The MTV Video Music Awards become more and more of a production each year. And this year started off with Kendrick Lamar making literal fire, and Katy Perry tried to tell everyone she was in outer space for a few months.
Anyway, here are 20 takeaways from this year's VMAs.
1. Kendrick Lamar got the crowd way too lit
Really though, one of his dancers lit themselves on fire during his opening of “DNA.” It was stressful, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t lit. Oh, then he followed it up with “HUMBLE.,” because the crowd wasn’t hype enough already.
2. Ed Sheeran and Lil Uzi Vert didn’t make sense together.
What audience are they trying to reach with this duo? No, really, MTV, the viewers need answers.
3. Ellen DeGeneres was the classiest of them all
Honestly, no one else can make jeans look as sophisticated as she can.
4. Katy Perry was annoying in record time
I get the astronaut is the award of the VMAs, but why is she like trying to convince us she is an actual astronaut? This is terrible. Her cringe-worthy Mars bit made everyone uncomfortable watching it. Everyone in the audience looked uninterested. Jack Antonoff was eating a banana when she came out, if that says anything.
5. The commercial break during Julia Michaels’ performance was uncalled for
Why would anyone cut to a commercial during the middle of a performance? If I was Julia, I would be livid with the MTV producers. Shady as hell.
6. The old Taylor Swift actually died
And she let us know that in her music video. All the old Taylors clamored around the "new" Taylor. Reputation is gearing toward being the album that Taylor reinvents herself in. But, hey, old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now.
7. Lorde did her thing through illness.
Sure, it was odd. But despite her illness, she was still able to put on a killer dance performance to “Homemade Dynamite” while suffering from the flu.
8. Using this spot to reiterate how annoying Katy Perry is as a host.
This was the worst hosting performance of any show ever. She tried way too hard to be cynical and hashtag relatable. Her crack on Justin Bieber was absolute gold, though.
9. Is Ed Sheeran OK?
Or does he just always look confused? Shouldn’t he be in the Game of Thrones finale anyway?
10. Jack Antonoff produced almost every hit of the year.
Taylor Swift, Lorde and everyone else it seems. Really, Antonoff is everywhere and is absolutely killing it on the low.
11. A touching tribute to Chester Bennington.
Jared Leto gave a heartfelt speech about the late Chester Bennington, followed by a playback of Linkin Park’s 2010 VMA performance.
12. Old Miley Cyrus is dead too.
But she doesn’t need a whole video to prove that.
13. P!nk’s medley was great.
P!nk was awarded the Video Vanguard Award, and deservedly so. As she revisited her hits like “So What” and “F---ing Perfect.” The ode to P!nk reminded us of how strong of a talent she is as a performer (even though we never really forgot). And her in speech, she gave a shout out to androgynous rock stars through the ages in a heartfelt story about how she reinforced that beauty comes in many forms to her daughter.
14. Khalid won best new artist.
Khalid’s new location is with likes of Justin Bieber now that he has won Best New Artist. The 19-year-old’s American Teen put him on the map immediately, and if you haven’t listened to “Location” yet, you need to.
15. 30 Seconds To Mars gave us heat vision
Yeah, this was weird. You look away one second, then the next 30 Seconds to Mars is on the screen dancing around in heat vision. Not sure why Jared Leto was wearing a riot vest, but hey, this was a fun thing to watch. Then they had a whole church chorus getting hype in heat vision. What fun this was.
16. Robert E. Lee’s descendent denounced racism
Rev. Robert Wright Lee, a descendant of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, denounced the racism sparked by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. The mother of Heather Heyer — the woman who was killed by a man in a car in Charlottesville — took stage to announce the Heather Heyer Foundation in honor of her daughter.
17. Rod Stewart has still got it.
His performance with DNCE showed that Rod Stewart still has the class he did years ago — the man aged like a fine wine.
18. "HUMBLE." won Video of the Year.
King Kenny can’t stop, won’t stop.
19. "Swish, Swish" was lame
The finale was lame. Katy Perry’s "Swish, Swish" is anything but a swish — it’s a brick at best. The entire finale was boring and Perry was just kind of acting like a basketball. Referee Nicki Minaj was the only saving grace of the finale.
20. Overall, the show was a 3/5
Kendrick’s opening performance set a high precedence for the rest of acts ahead of him. The only saving grace performance wise was P!nk’s medley. Katy Perry’s bizarre space fixation was annoying, and she low-key spoiled Game of Thrones for people who were yet to catch up. Wasn’t a complete waste of a Sunday evening, even though the Thrones finale was most likely way more exciting.
Check out the full list of winners here.
