Madonna opened the very first VMAs ceremony 37 years ago with her stunning ‘Like a Virgin’ performance, and it would have been unforgivable if the star wasn’t in Brooklyn on Sunday to celebrate MTV’s four-decade anniversary.
And there she was. Dressed in a black leather dominatrix suit, the Queen of Pop recalled her arrival to New York City and a forty-year-long bond with MTV that changed her life forever.
"That's why there's only one place to be tonight," she said from the stage. "And they say we wouldn't last, but we're still here motherf***ers.”
But it wasn’t only Madonna’s surprise appearance and her butt-revealing bodysuit that got the peeps talking.
Here are some other highlights of the night:
Big Wins
Justin Bieber was definitely a star of the evening. The Canadian singer took home not one award but two: for the best Artist of the Year and Best Pop song.
Olivia Rodrigo was another big winner of the night with Best New Artist title, the Song of the Year award and a Moon Person for ‘Push Performance of the Year’.
But it was BTS shinning moment when they snatched Best K-pop song award for ‘Butter’ and Best Group of the Year (again), leaving fans ecstatic across the globe.
‘Satanic’ Video Gets Its Reward
Lil Nas X made a lot of noise in April with his Satan-inspired sneakers featuring a drop of human blood in soil, which got the rapper not only in ethical but also legal trouble with Nike.
The sneakers drama was followed by backlash around his ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ clip, where Lil Nas X portrayed himself as giving a lap dance to the Devil.
But MTV fans were unanimous when naming the ‘Montero’ the best video of 2021 (it won best direction as well).
"First I wanna say thank you to the gay agenda," Lil Nas X said on stage when accepting the award. "Let's go gay agenda!"
‘Naked’ Megan Fox
Machine Gun Kelly might have won the ‘Best Alternative’ song award but it was his girlfriend Megan Fox that stole the spotlight that evening with her glossy dress.
Well, it’s kind of difficult to call Megan’s fully sheer gown with a glitter pattern a dress really, but at least there was some sparkling underwear to spot. Thanks to Megan’s great physical shape, the move got a lot of thumbs up.
US actress Megan Fox (L) and US singer Machine Gun Kelly arrive for the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, September 12, 2021
© AFP 2023 / ANGELA WEISS
Who Else is On Top?
Olivia Rodrigo may have taken home a handful of awards but there were also some big stage moments to watch for.
Billie Eilish won ‘Video For Good’ award for her ‘Your Power’ clip, Travis Scott and his dream team were named ‘Best Hip-Hop’ performers, while Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic won two Moon Persons for the ‘Best R&B’ and ‘Best Editing’ of the year with ‘Leave the Door Open’.
Beyoncé's 'Brown Skin Girl' also got some recognition for its cinematography but the ‘Best Choreography’ award went to Harry Styles’ ‘Treat People With Kindness’ straight away.
Doja Cat, who hosted the live broadcast, was awarded for ‘Best Collaboration’ with SZA for ‘Kiss Me More’ single.
The MTV Video Music Awards ceremony was first held in 1984 at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall and eventually became an iconic annual show, often labelled a ‘Super Bowl for youth’ for its large viewership among teens.
Nominations for the ‘Moon Person’ awards are traditionally chosen by the channel’s producers and executives but the final winners are decided by the general public through online voting.