The MTV Video Music Awards have long been celebrated as a night where artists can really let it all go, bring their most outrageous fashion and just generally embody the original spirit of the iconic music channel.
Of course, with a pandemic wreaking havoc over the past 18 months, all award shows have looked a little different and lacked a little lustre, but in 2021 we are back baby and the VMA’s are here to prove it.
Case in point: the show kicked off with a surprise performance from none other than Madonna who is, of course, the performer who has brought us some of the most memorable moments in music video and VMA history.
Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion led the nominations for the event with seven and six nods respectively, while artists such as BTS, Drake, Lil Nas X, and Olivia Rodrigo scored nominations in some of the biggest categories.
In news that will come as a surprise to no one, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s provocative WAP video is up for Video of The Year.
Hosted by Doja Cat, stars such as Billie Eilish, Travis Barker and 50 Cent all made an appearance along with performers Olivia Rodrigo, Kacey Musgraves, Justin Bieber and Lil Nas X.
Legendary rock band Foo Fighters were the recipients of the first-ever MTV VMAs Global Icon Award, followed by a performance marking their return to the VMAs stage since 2007.
Read on for the full list of winners from music’s most eclectic night.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP” – Atlantic Records
DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “POPSTAR” (Starring Justin Bieber) – OVO / We The Best / Epic Records
Doja Cat ft. SZA – “Kiss Me More” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records
Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records – WINNER
The Weeknd – “Save Your Tears” – XO / Republic Records
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Ariana Grande – Republic Records
Doja Cat – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Justin Bieber – Def Jam – WINNER
Megan Thee Stallion – 300 Entertainment
Olivia Rodrigo – Geffen Records
Taylor Swift – Republic Records
GROUP OF THE YEAR
BTS – WINNER
Blackpink
CNCO
Foo Fighters
Jonas Brothers
Maroon 5
Silk Sonic
Twenty One Pilots
SONG OF THE YEAR
24kGoldn ft. iann dior – “Mood” – RECORDS LLC / Columbia Records
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic – “Leave The Door Open” – Aftermath Entertainment / Atlantic Records
BTS – “Dynamite” – BIGHIT MUSIC
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP” – Atlantic Records
Dua Lipa – “Levitating” – Warner Records
Olivia Rodrigo – “drivers license” – Geffen Records – WINNER
BEST NEW ARTIST, Presented by Facebook
24kGoldn – RECORDS LLC / Columbia Records
Giveon – Epic Records / Not So Fast
The Kid LAROI – Columbia Records
Olivia Rodrigo – Geffen Records – WINNER
Polo G – Columbia Records
Saweetie – Warner Records
PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
September 2020: Wallows – “Are You Bored Yet?” – Columbia Records
October 2020: Ashnikko – “Daisy” – Warner Records
November 2020: SAINt JHN – “Gorgeous” – Godd Complexx / HITCO
December 2020: 24kGoldn – “Coco” – RECORDS LLC / Columbia Records
January 2021: JC Stewart – “Break My Heart” – Elektra Music Group
February 2021: Latto – “Sex Lies” – RCA Records
March 2021: Madison Beer – “Selfish” – Epic Records / Sing It Loud
April 2021: The Kid LAROI – “WITHOUT YOU” – Columbia Records
May 2021: Olivia Rodrigo – “drivers license” – Geffen Records – WINNER
June 2021: girl in red “Serotonin” – world in red / AWAL
July 2021: Fousheé – “my slime” – RCA Records
August 2021: jxdn – “Think About Me” – DTA Records / Elektra Music Group
BEST COLLABORATION
24kGoldn ft. iann dior – “Mood” – RECORDS LLC / Columbia Records
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP” – Atlantic Records
Doja Cat ft. SZA – “Kiss Me More” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records – WINNER
Drake ft. Lil Durk – “Laugh Now Cry Later” – OVO / Republic Records
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon – “Peaches” – Def Jam
Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa – “Prisoner” – RCA Records
BEST POP
Ariana Grande – “positions” – Republic Records
Billie Eilish – “Therefore I Am” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
BTS – “Butter” – BIGHIT MUSIC
Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness” – Columbia Records
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon – “Peaches” – Def Jam – WINNER
Olivia Rodrigo – “good 4 u” – Geffen Records
Shawn Mendes – “Wonder” – Island Records
Taylor Swift – “willow” – Republic Records
BEST HIP-HOP
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP” – Atlantic Records
Drake ft. Lil Durk – “Laugh Now Cry Later” – OVO / Republic Records
Lil Baby ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “On Me (remix)” – Quality Control / Motown
Moneybagg Yo – “Said Sum” – N-Less Entertainment / Interscope Records
Polo G – “RAPSTAR” – Columbia Records
Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A. – “FRANCHISE” – Cactus Jack / Epic Records – WINNER
BEST ROCK
Evanescence – “Use My Voice” – BMG
Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame” – Roswell Records / RCA Records
John Mayer – “Last Train Home” – Columbia Records – WINNER
The Killers – “My Own Soul’s Warning” – Island
Kings Of Leon – “The Bandit” – RCA Records
Lenny Kravitz – “Raise Vibration” – Roxie Records / BMG
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Bleachers – “Stop Making This Hurt” – RCA Records
Glass Animals – “Heat Waves” – Republic Records
Imagine Dragons – “Follow You” – KIDinaKORNER / Interscope Records
Machine Gun Kelly ft. blackbear – “my ex’s best friend” – Bad Boy / Interscope Records – WINNER
twenty one pilots – “Shy Away” – Fueled By Ramen
WILLOW ft. Travis Barker – “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” – MSFTSMusic / Roc Nation
BEST LATIN
Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez – “Dákiti” – The Orchard
Billie Eilish & ROSALÍA – “Lo Vas A Olvidar” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – WINNER
Black Eyed Peas and Shakira – “GIRL LIKE ME” – Epic Records
J. Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy – “UN DIA (ONE DAY)” – Universal Music Latino / NEON16
Karol G – “Bichota” – Universal Music Latino
Maluma – “Hawái” – Sony Music US Latin
BEST R&B
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid – “BROWN SKIN GIRL” – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic – “Leave The Door Open” – Aftermath Entertainment / Atlantic Records — WINNER
Chris Brown and Young Thug – “Go Crazy” – Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA Records
Giveon – “HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY” – Epic Records / Not So Fast
H.E.R. ft. Chris Brown – “Come Through” – MBK Entertainment / RCA Records
SZA – “Good Days” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records
BEST K-POP
(G)I-DLE – “DUMDi DUMDi” – Republic Records
BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez – “Ice Cream” – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records
BTS – “Butter” – BIGHIT MUSIC Monsta X – “Gambler” – Starship Entertainment – WINNER
SEVENTEEN – “Ready to love” – Pledis Entertainment
TWICE – “Alcohol-Free” – JYP Entertainment Company
VIDEO FOR GOOD
Billie Eilish – “Your Power” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – WINNER
Demi Lovato – “Dancing With The Devil” – Island
H.E.R. – “Fight For You” – MBK Entertainment / RCA Records
Kane Brown – “Worldwide Beautiful” – Sony Music Nashville / RCA Records
Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records
Pharrell Williams ft. JAY-Z – “Entrepreneur” – Columbia Records
BEST BREAKTHROUGH SONG
Claire Rosinkranz — “Backyard Boy” – WINNER
Masked Wolf: “Astronaut In The Ocean”
Bella Poarch: “Build a B*tch”
Young Baby Tate ft. Flo Milli: “I Am”
Whoheem: “Let’s Link”
BEST DIRECTION
Billie Eilish – “Your Power” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – Directed by: Billie Eilish
DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “POPSTAR (Starring Justin Bieber)” – OVO / We The Best / Epic Records – Directed by: Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X
Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records – Directed by: Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino – WINNER
Taylor Swift – “willow” – Republic Records – Directed by: Taylor SwiftTravis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A – “Franchise” – Cactus Jack / Epic Records – Directed by: Travis Scott
Tyler, The Creator – “LUMBERJACK” – Columbia Records – Directed by: Wolf Haley
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid – “BROWN SKIN GIRL” – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records – Cinematography by: Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, MOHAMMAED ATTA AHMED, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant – WINNER
Billie Eilish – “Therefore I Am” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – Cinematography by: Rob Witt
Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame” – Roswell Records / RCA Records – Cinematography by: Santiago Gonzalez
Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper – “Holy” – RBMG/Def Jam – Cinematography by: Elias Talbot
Lady Gaga – “911” – Interscope Records – Cinematography by: Jeff Cronenweth
Lorde – “Solar Power” – LAVA/Republic Records – Cinematography by: Andrew Stroud
BEST ART DIRECTION
Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer – “ALREADY” – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records – Art Direction by: Susan Linns, Gerard Santos
Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records – Art Direction by: Alison Dominitz
Lady Gaga – “911” – Interscope Records – Art Direction by: Tom Foden, Peter Andrus
Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records – Art Direction by: John Richoux – WINNER
Saweetie ft. Doja Cat – “Best Friend” – Warner Records – Art Direction by: Art Haynes
Taylor Swift – “willow” – Republic Records – Art Direction by: Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Bella Poarch – “Build A Bitch” – Warner Records – Visual Effects by: Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova
Coldplay – “Higher Power” – Atlantic Records – Visual Effects by: Mathematic
Doja Cat & The Weeknd – “You Right” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records – Visual Effects by: La Pac, Anthony Lestremau, Julien Missaire, Petr Shkolniy, Alexi Bailla, Micha Sher, Antoine Hache, Mikros MPC, Nicolas Huget, Guillaume Ho Tsong Fang, Benjamin Lenfant, Stephane Pivron, MPC Bangalore, Chanakya Chander, Raju Ganesh, David Rouxel
Glass Animals – “Tangerine” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by: Ronan Fourreau
Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records – Visual Effects by: Mathematic
P!NK – “All I Know So Far” – RCA Records – Visual Effects by: Dave Meyers, Freenjoy Inc
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Ariana Grande – “34+35” – Republic Records – Choreography by: Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson
BTS – “Butter” – BIGHIT MUSIC – Choreography by: SON SUNG DEUK With BHM PERFORMANCE DIRECTING TEAM
Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records – Choreography by: Natricia Bernard
Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame” – Roswell Records / RCA Records – Choreography by: Nina McNeely
Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness” – Columbia Records – Choreography by: Paul Roberts – WINNER
Marshmello & Halsey – “Be Kind” – Astralwerks / Capitol Records – Choreography by: Dani Vitale
BEST EDITING
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic – “Leave The Door Open” – Aftermath Entertainment/Atlantic Records – Editing by: Troy Charbonnet
BTS – “Butter” – BIGHIT MUSIC – Editing by: Yong Seok Choi from Lumpens
Drake – “What’s Next” – OVO/Republic Records – Editing by: Noah Kendal
Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness” – Columbia Records – Editing by: Claudia Wass
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon – “Peaches” – Def Jam – Editing by: Mark Mayr, Vinnie Hobbs
Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa – “Prisoner” – RCA Records
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