity of their choice.
Kelly Clarkson performed a high energy version of her song "
Since U Been Gone" barefoot wearing a graphic belly top and capri pants. Clarkson moved through the crowd during the performance, which culminated in the singer getting sprayed with water. By the end of the song, she and a portion of the audience were soaking wet.
R. Kelly performed his rap opera, "
Trapped in the Closet". Rather belatedly, the TV show returned to MTV in 2011.
2006:
Justin Timberlake opened the
2006 Video Music Awards performing his singles "
My Love" and "
SexyBack". The awards were distributed evenly widespread all genres, as hip-hop, pop and rock artists alike all won Moonmen. 2006 was also the first time that viewers voted for all the performer's categories (Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Group Video, among others, except professional categories). The performance was called "career crippling".
Kid Rock and
Tommy Lee were involved in an altercation during
Alicia Keys's performance. Lee was sitting with magician
Criss Angel when the two went to visit
Diddy, who was sitting close to Kid Rock. Kid Rock allegedly punched Tommy Lee in the face. The two were broken up, and both were escorted from the resort. Angel was removed a short time later.
2008: the
2008 Video Music Awards were opened by
Britney Spears which welcomed everybody to the 25-year anniversary of the Video Music Awards. Barbadian singer
Rihanna opened the show with her song "
Disturbia" in a very revealing black leather outfit. After 16 nominations,
Britney Spears finally won her first VMA, taking Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, and Video of the Year for "
Piece of Me", considered as Spears' comeback. Host
Russell Brand commented on Democratic presidential nominee
Barack Obama, begging the audience to vote for him. Brand called President
George W. Bush a "retarded cowboy" and claimed Bush "wouldn't be trusted with a pair of scissors in Britain". Russell Brand also made comments on the
Jonas Brothers for wearing
purity rings. Brand later faced criticism for his swipes at the trio. He confirmed his apology at the
MTV Video Music Awards 2009 by saying "I upset the Jonas Brothers last year, I had to say sorry to them and they forgave me. They had to, they're Christians." During her introduction of T.I. and Rihanna's performance,
Jordin Sparks, who also wears a purity ring, defended the boy-band by saying "It's not bad to wear a promise ring because not everybody, guy or girl, wants to be a slut." Sparks was in turn criticized for implying that those who do not wear purity rings or do not abstain are promiscuous. taking the microphone from
Taylor Swift at the
2009 MTV Video Music Awards2009: at the
2009 Video Music Awards, singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift won Best Female video for "
You Belong with Me". During her acceptance speech, rapper
Kanye West unexpectedly showed up on stage. Taking the microphone from Swift, he announced "Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, and Imma let you finish, but
Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!". MTV cut away from the stage (showing Beyoncé with a shocked and disapproved look) after West gave the microphone back to Swift and giving the middle finger to the audience as they started booing him off stage, and so Swift did not finish her speech. West was removed for the rest of the show. However, when Beyoncé won Video of the Year for "
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift back on stage to "have her moment" (finishing her speech from winning Best Female Video). In an off-the-record portion of an interview the following day, President
Barack Obama called West a "jackass" for his antics. During a post-interview, Jay-Z admitted West was wrong to go on stage, but he thought people were overreacting to the incident.
Madonna opened the show talking about her experiences with
Michael Jackson. After her speech, a Michael Jackson tribute commenced, including
Janet Jackson performing the duet "
Scream". The show closed with a sneak preview of Michael Jackson's
This Is It movie. At the show's red carpet, Colombian singer
Shakira and American singer
Pink attended with the same dress. Both singers took it humorously and posed together for the paparazzi.
Lady Gaga later performed her song "
Paparazzi" and shocked the audience when she appeared to bleed out on stage. It was actually a contraption in her outfit.
Beyoncé performed her song "
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" with over two dozen female dancers dancing with her. Lil Mama later apologized. During an interview with New York Radio DJ
Angie Martinez, Jay-Z said that he thought the unrehearsed move was something similar to the West and Swift incident.
Eminem, who performed at the show, did not receive his awards in person, as he had to leave immediately to perform with
Jay Z at
The Home & Home Tour in New York City the next day. Additionally,
will.i.am's "
blackface" outfit sparked controversy among African-Americans.
Florence + the Machine performed "
Dog Days Are Over".
Lady Gaga won eight awards, including Video of the Year, Best Female Video, and Best Pop Video for "
Bad Romance"; she also won Best Collaboration for "
Telephone" with
Beyoncé. Upon accepting her Video of the Year award, Gaga wore a
dress made entirely of raw meat, which drew criticism from
PETA. While accepting her Video of the Year award,
Lady Gaga announced the title of her next album,
Born This Way, and sang the chorus of its title track and lead single.
Justin Bieber won Best New Artist, making him the second youngest Canada-born artist to ever win a VMA (first being Avril Lavigne in 2002). Overall, the show grabbed 11.4 million viewers—the largest audience for an MTV Video Music Awards since
2002, and until
2011's new record.
2011: the
2011 MTV Video Music Awards returned to the
Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. In the entire history of the show, this was the third time no host was scheduled, although
Kevin Hart, who would receive the position a year later, delivered an opening monologue.
Lady Gaga opened the show dressed as her alter ego
Joe Calderone, delivering a monologue and then performing her single "
You and I" from her album
Born This Way. She was joined on stage by
Queen band member and guitarist
Brian May. The tribute to
Britney Spears included performances by young talents, who danced to various hit singles by Spears including "
...Baby One More Time" and "
Till the World Ends". After the tribute,
Lady Gaga went onstage to present Spears the
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. While accepting her award she and Gaga (dressed as her alter ego Joe Calderone) teased a kiss. Spears rejected the exchange saying, "I've done that already", referring to her liplock with Madonna at the 2003 show. During
Kanye West and
Jay Z's surprise performance of "
Otis", a man attempted to rush the stage but was quickly taken off by security.
Katy Perry and
Kanye West won the Award for Best Video for a Collaborative Single. As they went onstage to receive the award, Perry made a reference to West's incident with
Taylor Swift two years back. This was the first award Perry won in four years of being nominated. Prior to her performance,
Beyoncé announced on the red carpet that she and husband/rapper
Jay Z were expecting a child. Straight after Beyoncé finished performing her song "
Love on Top", she also revealed again that she was pregnant by showing off her baby bump and rubbing it. That evening, Beyoncé set the record for the most mentions on
Twitter per second (with 8,868) and helped this year's VMAs become the most-watched broadcast in MTV history, pulling in 12.4 million viewers. A tribute to late singer
Amy Winehouse also took place;
Russell Brand delivered a monologue on his thoughts on her, after which
Tony Bennett previewed his collaboration with her for his album
Duets II. Afterwards,
Bruno Mars performed "
Valerie" in her honor. Katy Perry won three awards including Video of the Year for "
Firework", and Lady Gaga won two awards, including the new category Best Video With a Message for "
Born This Way".
2012: The
2012 MTV Video Music Awards aired live from the
Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on September 6, 2012. British boy band
One Direction was the big winner of the night receiving Best New Artist, Best Pop Video, and Most Share Worthy Video.
Rihanna won the Video of the Year Award for "
We Found Love".
2013: For the
2013 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV redesigned its moonman statue for one year only due to the ceremony's being held in
Brooklyn for the first time. Brooklyn-based artist
KAWS used
Michelin Man as inspiration to redesign the image of the renowned
MTV moonman.
Barclays Center, which served as the venue for the
2013 show, was decorated also by KAWS, themed around the redesigned moonman. The 2013 VMAs also marked the fourth time in the award show's history that a host had not been appointed for the annual event.
Lady Gaga opened the ceremony, performing her single "
Applause". During the performance, Gaga changed three times on stage and gave a tribute to her past eras (
The Fame,
The Fame Monster and
Born This Way). At the end, Gaga came on stage wearing nothing but a seashell bikini.
Miley Cyrus' performance of her song "
We Can't Stop" featured the former Disney star entering the stage through a giant teddy bear wearing a one-piece bodice with a teddy bear design on it. The singer performed with a group of female backup dancers dressed as giant bears before singer
Robin Thicke joins with Cyrus on stage to perform his single "
Blurred Lines". Cyrus then stripped down to a nude-colored lingerie and proceeded to perform her signature
twerking dance moves, simulating sex with Thicke and grabbing his crotch with a giant foam finger. The unimpressed reactions of several celebrity audience members, including
Rihanna and members of
One Direction, also gained attention in the media.
Justin Timberlake's "
Mirrors" won Video of the Year, making him the first male solo artist to win this category since Eminem in 2002 with "Without Me". Timberlake also became the second artist to be honored with the
Video Vanguard Award and win Video of the Year in the same night, after
Peter Gabriel did it in 1987. To celebrate his Video Vanguard Award, Timberlake performed a 15-minute medley performance, which included a mini-reunion with his former band
*NSYNC. The set list of the most watched performance of the night included hit singles from his first four solo albums, such as "
Cry Me a River", "
SexyBack" and "
Suit & Tie".
2014: the
2014 show was held at
The Forum in
Inglewood, California.
Miley Cyrus won Video of the Year for "
Wrecking Ball" and got a young homeless man named Jesse to accept the award on her behalf. His speech was a call-to-action to help raise awareness to the homeless youth of America.
Ariana Grande,
Nicki Minaj and
Jessie J opened the show.
Beyoncé closed the show by performing a 16-minute medley of songs from her
self-titled fifth studio album. After the performance, her husband
Jay Z and daughter Blue Ivy presented the
Video Vanguard Award to her.
2015: the
2015 show was hosted by
Miley Cyrus. Fashion designer
Jeremy Scott redesigned the year's "moonman", marking the second time that the statue had been transformed.
Taylor Swift won four awards, including Video of the Year for "Bad Blood". She presented the Video Vanguard Award to
Kanye West, who ended his acceptance speech by claiming that
he would run for president in 2020. Nicki Minaj ended her acceptance speech for
Best Hip-Hop Video by passing the show back to Cyrus, saying: "And now, back to this bitch who had a lot to say about me the other day in the press: Miley, What's good?". Minaj was referring to Cyrus' comments about how she handled "
Anaconda" being snubbed for a Video of the Year nomination. Cyrus appeared stunned by Minaj's remarks and replied, "We're all in this industry. We all do interviews and we all know how they manipulate shit. Nicki, congratu-fuckin-lations."
2016: the
2016 show was held at the
Madison Square Garden in
Manhattan.
Rihanna performed four times during the show, including opening and closing the ceremony. After her final performance, Rihanna was presented the Video Vanguard Award by
Drake, who declared, "She's someone I've been in love with since I was 22 years old." While accepting her award, Drake leaned in for a kiss that Rihanna dodged.
Britney Spears returned to perform at the VMAs for the first time since her heavily criticized performance at the 2007 show.
Beyoncé performed a 16-minute medley of her album
Lemonade and won eight awards, including Video of the Year for "
Formation". The telecast saw a drop in audience for third year in a row.
2017: the
2017 show was hosted by
Katy Perry.
Kendrick Lamar won six awards, including Video of the Year for "
Humble", becoming the first artist to have won the award for a video he co-directed, while
Pink was honored with the Video Vanguard Award.
Jared Leto paid tribute to
Chester Bennington and
Chris Cornell, who both died over the past three months. The music video for
Taylor Swift's song "
Look What You Made Me Do" premiered during the broadcast. At the start of
Fifth Harmony's performance there were five silhouettes; one of them fell off the stage, referencing former group member
Camila Cabello leaving the group the previous year.
Logic performed his song "
1-800-273-8255" along with
Alessia Cara and
Khalid. Their stage was outlined with survivors of suicide loss and attempts, who wore T-shirts that had the phone number on the front and the phrase "You Are Not Alone" written on the back. During their performance, Logic gave a speech about thanking the audience for giving him a platform to talk about the issues "that mainstream media doesn't want to talk about: mental health, anxiety, suicide, depression". He further added, "I don't give a damn if you're black, white, or any color in between. I don't care if you're Christian, you're Muslim, you're gay, you're straight – I am here to fight for your equality, because I believe that we are all born equal, but we are not treated equally and that is why we must fight." While receiving one of her awards, Cardi B stated, "all the love.. it's genuine, it's beautiful, and that's something that God give me that you can't buy. B-tch."
Camila Cabello won Video of the Year for "
Havana" and
Jennifer Lopez received the Vanguard Award. With
Maluma among the performers as well, it marked the VMAs with the most Latin music artists present at the ceremony since the 2005 show. Before introducing Cabello's category,
Madonna gave a tribute to the late
Aretha Franklin. Most of the speech said the early origins of Madonna's career and was only tangentially Franklin-related, which made critics describe the "bizarre" tribute as a "lengthy" anecdote about herself that involved Franklin's music. Afterwards, Madonna explained that she was there to give the Video of the Year award as asked by MTV and to speak about some experience in her career with some connection with Aretha, not to make any kind of tribute. The viewership of the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards was down 9% overall and 15% in the important 18- to 49-year-old demographic group. The total viewership was 4.8 million.
2019: the
2019 show was held at the
Prudential Center in
Newark, New Jersey. This was the first time the VMAs took place at the venue and in the state of
New Jersey (it became the fifth state to host the show after
New York,
California,
Florida and
Nevada). The show was hosted by
Sebastian Maniscalco.
Taylor Swift won three awards, including Video of the Year for "
You Need to Calm Down". She became the second artist and first female artist to have won the award for a video she co-directed, and the fourth artist to win the category twice overall.
Lil Nas X and
Billy Ray Cyrus's "
Old Town Road" won two awards, including Song of the Year.
Missy Elliott received the Vanguard Award introduced by
Cardi B and performed a medley. The performance was heavily choreographed and the set pieces alluded to her music videos "
The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", "
Get Ur Freak On", and "
Work It".
Shawn Mendes &
Camila Cabello performed their hit single "
Señorita" for the first time ever in a performance characterized for its kissing tension.
Lizzo performed a set featuring her singles, "
Truth Hurts" and "
Good as Hell". During the performance she gave a short self-empowering monologue, and featured a figurative shadow of an oversized CGI rear end. that featured her doing intense gymnastic styled choreography that echoed the music video.
Rosalía became the first lead Spanish act to ever perform at the VMAs, performing a medley of "
A Ningún Hombre", "
Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi" (alongside
Ozuna), and "
Aute Cuture". She also won
Best Latin and
Best Choreography for "
Con Altura", becoming the first ever Spanish act to win a VMA, for which she was congratulated by many personalities including
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Marc Jacobs received the inaugural MTV Fashion Trailblazer Award.
2020s 2020: The
2020 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2020. The show was originally scheduled to take place at the
Barclays Center in
Brooklyn, New York City, but was moved outdoors because of security concerns caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the 37th annual ceremony would "highlight the boroughs in an exciting show and return to Barclays Center in 2021". For the first time in its history the VMAs were simulcast on over-the-air television on
The CW, which is jointly owned by MTV parent company
ViacomCBS and
AT&T parent company
WarnerMedia.
Keke Palmer hosted the show from a VR model of the infamous Manhattan staple,
Empire State Building.
The Weeknd won Video of the Year for "
Blinding Lights", which he also performed as the show's opener. During his speech he showed support for the
Black Lives Matter movement and demanded justice for
Breonna Taylor and
Jacob Blake.
Lady Gaga received the first-ever (and only thus far as of 2024) Tricon Award, introduced by
Bella Hadid. After giving her speech, Gaga performed a medley of her songs, including "
Chromatica II"/"
911", "
Stupid Love" and "
Rain on Me", the latter performed with
Ariana Grande. Grande also won four awards, including Song of the Year and Best Collaboration. The show was dedicated to actor
Chadwick Boseman, who died less than 48 hours before the ceremony due to colon cancer.
2021: The
2021 MTV Video Music Awards were held September 12, 2021, at the
Barclays Center in
Brooklyn, New York City, for the first time in eight years. The award show also served as a celebration of MTV's 40th anniversary. An opening monologue was delivered by
Madonna. Artist
Kehinde Wiley redesigned the year's moonperson trophy, marking the third time that the statue had been transformed and the first from an artist of African-American descent.
Kim Petras performed her single "
Future Starts Now", becoming the first openly transgender singer to perform at the VMAs.
Lil Nas X won three awards for "
Montero (Call Me By Your Name)", including Video of the Year and Best Direction. He became the second artist and first LGBTQ+ artist to win both categories for a video they co-directed. He jokingly thanked the
gay agenda in his acceptance speech.
Olivia Rodrigo and
Justin Bieber also received awards in big categories, winning Song of the Year and Artist of the Year respectively.
BTS won three awards, winning Group of the Year for the third consecutive time, in addition to Best K-Pop and Song of Summer for "
Butter".
2022:
Taylor Swift announced the release of her tenth studio album
Midnights during her Video of the Year award acceptance speech. Swift also became the first ever artist to win Video of the Year three times.
Nicki Minaj won the
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award that night and performed a 9-minute medley of her hits including "
Anaconda," "
Super Bass", "
Monster", "
Beez in the Trap", and her newest hit "
Super Freaky Girl" along with other songs. The award was presented by five members of her
fan club the Barbz. In her acceptance speech, Minaj shouted out multiple people who had inspired her and people who have given her big opportunities early in her career including Madonna,
Eminem,
Britney Spears,
Lil Wayne,
Drake,
Taylor Swift,
Beyoncé,
Rihanna, and more who had help boost the popularity of her 2011 hit, "Super Bass". Minaj also said that she wished musicians
Whitney Houston and
Michael Jackson were there to witness her. She also paid respects to her father, Robert Maraj, who died in a tragic
hit-and-run accident in 2021. She said she wished people took mental health more seriously. Minaj thanked the Barbz, told the audience about her son, nicknamed Papa Bear, and announced her first greatest hits album,
Queen Radio Vol. 1. There were three co-hosts in the show,
LL Cool J, Minaj, and
Jack Harlow. Harlow opened the show with a performance of his single, "
First Class". The performance took place on an airplane with Harlow acting as an
attendant. Several celebrities were seated in the plane including Lil Nas X,
Saucy Santana,
Avril Lavigne, and more. The plane "landed" at the award show and mocked a red carpet interview, with Harlow saying "Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fergie!". Fergie had come out onstage to perform her 2007 hit "
Glamorous" which "First Class" samples, marking her first televised performance since her controversial performance of "
The Star-Spangled Banner" at the
2018 NBA All Star Game. The performance ended with Fergie and Harlow hugging.
Anitta becomes the first Brazilian singer to win a category at the MTV Video Music Awards.
2023:
NSYNC reunited for the first time in 10 years at the ceremony, to present the award for
Best Pop, which was to
Taylor Swift's "
Anti-Hero". Swift acknowledged that she still has the 'N Sync dolls, referencing the "
It's Gonna Be Me" music video, and they gave her friendship bracelets.
Shakira was awarded with the
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, performing a medley of her hits. She became the first South-American born artist to receive the award. Later, Shakira and
Karol G won the
Best Collaboration award, for "
TQG", making the first time a Spanish-language video and a Latin female collaboration won the award. Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for a second consecutive year for "Anti-Hero", making her the artist with the most wins (four) in this category.
2024: The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on September 10, 2024, but was pushed back by a day to avoid an overlap with the
presidential debate between
Donald Trump and
Kamala Harris. Taylor Swift won seven awards, including Video of the Year and Artist of the Year, breaking the record for most awards won overall, with thirty wins since 2009. Her Video of the Year win for "
Fortnight" extended her record for the most wins and most consecutive wins in this category, with five wins and three years respectively.
2025: The
2025 Video Music Awards were held at the
UBS Arena in
Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. It was broadcast for the first time on
CBS and available to stream on
Paramount+ with a simulcast on
MTV. The show was hosted by rapper and actor
LL Cool J.
Lady Gaga was the most nominated and awarded artist, winning four trophies out of twelve nominations.
Ariana Grande's
Brighter Days Ahead was crowned
Video of the Year.
Mariah Carey was honored with the
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, presented by Grande. Two new special awards were given out;
Busta Rhymes received the Rock the Bells Visionary, and
Ricky Martin received the Latin Icon. The ceremony saw a 42% increase in viewership compared to the previous edition, its highest ratings in 6 years.
2026: The VMA’s are set to return the
Los Angeles Area since the
2017 MTV Video Music Awards. ==List of ceremonies==