Watch Taylor Swift arrive on the MTV Video Music Awards red carpet
The best comes last: Taylor Swift causes big surprises when she arrives at the UBS Arena for the 40th anniversary of the MTV Video Music Awards.
Entertain yourself with it!
The MTV VMAs have officially reached middle age.
The 40th incarnation of the show has long been valued more for the performances that became career milestones for many artists than for who goes home with a statue of a moon man.
It’s no wonder that a supernova like Chappell Roan was willing to cut her touring schedule to take the stage at UBS Arena on Long Island, New York, on Wednesday night alongside generational megastars Eminem, LL Cool J, Lenny Kravitz and Video Vanguard award winner Katy Perry, who is in need of a career reset.
The elaborate set, centered around a 19-meter-high inflatable moon figure towering over five stages, proved to be an ideal playground for host Megan Thee Stallion, who oversaw a production that featured pop idols such as Sabrina Carpenter, Camila Cabello, Halsey, Blackpink newbie Lisa and the recently resurfaced Shawn Mendes, among others.
Here’s how they all performed.
Megan Thee Stallion with Yuki Chiba, medley
The evening’s fabulous but rarely seen host, Megan Thee Stallion, sashayed through a medley that included “BOA” and “BAS,” among others, bouncing around in her yellow outfit that covered some body parts while mostly dancing and sprinkling in a few rap snippets.
She marched through the crowd during “Hiss” and welcomed Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba with her current hit “Mamushi.” Chiba showcased his unique flow while Megan was able to shake her thighs on her side of the stage.
Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Baby”
It is fitting that the pop supernova chose a dark medieval theme for her performance, as she sounds like a less ponderous Kate Bush, a woman for whom a gothic background is nothing new.
After setting fire to the castle behind her with a flaming crossbow—go with it—Chappell Roan, in her faux armor and her purple hair braided back, delivered what was probably the best song of the year.
Roan’s performance, both dramatic and subtle—her well-aimed sword slash perfectly matched her lyrics about “some kind of sexually explicit love affair”—was rivaled only by her powerful vocals.
The energy in her voice as she sang the final “I’m sorry to say, I told you so” suggested she’ll be singing “Good Luck, Babe” for decades to come. At least, we hope so.
Katy Perry, career-spanning medley
This year’s Video Vanguard award winner was introduced by a movie star, something most award winners cannot say.
Perry’s partner, however, is Orlando Bloom, who sweetly told the crowd that he fell in love not with international pop star Katy Perry, but with Katheryn Hudson from California.
That left Perry floating in the air like a superhero coming back to earth for “Dark Horse,” one of her many classics that she sheared and sewed for this 10-minute medley.
The hiss of a synth powered “ET” as Perry, dressed in cast-off clothing from the set of “Mad Max,” “walked” across a line of muscular dancers before joining rapper Doechii to glide sexily across a platform during the new “I’m His, He’s Mine.”
The theme changed to mirror ball fun as Perry, in a beige breastplate and thigh-high boots, immersed herself in the delicious fun of the “California Gurls.”
Bloom watched from the audience with an expression of admiration and amazement as the relentless beat transitioned into “Teenage Dream,” her softest hit with an unwavering chorus.
The mesmerizing squeaky guitar line that launched Perry’s tongue-in-cheek breakthrough in 2008 was quickly countered by the appearance of her inflatable wings, a bizarre sight that briefly overshadowed the song. But only briefly, because this rocking version was so appealing that Perry should re-release it. It’s not like she had anything to lose.
Anitta with DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Tiago PZK, “Paradise”, “Alegria”, “Savage Funk”
After her sparkling performance last year, the Brazilian beauty returned to the VMA stage and was joined by the ever-useless DJ Khaled and the all-round talent Fat Joe for “Paradise.”
We’re pretty sure Anitta and her co-stars could have pulled off the performance even without Khaled constantly yelling “Hands up!” At least Anitta gelled well with Fat Joe and was able to switch between her singing and his rapping to a clip-klop beat.
Anitta replaced Khaled and Joe with Tiago PZK for “Alegria” and moved between some red-shaded stages to circle and jump.
The dazzling visual effects probably distracted people from noticing that Anitta’s singing ended a few seconds before her final stage position. Oops.
VMAs: All winners and nominees 2024
Sabrina Carpenter, “Please, Please, Please”, “Taste”, “Espresso”
Sabrina Carpenter beamed from the attic on a silver-gilt swing, enjoying a Glinda the Good Witch moment as she cooed, “Please, please, please.”
But soon – squeezing three songs into one performance slot is no great challenge – Carpenter moved on to “Taste,” which now featured an astronaut and an alien, who groped each other while singing. It’s possible that Carpenter was using the space theme as a nod to the legendary moon man imagery from the MTV VMAs, but it didn’t quite work.
Other astronauts accompanied her on her walk down the runway. Red lips were visible on the inside of her thighs, while Carpenter tossed back her flaxen mane and, flirtatiously as ever, sang her catchy hit “Espresso.”
Shawn Mendes, “Nobody Knows”
As Shawn Mendes prepares his comeback, the thoughtful singer-songwriter presented “Nobody Knows” in his first live performance. It was a bold decision to follow a meaningless pop performance (Lisa) with a simple song with acoustic guitar.
Standing on a row of floor rugs surrounded by fake candles, his shirt casually unbuttoned to his belt, Mendes belted out the soulful song on a darkened stage. Stripped of any gloss, the ballad built into a powerful roots-rock song, with Mendes uncorking his voice in a wail that quickly faded to a near-whisper.
The brotherly hug he and his two bandmates exchanged as they left the stage was the most beautiful moment of the show.
LISA, “New Woman”, “Rockstar”
The Blackpink member made her VMA debut as a solo artist in a red fringe top and miniskirt, straddling a chair lined up with her six dancers for “New Woman.” Lisa strutted like a supermodel on a raised platform with a moving catwalk while half-singing the sugary pop song.
Her transition to “rock star” was welcomed.
Now on the main stage, Lisa and her male dancers performed precisely choreographed moves in front of a star ablaze (was there a metaphor we missed?). Her lithe figure was somewhat lost in the crew as the song turned into a whirlwind of pyrotechnics and air guitar moves, ending with Lisa brandishing the rock’n’roll devil horns that seem to transcend generations.
Karol G, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”
Addressing the crowd in Spanish, the Colombian singer slid her hips and (mostly) bare torso as she belted out “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” which translates to “If I Had Met You Before.”
Karol G sashayed across a festive stage decorated with a makeshift bar and images of a beach before heading to the arena floor for the TikTok moments. She stopped in front of Taylor Swift, who put on her best seductive pout, and then found Camila Cabello, who also boldly got into the groove.
The song is not particularly memorable, but Karol G’s interaction with the audience, his exuberance and his dancers mask its shortcomings.
Eminem, “Houdini”, “Somebody Save Me”
As a giant “E” seemed to light up the sky outside the arena like his personal Bat-Signal, Eminem entered the arena followed by a group of Slim Shady lookalikes while rapping his hit “Houdini,” which was based on a Steve Miller sampling.
His blonde wig looked more like fur than hair, but the ridiculousness didn’t dampen Eminem’s enthusiasm as he strolled across the stage full of lookalikes and sang the end of the song alongside a Dorian Gray version of himself.
Eminem combined his swinging hit with the most moving song of his 12th Album “The Death of Slim Shady”, the ballad “Somebody Save Me”.
Although the heartbreaking song about Eminem’s failure as a father features the chorus of Jelly Roll’s “Save Me,” the great man was only present in spirit and on the video to sing the chorus.
Without a wig, Eminem focused on the lyrics and ended the performance with a thoughtful expression on his face as he sat in a tattered chair, watching home videos of his children and seemingly contemplating his return to the VMAs stage.
