From Britney Spears snuggling a snake to the infamous “Miley, what’s good?,” the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) have always been a paragon of unhinged pop culture. Just how cliques have their own lunchroom tables in “Mean Girls” (2004), so do U.S. award shows. If the Grammy Awards represent “girl world” — cutthroat yet civil — then the VMAs are exactly what Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) means when she says, “I knew how this would be settled in the animal world”: figurative and literal punches thrown left and right.
Year after year, the VMAs deliver on their unspoken promise of providing Stan X with enough goods to marinate on until the next iPhone release, and this year was no different.
Low: Time
It is difficult to ignore how gravely drawn out the ceremony was. By the three-and-a-half-hour mark, a handful of performances and awards were still left — a fault often seen in live television programming nowadays. Most of what went down in that last leg will be placed on the backburner in people’s minds. This is not to say that Metro Boomin, Future, Swae Lee, A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Nav put the crowd to sleep with their set; the crowd was just already asleep. Had those artists and the rest of the caboose performed earlier in the night, they would surely receive more attention and appreciation.
High: Doja Cat’s ‘Scarlet’ fever
Doja Cat catapulted into the mainstream in large part due to TikTok. During the height of the pandemic, her buoyant, lush and focused pop music was impossible to avoid. Like many artists, our feline friend has a popular social media presence too. However, instead of decorating her feed with promotional content, Doja Cat prefers to let her quirky personality loose. While she certainly has not shied away from being as provocative in her lyrics as she has been online, her recent releases indicate that Doja Cat is done playing nice entirely.
In a May tweet, the star wrote that “planet her and hot pink were cash-grabs and yall fell for it.”
Fast forward to the VMAs. The blood of her alter ego “Scarlet” covered hypnotic chart-toppers “Attention,” “Paint The Town Red” and “Demons.” Doja Cat’s medley of these songs captivated everyone in the room with both her versatility and commitment to the character. As things began to heat up, she unpinned her hair and seductively stripped down her teacher-inspired shirt and blazer to reveal a devilish red bralette. Newspapers flew everywhere, dancers swarmed the stage in bulk, and the camera shook for added effect. It was a beautiful chaos.
This is more than just a new era of Doja Cat. It is a new age: the age of “Scarlet.” And nobody is safe.
High: Hostess with the mostest
When the VMAs announced that Nicki Minaj would return to host this year’s ceremony, I let out a sigh of relief. On top of two dynamic performances, the “Queen of Rap” gifted us comedic gold and a plethora of currently trending sound bites. The mere mention of her muse Roman Zolanski was enough to set the Barbz ablaze with excitement. As the instrumental for the tender “Last Time I Saw You” transitioned into an ambitious trap track, this buzz came to head. The snippet of “Big Difference,” an unreleased cut from her highly anticipated album “Pink Friday 2” which is slated for a Nov. 17 release, a week before Black Friday, sent shock waves throughout the Prudential Center.
The VMAs should continue to delegate hosting privileges to Nicki Minaj until someone else comes around who can rap, sing, bless us with a string of staple outfits and tell the crowd to “Shut the f*** up” all in one night. That is, unless, *NSYNC wants to capitalize on the traction their brief reunion received and host next year. Just a thought.
High: Diddy’s father-son performance
Diddy was the recipient of the 2023 Global Icon Award. He rapped through his greatest hits “I’ll Be Missing You” (2004), “I Need a Girl” (2005) and more with help from Yung Miami and Keyshia Cole. Yes, the nostalgia factor definitely boosted his performance, but Diddy’s stage presence was as lively and sprawling as ever. He genuinely did right by these classics.
Most importantly, it was a family night. King Combs and twin girls D’Lila and Jessie Combs performed alongside their father. Following a heartfelt speech by Mary J. Blige, Diddy’s eldest daughter Chance Combs presented her father with the Moonman trophy. Diddy thanked his late wife Kim Porter, noting that she would have loved to see him share a stage with their son. I’m not crying, you are.
Low: Fall Out Boy’s rendition of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (1989)
If Billy Joel is not singing, nobody should be — plain and simple. It was counter-intuitive for Fall Out Boy to make their supposed VMAs comeback with a cover.
The VMAs have a reputation for embracing artists’ inherent wit and wackiness. After all, music videos serve as visual manifestations of lyrics, which stem from unique human experiences. Ergo, the VMAs afford Fall Out Boy greater artistic freedom than they would have at a black-tie event designed to praise sole musical composition.
Nicki Minaj learned this the hard way at the Grammys Awards in 2012 when the Catholic Church slandered and dubbed her portrayal of “Roman Holiday” (2012) controversial instead of innovative. Fortunately, MTV has historically offered a training ground for all sorts of unapologetic art; hence, why Fall Out Boy fumbled their bag by not premiering new material — upcoming opportunities will only be stricter.
High: Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Karol G radiate neon excellence
A common theme throughout the night, besides bare skin, was neon. First with Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, who bodied — pun intended — their debut performance of “Bongos,” a proper utilization of the VMAs’ liberalism. Is the song good? Not particularly. Do the two rappers know how to distract you with expensive costumes, stimulating visuals and wicked choreography? Absolutely. Only time will tell if it reaches the heights of “WAP” (2020) — unlikely so far.
Secondly, Karol G, who rocked hot pink and teal plaid, held her own on stage. For just under four minutes, her enticing dancing and vocal chops were stronger than a flame to a moth. The moth in question? Anyone with eyes. Keep the neon coming!
High: Demi Lovato reminds us who she is
This was Lovato’s first time at the VMAs in six years. She has dealt with significant hardship and change in that window. Therefore, for her to rebound with a triumphant, rock-and-roll-inspired medley of her iconic hits was compelling. Only a voice as stratospheric as hers can be heard amid earth-shattering electric guitars and cymbals. By screaming the lyric “I’m not sorry” back at Lovato during “Sorry Not Sorry” (2017), the audience verified the prevailing impact of the singer’s music. Lovato’s new album “REVAMPED” — full of these tracks and other reimagined older bops — is out now.
High: Shakira, Shakira!
Simply put, Shakira is a force of nature. She is full of spunk, spirit and stamina. Watching her breeze seamlessly through her discography was a breath of fresh air. The VMAs are as superficial as it gets. Shakira, however, relied solely on her talent, passion and love for Latin music to cultivate a show-stopping performance.
There were no excess distractions, only excess in determination. It almost felt like there were times when Shakira’s microphone tempered her because she was so invested in every second she had on stage. Her performance incentivized all of us to escape this VMAs superficiality.Such zest for life has always been apparent in Shakira’s work; what is especially commendable, though, is her two-decade-long diligence in magnifying it. The fire that makes Shakira, well, Shakira, continues to burn as bright as it did the first time she hit the VMAs stage in 2002. Of course she was the Video Vanguard Award recipient — it has been a long time coming.
Low: Hip-hop tribute
There was so much untapped potential here. Veterans of the genre Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick tamely kicked off the anniversary celebration. It was not until Nicki Minaj strutted out to “Itty Bitty Piggy” (2021) that the energy ticked up a notch. Lil Wayne succeeded her, redeeming himself after that lackluster VMAs opening number. Then LL Cool J landed everything safely on somewhat two feet. Holistically speaking, it was a palatable 10 minutes, but it could have been 10 times better.
High: It is Taylor Swift’s world, we are just living in it
Taylor Swift was the biggest winner of the night, walking away with nine trophies. Despite not performing, Swift may have also gotten the most screen time. Whether she was fangirling over *NSYNC, laughing with Best New Artist Ice Spice, dancing her millennial heart out to every single freaking song or geeking out with fellow Sagittarius Nicki Minaj, Swift was in her element.
Who can blame a girl for partying on her night off? Swift has been on a winning streak her entire career, but in the wake of The Eras Tour, her stardom is insurmountable. And like she said, she is “not even halfway done with it.” Be on the lookout for The Eras Tour film, coming to AMC Theatres across North America on Oct. 13.
Honorable mentions
Olivia Rodrigo: from timid to touchdown. I know the destruction of the stage was an act, but Rodrigo had more people concerned than clapping. While a sophisticated ballad from the 20-year-old songstress, “vampire” was not the right choice for the VMAs. Where her talent and charisma really shined through was with “get him back!” — Rodrigo loosened up and remembered she could do well and have fun at the same time.
All things Selena Gomez. The reactions. That outfit. The “Calm Down” (2022) singer could not calm us down. My only complaint is that we were robbed of an interaction between Gomez and Nicki Minaj — I guess the latter did not keep an eye out.
Stray Kid: the definition of synchrony and swagger. Those guys move with the same amount of precision as you see in the “Just Dance” videos.
Anitta does work so hard. Though neither one of her two performances made a big splash, Anitta’s pep and feisty fervor are impressive and it is hard not to cheer her on. “I want to thank myself because I work so hard,” she said in her acceptance speech for Best Latin Award.
Måneskin: bi-panic. I think this one goes without being said.
