The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony took place Wednesday, Sept. 11, at the UBS Arena in New York. From music giants like Katy Perry to popular newcomer Chappell Roan, the iconic award ceremony featured many famous faces and set major pop culture moments for the year.
The VMAs are recognized for their big-budget performances, trailblazing red carpet looks, and overall major pop cultural references.
This year’s program featured special performances and record-breaking wins. However, how does it compare to previous iconic years of this ceremony?
This year’s VMAs had a higher viewership than last year, with about 4.08 million viewers compared to 3.78 million last year, according to Nielsen.
The program began with rap artist Eminem performing a medley of his songs “Houdini” and “Somebody Save Me,” getting both the audience in the arena and at home excited for the show.
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion hosted the night. She was a lively host, sporting a variety of outfits, including an homage to Britney Spears’ 2001 VMAs outfit from her iconic 2001 “I’m A Slave 4 U” performance. Thee Stallion was visibly panicked, as she had a large yellow snake slithering around her.
Pop singer songwriter Taylor Swift won the first award of the night, Best Collaboration, for her song “Fortnight” with Post Malone. Given that the VMAs are fan-voted, there was no surprise that Swift won the award. In fact, she won seven, including the biggest award, Video of the Year, for “Fortnight.” Swift’s night wouldn’t be complete without breaking a record, as she is now the most-awarded artist in VMA history, racking up 30 awards.
“To the fans, I’m always trying to figure out a way to say thank you to you for making my life what it is,” Swift said as she accepted the award for Video of the Year.
Katy Perry, this year’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award recipient, performed a mix of her biggest hits, including “Teenage Dream” and “Firework,” as well as new tracks from her album “143,” such as “Lifetimes.” This 10-minute performance showed Perry’s artistry and demonstrated why she was awarded the prestigious Vanguard Award.
“One of the biggest reasons I’m standing here right now is I learned how to block out all the noise that every single artist in this industry has to constantly fight against, especially women,” said Perry, as she accepted her Vanguard Award.
The night featured a variety of performances, including Sabrina Carpenter’s space-themed medley of “Please Please Please,” “Taste” and “Espresso,” and Chappell Roan’s medieval-themed performance of “Good Luck, Babe!” During her performance, Roan lit the stage on fire, literally. These two artists aren’t afraid to represent queer themes in their performances and music, as Carpenter kissed a female alien during hers.
The performances featured a diverse range of artists from throughout the world, including Latin performers Karol G, Annita and Rauw Alejandro, as well as K-pop superstar Lisa.
Other memorable performers included Benson Boone, Camilla Cabello, GloRilla, Halsey, Jessie Murph, Lenny Kravitz, LL COOL J, Shawn Mendes and Teddy Swims, for a total of 18.
While entertaining, this was a problem. The VMAs did not prioritize the award part of their ceremony. During the entirety of the run time, only eight awards were presented on stage. There were a total of 25 awards given out, with the majority being announced online before the official broadcast.
The eight featured awards were Best Collaboration, Michael Jackson Video Vanguard, Best Afrobeats, Best Latin, Best K-pop, Best New Artist and Song of the Year. The show had an extensive runtime of three hours, and only 32% of awards were presented live.
The VMAs have produced legendary moments that will live on in pop culture, such as the Madonna-Britney-Christina kiss, the I’m A Slave 4 U performance and Kanye West notoriously interrupting young Taylor Swift’s Video of the Year winner speech.
There appears to be an issue with award ceremonies these days, as there aren’t enough iconic moments originating from them, which has caused audiences to lose interest.
It might be nostalgia that makes audiences remember those unforgettable moments. Sabrina Carpenter kissing a female alien backup dancer during her performance has the potential to become an iconic pop cultural reference in ten years, but only time will tell.
The focus is diverted from the awards themselves, as award shows attempt to create viral moments by jam-packing their ceremonies with performances, preventing the iconic moments from occurring naturally. Big stars and great performances were on display at the 2024 VMAs, but the star-studded artist showcases took center stage over the awards show aspect itself.
