LONG ISLAND, NY — And for a fortnight, Taylor Swift will be celebrating after making history at the MTV Video Music Awards. The singer won seven awards on Wednesday, including the night’s top prize for Video of the Year.
This makes her the solo artist with the most VMA wins in her career and the artist with the most video wins of the year.
In her acceptance speech for Video of the Year, she thanked her boyfriend Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. “When I finished a take and said cut and we were done with that take, I would always hear someone cheering from the studio and yelling ‘Whoo,'” she said. “And that one person was my friend Travis. Everything that man touches turns into happiness and fun and magic.”
Winners of the 2024 VMAs: Taylor Swift wins video of the year, Chappell Roan is best new artist
Kelce did not appear at the VMAs as he is likely practicing with the Chiefs ahead of their game Sunday in Kansas City against the Cincinnati Bengals.
She also thanked her fans for their vote and encouraged them to vote in this year’s presidential election. “If you’re over 18, please register to vote for something else that’s about to be very important,” she said, a day after Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for president.
The Eras Tour star wowed on the red carpet in a checkered corset and skirt by Dior, thigh-high boots and fingerless gloves that reached above her elbows.
She later changed into a jeweled Monse minidress with a spaceship on the front, perhaps a reference to “Down Bad” from The Tortured Poets Department. She has said that the lyrics of that song include love bombing, comparing it to alien abduction.
Everything Swift does is decoded by fans.
Was the dress with the black leather shoulder straps and buckles a reference to the UFO in the “TTPD” set of the Eras Tour? And was it a coincidence that the dress was by the same designer that Michelle Obama wore to her speech at the Democratic National Convention?
(If you liked the UFO dress, there’s a similar dress with a tapestry print instead of sequins on the Monse website for $990.) It’s described as an “alien UFO print inspired by the iconic 1950s sci-fi movies.” But you’ll have to be patient. The dress won’t ship until January 2025.
Swift also thanked those who worked on the video, including Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, who made cameo appearances: “Directing this video, putting it together and writing the script was the most wonderful experience, and that’s because of all the people I got to do it with – and that includes my amazing cinematographer (and) Rodrigo Prieto, who goes out of his way to work with female directors. He’s a genius and I can’t believe I got to work with him and also Ethan Tobman, my amazing production designer who I worked with on the Eras Tour.”
The tormented poet’s first single from her eleventh studio album, “Fortnight (ft. Post Malone),” won four awards, including best direction and best collaboration.
When the collaboration’s win was announced, the crowd jumped to their feet and screamed with excitement. Swift came on stage with Post Malone. Host Flava Flav jumped up and down and hugged her.
“Waking up this morning on September 11th in New York,” she said. “We all lost, and that’s the most important thing about this day.”
She then complimented Post Malone. “There’s a very clear reason why Post Malone is everyone’s favorite person in the music scene,” she said. “You are so incredibly talented, you are so versatile, and you are the most down-to-earth person. Honestly, you are so unfailingly polite that it took him forever to stop calling me ma’am.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “Taylor is certainly one of the nicest and most talented people I have ever met.”
He described how she directed the music video for “Fortnight” while strapped to an operating board in one scene.
“It was pretty bad,” he said.
Wednesday’s victories mean she has now won 30 VMAs throughout her career, surpassing Beyoncé’s 25 wins as a solo artist.
In total, Swift was up for election on Wednesday evening in the UBS Arena with 12 awards:
- WON: Song of the summer for “Fortnight”
- Most iconic performance at the VMAs: “You Belong With Me”
- WON: Video of the Year for “Fortnight”
- WON: Artist of the Year
- Song of the Year: “Fortnight”
- WON: Best collaboration for “Fortnight”
- WON: Best Pop
- WON: Best Director for “Fortnight”
- Best Cinematography: “Fortnight”
- Best Visual Effects: “Fortnight”
- Best Art Direction for “Fortnight”
- WON: Best Editing for “Fortnight”
Swift’s VMA history: Awards and music performances
Swift has a long history at the VMAs, dating back to 2008, when she was nominated for “Our Song.” The country singer won her first Moonman in 2009 for the music video “You Belong With Me.” She has collected hardware for her music videos for “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood (ft. Kendrick Lamar),” “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (ft. Zayn),” “You Need to Calm Down,” “ME! (ft. Brendon Urie),” “All Too Well: The Short Film,” and “Anti-Hero.”
Swift’s first win came with a whirlwind of controversy when Kanye West interrupted her speech and told the crowd, “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you. I’ll let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos ever!” After West’s interruption, Swift sang “You Belong With Me” in front of Radio City Music Hall.
In 2010, she sang “Innocent,” a song she revealed to New York Magazine she wrote for West. Two years later, she sang “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” in a red-and-white top. In 2014, she danced to “Shake It Off” and joked as her dancers encouraged her to jump from a second-story platform, “I don’t care if it’s the VMAs, I’m not jumping off there. People get bitten by snakes, it’s dangerous.” The next year, Swift shared the stage with Nikki Minaj for a mashup of “The Night Is Still Young” with “Bad Blood.” Her performance presaged the dissolution of the animosity between her and West, as she presented the rapper with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
The next year, Swift was canceled by West and his then-wife Kim Kardashian. He released his song “Famous,” which included the line, “I feel like Taylor and I might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous.” Swift denied approving the lyrics, and Kardashian posted a series of videos on Snapchat that made it look like Swift was lying. Years later, it emerged that the videos were edited and Swift was telling the truth.
In 2017, Swift presented her Easter egg-filled music video for “Look What You Made Me Do” at the show. Two years later, she returned to the stage with “You Need to Calm Down” and “Lover.”
In 2022, to celebrate 13 years since her first win, Swift announced the release of “Midnights.” The singer wowed in a jewel-encrusted Oscar de la Renta dress.
More: Taylor Swift wins most awards at the 2023 VMAs, including Video of the Year
Last year, she dazzled on the red carpet in a black Versace dress with gold buttons and a thigh-high slit. The show cut several times to the singer having fun dancing with her friend and “Karma” collaborator Ice Spice. NSYNC reunited to honor the “Anti-Hero” star with an award for best pop video.
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