Highlights of the 2020 VMA Music Awards
This year, major awards shows are all facing challenges due to the pandemic. The MTV Video Music Awards are no exception.
In order to keep things safe, instead of being held at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center, the performances were scattered around secret outdoor locations in New York’s five boroughs.
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande were among those noted for their out of the box performances. Gaga began her performance in a bedroom where a vintage VMA ad plays on an old school television set. She then stripped down to a bright green two piece as ‘Chromatica II started playing. From there, the singer hopped down a stripper pole and strutted through mannequins to join her dancers, and Grande, on stage.
Gaga and Grande wore facemasks while performing a medley of Chromatica songs. Grande then departed the stage to make way for a stripped down performance of Gaga playing “Stupid Love” on a pink piano. The dancers then rejoined Gaga for a grand finale.
Miley Cyrus also gave a noteworthy performance with her new single “Midnight Sky”. She brought back her ‘Wrecking Ball” look, only this time she did not descend on a wrecking ball but on a disco ball. She played against a primary color backlit stage giving off a distinct vintage vibe.
BTS became the first K-Pop act to ever perform on the VMAs. They appeared remotely via South Korea singing their first all English language single “Dynamite”.
The Weeknd opened the show singing his song, “Blinding Lights” a thousand feet above Manhattan from the Edge observation deck at Hudson Yard. Later in the show, the singer would win an award for Video of the Year and Best R&B Video. He solemnly accepted the award saying, “It's hard for me to celebrate right now and enjoy this moment. So I'm just going to say justice for Jacob Blake and justice for Breonna Taylor. Thank you.”
Other highlights included Maluma who created a tropical background for his Brooklyn drive-in performance of the song Hawai. DaBaby did a politically charged medley of “Peephole”, “Blind” and “Rockstar” featuring America’s Best Dance Crew champions Jabbawockeez.
The event was hosted by Keke Palmer who introduced the show saying, “We need to come together, and music has that power. Music can help us heal. It's all love, and that's what tonight is about. We are making the impossible possible, pushing the boundaries of music performances — because that's what we do on the VMAs.”
Despite the change in circumstances, the VMA’s still managed to make for an exciting event. Here is a full list of the winners.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” (WINNER)
Billie Eilish – “everything i wanted”
Eminem ft. Juice WRLD – “Godzilla”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Taylor Swift – “The Man”
PUSH BEST NEW ARTIST, Presented by Chime Banking
Doja Cat (WINNER)
Jack Harlow
Lewis Capaldi
Roddy Ricch
Tate McRae
YUNGBLUD
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lady Gaga (WINNER)
DaBaby
Justin Bieber
Megan Thee Stallion
Post Malone
The Weeknd
SONG OF THE YEAR
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” (WINNER)
Billie Eilish – “everything i wanted”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage”
Post Malone – “Circles”
BEST HIP-HOP
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage” (WINNER)
DaBaby – “BOP”
Eminem ft. Juice WRLD – “Godzilla”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Roddy Ricch – “The Box”
Travis Scott – “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM”
VIDEO FOR GOOD
H.E.R. – ”I Can’t Breathe” (WINNER)
Anderson .Paak – “Lockdown”
Billie Eilish – “all the good girls go to hell”
Demi Lovato – “I Love Me”
Lil Baby – “The Bigger Picture”
Taylor Swift – “The Man” – Republic Records
BEST R&B
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” (WINNER)
(WINNER)
Alicia Keys – “Underdog”
Chloe x Halle – “Do It”
H.E.R. ft. YG – “Slide”
Khalid ft. Summer Walker – “Eleven”
Lizzo – “Cuz I Love You”
BEST POP
BTS – “On” (WINNER)
Halsey – “You should be sad”
Jonas Brothers – “What a Man Gotta Do”
Justin Bieber ft. Quavo – “Intentions”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Taylor Swift – “Lover”
BEST MUSIC VIDEO FROM HOME
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U” (WINNER)
5 Seconds of Summer – “Wildflower”
blink-182 – “Happy Days”
Drake – “Toosie Slide”
John Legend – “Bigger Love”
twenty one pilots – “Level of Concern”
BEST LATIN
Maluma ft. J Balvin – “Qué Pena” (WINNER)
Anuel AA ft. Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, Karol G & J Balvin – “China”
Bad Bunny – “Yo Perreo Sola”
Black Eyed Peas ft. Ozuna & J. Rey Soul – “MAMACITA”
J Balvin – “Amarillo”
Karol G ft. Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
BEST DIRECTION
Taylor Swift – “The Man” (WINNER)
Billie Eilish – “xanny”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now”
Harry Styles – “Adore You”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
BEST COLLABORATION
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” (WINNER)
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U”
Black Eyed Peas ft. J Balvin – “RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)”
Ed Sheeran ft. Khalid – “Beautiful People”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Karol G ft. Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
BEST K-POP
BTS – “On” (WINNER)
(G)I-DLE – “Oh My God”
EXO – “Obsession”
Monsta X – “SOMEONE’S SOMEONE”
Tomorrow X Together – “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)”
Red Velvet – “Psycho” – SM Entertainment
BEST GROUP
BTS (WINNER)
5 Seconds of Summer
The 1975
BLACKPINK
Chloe x Halle
CNCO
Little Mix
MONSTA X
Now United
twenty one pilots
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Machine Gun Kelly – “Bloody Valentine” (WINNER)
The 1975 – “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)”
All Time Low – “Some Kind Of Disaster”
FINNEAS – “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night”
Lana Del Rey – “Doin’ Time
twenty one pilots – “Level of Concern”
BEST ROCK
Coldplay – “Orphans” (WINNER)
blink-182 – “Happy Days”
Evanescence – “Wasted On You”
Fall Out Boy ft. Wyclef Jean – “Dear Future Self (Hands Up)”
Green Day – “Oh Yeah!”
The Killers – “Caution”
BEST QUARANTINE PERFORMANCE
CNCO – Unplugged At Home (WINNER)
Chloe & Halle – “Do It” from MTV’s Prom-athon
DJ D-Nice – Club MTV presents #DanceTogether
John Legend – #togetherathome Concert Series
Lady Gaga – “Smile” from One World: Together At Home
Post Malone – Nirvana Tribute
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” (WINNER)
5 Seconds of Summer – “Old Me”
Camila Cabello ft. DaBaby – “My Oh My”
Billie Eilish – “all the good girls go to hell”
Katy Perry – “Harleys In Hawaii”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
BEST ART DIRECTION
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” (WINNER)
A$AP Rocky – “Babushka Boi”
Dua Lipa – “Physical”
Harry Styles – “Adore You”
Selena Gomez – “Boyfriend”
Taylor Swift – “Lover”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dua Lipa – “Physical” (WINNER)
Billie Eilish – “all the good girls go to hell”
Demi Lovato – “I Love Me”
Harry Styles – “Adore You”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Travis Scott – “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM”
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
BTS – “On” (WINNER)
CNCO & Natti Natasha – “Honey Boo”
DaBaby – “BOP”
Dua Lipa – “Physical”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Normani – “Motivation”
BEST EDITING
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” (WINNER)
Halsey – “Graveyard”
James Blake – “Can’t Believe the Way We Flow”
Lizzo – “Good As Hell”
ROSALÍA – “A Palé”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
SONG OF THE SUMMER
BLACKPINK “How You Like That” (WINNER)
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP”
DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch “Rockstar”
DJ Khaled ft. Drake “Popstar”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Dua Lipa – “Break My Heart”
Harry Styles –“Watermelon Sugar”
Jack Harlow – “Whats Poppin”
Lil Baby ft. 42 Dugg – “We Paid”
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé – “Savage (Remix)”
Miley Cyrus – “Midnight Sky”
Pop Smoke ft. 50 Cent & Roddy Ricch – “The Woo”
SAINt JHN – “Roses”
Saweetie – “Tap In”
Taylor Swift – “cardigan”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
