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The MTV Video Music Awards turn 40 this year and they’re feeling nostalgic. Lots of old rappers, for one thing, at a show that was opened by Eminem and closed by LL Cool J, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Def Jam. But that’s not the only reason this year’s awards appeared a touch more mature, with a Lenny Kravitz/Quavo team-up straight out of the Grammys playbook, a special appearance by TRL’s Carson Daly (who said he returned to the VMAs mostly because the event was held at his and his kids’ favorite hockey team’s arena), and flashback footage (Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley!) aimed squarely at the target audience’s parents.
Truthfully, the entire three-plus-hour show felt calmer than usual: Less hectic editing, fewer crowd shots, hardly any Taylor Swift reactions. (Last year, we watched her react to practically the whole thing.) Naturally, Swift still went home with the night’s first and last awards, winning Best Collaboration and Video of the Year (and several more) for the self-directed “Fortnight” video, with Post Malone, barely 24 hours after making headlines for her endorsement of Kamala Harris.
Everyone here is media-trained, but this year’s VMAs came across as especially safe for work. That’s owed partly to first-time host Megan Thee Stallion, who surely has a long television career ahead, as well as an extra-long new Pepsi commercial remaking Beyoncé, Britney, and P!nk’s gladiatorial classic. Even for a show that regularly features advertiser logos onstage, the marketing tie-ins were inescapable (quoth Big Sean: “We love Doritos”). Scan to order the VMA Whopper Meal and read on for our best and worst performances of music’s most bewildering night.
–Anna Gaca
The Best
Give Sabrina Carpenter a Double
She’s working late because she’s a singer! As she descended from the rafters, on a diamond-shaped swing (how many carats is that?), Sabrina Carpenter was delightfully, unmistakably singing live, even showing off a little, garnering a rapturous reception with a mashup of “Please Please Please,” “Taste,” and that me espresso. She also kissed a sexy blue alien for some reason, though, at the VMAs, the inside of a neon-sign store packed full of breakdancing astronauts is perfectly in line with the tenor of the occasion. If only our Short n’ Sweet queen’s set hadn’t been… so short.
