Entertainment

Missed the VMAs? These were the best moments

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From Britney-like performances and activism to edible lipstick and happiness for Mariah Carey: while you were comfortably sleeping, a lot happened in the dead of night at the MTV Video Music Awards. Not in the mood to scour social media for all the ins and outs? You're in luck, we've got it covered for you.

To begin with... there were a whole lot of ‘firsts’:

Mariah Carey finally wins a VMA award

Yes, really. We couldn't believe our ears either; but the Queen of Christmas has never won a VMA. What the- how is that possible? We have no idea. After her breakthrough in 1990, it took (hold on tight) a whopping thirty-five years before she got one. That took a long time, and Mariah herself thought so too. She joked: ‘What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for,“ when she accepted the Moon Person. She won it for the ”Heartbreaker‘ music video.

Ricky Martin makes history with the first Latin Icon award

A new category has been created in MTV-land: the Latin Icon Award. The statue has been established as a tribute to Latin artists who have influenced the music industry on a global scale. And guess what, Ricky Martin has the honor of being the first. And honestly, he deserves it. He has sold over 55 million albums worldwide and is known for songs like Livin’ La Vida Loca, She’s All I Ever Had, and Nobody Wants to Be Lonely. Ricky is definitely living la vida loca now that he can put this award in his trophy case.

Rosé wins as the first K-pop artist the ‘Song of the Year’ award

The New Zealand and South Korean singer won it for her hit single ‘APT’ with Bruno Mars. For those who have been living under a rock and don’t know who this girl is: Roseanne Park, aka Rosé, is part of the girl group Blackpink. Since March 2021, she has also been making solo music, and ‘APT’ was the lead single from her debut studio album Rosie. She is definitely someone to keep an eye on, because she has just gotten started.

Katseye wins their first VMA with performance of the year

The girl group (by the way, how great is it that girl groups are back!) has been building their way to success for a while, but with their single Gabriela, they exploded. On TikTok, but also on mainstream radio stations. So it’s no surprise that they took home a trophy for the performance of this song. By the way, they also performed it during the VMAs, and folks: it was so good. Think choreography, good singing, and smoke machines.

And then, the stars we want to know everything about:

Why Sabrina Carpenter went viral (And Trump now hates her)

I can hear you thinking: that’s a crazy headline. And yes, you need a bit of context for that. Sabrina Carpenter stole the show with her performance of ‘Tears’. It was fantastic. Really, on Britney level. Amazing looks, great choreography, and the set? Wow. There were so many dancers and there was even rain. That was a tribute to an earlier performance by Britney Spears. Everything was great, but there was also something that conservative America, and especially Donald Trump, didn’t like: Sabrina made a big political statement. Protect the dolls. In other words, protect the lives of trans people. He declared war on them. In schools, they are no longer allowed to participate in women’s competitions or use women’s restrooms. Their passports must show the old gender and the ‘dead name’. In short: he is doing everything to make life harder for trans people. A response to this was: Protect the dolls, which is one of the catchphrases to bring this issue to light. Sabrina performed with drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race, who carried signs with texts “Dolls dolls dolls”, “If you hate you’ll never get laid”, “Support local drag” and “Protect trans rights”. With this, she made a big statement on American television. We are proud of her. Go Sabrina. Go trans rights.

Besides slaying her performance, Sabrina did something else: she fought against the ‘wig allegations’ that are all over the internet. During her tour, many fans thought she wore wigs: ‘Her hair can’t possibly be that beautiful in real life’, it was said. But lo and behold: during the rain section of the song, it was clear that Sabrina’s hair got wet and was therefore not a wig. Now at least. Oh yes, and she won three awards: for best album (Short ’n Sweet), best pop artist, and best visual effects in her music videos.

Ariana Grande wins three VMAs with short film

Wicked is still a while away, but Ariana Grande was back on the VMA red carpet for the first time in five years. And not without reason, as she took home one of the prestigious awards of the evening: Music Video of the Year. She competed against Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, The Weeknd, and Lady Gaga – but it was Ariana who won with her short film Brighter Days Ahead. The musical science fiction short film is a journey through various songs with Ariana in the lead role. The film also won another award: Best Long Form Video. Lastly, a fun fact: she directed the film herself, together with Christian Breslauer.

Doja Cat eats her lipstick

As if it couldn’t get any crazier, Doja Cat literally ate her lipstick during her red carpet session. Uh, what? Yes, Doja Cat is known for her looks ‘are always eating’ – which means they are really good – but now she literally ‘ate’ her look. Besides this tasty moment, she performed an 80’s tribute medley.

Lady Gaga in the top 3 with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift for most VMAs

That competition for who has the most VMAs ever has been going on for a while between Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. That tug-of-war is tied, but they need to keep an eye out, because there’s a new contender in the game: Lady Gaga pushes Madonna out of third place with her four new awards. It’s going to be a tight race.

That wasn’t the only news surrounding Lady Gaga: her performance of the songs Abracadabra and Dead Dance is doing well online. It was a spooky performance, turning the circus of the VMAs into a haunted house. It gave me the creeps, but it was secretly very cool. And exactly what we expect from Lady Gaga. Another topic that was talked about a lot was Gaga’s schedule. Just before she was set to perform in a packed Madison Square Garden, she accepted her award. “I wish I could stay and see all the performances, but I have to go back to the stadium,” she said during her speech. I don’t know if she used a helicopter or teleported, but she made it to her concert on time.

So. That was quite a mouthful. Now you at least didn’t have to watch the whole episode back with your VPN. Just thank us.