The 2024 Video Music Awards took place in New York on September 11, and for the first time in years, there was a special energy at the awards show that was reminiscent of the early 2000s. Some of those artists, like Eminem, were in attendance tonight, but there were many new and deserving faces who became winners for the first time.

From Katy Perry’s victory lap to Taylor Swift’s big wins – and the shoutout to Travis Kelce – here are some of the night’s standout moments.

Perry delivers career-spanning performance

It is tradition for Video Vanguard Award winners to perform a medley of their greatest hits, and that’s exactly what Perry did for ten minutes as she sang and danced her heart out.

The 39-year-old singer’s performance was a highlight of the show as she kept the audience on their toes throughout with songs such as “Dark Horse,” “ET,” “Teenage Dream,” “I Kissed a Girl,” and “Firework.” It included two singles from her upcoming album 143 – and one of them was not “Women’s world.”

Swift, a former enemy turned friend of Perry’s, danced during Perry’s memorable moment. We’ve come a long way since the “Bad Blood” days, folks!

Personally, Perry seems to be doing better than ever. She was introduced by her fiancé Orlando Bloom and, well, the two were simply adorable. The two shared a passionate kiss after her performance when he officially presented her with the award.

“I did all this on the first day of my period,” Perry began. She eventually turned more serious in her acceptance speech, saying there are “no decades-long accidents” before sending a message to the next generation of singers.

“I’m excited when I look at the music industry today and see all the amazing young artists who are confident, self-assured, vulnerable and authentic,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot of: do this, don’t say that, wear less, wear more now… One of the main reasons I’m standing here now is because I’ve learned to tune out all the noise that every single artist in this industry has to constantly battle against – especially women.”

Perry added: “Do whatever it takes to stay true to yourself and your art. Turn off social media, protect your mental health. Take a break. Touch the grass. And do what you were born to do, like I was born to do.”

The next generation of pop stars is here – but Swift is still the undisputed number one

Many of the artists Perry was referring to were in the building, as Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Benson Boone and GloRilla all delivered high-energy performances during the show. Carpenter won the coveted Song of the Year for “Espresso.” Roan took home the Moon Person for Best New Artist. Tyla and Boone went home as winners.

However, it doesn’t mean that old things go and new things come in. Swift won seven awards, including two of the most important categories: Artist of the Year and Video of the Year.

“My friend, Travis”

During her acceptance speech for the Video of the Year award, Swift went through her list of thank yous, which included mentions of her cinematographer Post Malone and one very special person.

“The thing is, this video seems very sad when you watch it, but it was actually the most entertaining video I’ve ever made,” said Swift, who also directed the video. “I’ll always remember when I finished a take and said ‘cut’ and we were done with that take, all I would hear was somebody cheering and umuu from the other side of the studio where we were filming – and that one person was my friend, Travis (Kelce).”

Swift continued, “Everything that man touches turns into happiness and fun and magic, so I want to thank him for bringing that to our shoot because I will never forget it.”

Although Kelce and Swift – whose relationship recently surpassed the one-year mark – made their relationship official on Instagram, this is the first time her fans have actually heard her yelling at her boyfriend.

It was the Video Music Awards – without many awards

The show was packed with live performances from Eminem, LL Cool J, LISA, Shawn Mendes, Megan Thee Stallion, Camila Cabello and others, leaving only room for a handful of awards to be presented on stage. Most of the winners were revealed to viewers in a montage during the second act. Several major awards – such as Video of the Year, Best New Artist, Song of the Year – were given out during the broadcast.