CNN
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The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards took place on Wednesday and it was a night full of female pop powerhouses, nostalgia and… aliens.
The reigning ladies of the charts dominated the evening: Taylor Swift’s joyful dance routines at the awards ceremony returned, Chappell Roan made her fiery VMA debut, Sabrina Carpenter appeared to make out with an alien, and Katy Perry floated through the air while performing a medley of her biggest hits.
There were also some men there: Eminem opened the show with a performance of “Houdini” and “Somebody Save Me,” and Lenny Kravitz, in his typical black leather and provocative shirt, performed a new version of his classic “Fly Away,” among other songs.
Hosted by Grammy-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion, there were plenty of notable moments. Here are some of the biggest.
Taylor Swift’s 9/11 tribute and call to action
Taylor Swift took a moment to remember the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks as she accepted the first award of the evening.
“I wanted to say that this morning, when I woke up in New York on 9/11, I thought about what happened 23 years ago, about everyone who lost a loved one,” she said. “Everyone we lost, and that’s the most important thing about this day. And everything that happens tonight is even more important.”
Swift and Post Malone won the award for best collaboration for their hit “Fortnight,” a song from Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. They also took home the final award of the night for Swift-directed video of the year.
She thanked her boyfriend Travis Kelce for his encouragement while filming the project.
“Everything this man touches turns into happiness, fun and magic,” she said.
Swift ended her speech by thanking her fans for voting for her and urging her followers over 18 to “please register to vote for something else that matters a lot,” namely the 2024 presidential election. Swift’s message to young voters comes after she made waves on Tuesday when she endorsed Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.
Yes, you read that right. Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter kissed an alien onstage during her highly anticipated performance. (Okay, fine, it wasn’t a real alien.) Carpenter sang a mashup of “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” among other songs. In addition to the alien, she was joined onstage by several backup dancers dressed as Moon People, in reference to the VMA trophies.
Carpenter’s performance was introduced by pop legend Cyndi Lauper, who said Carpenter – wearing a vintage Bob Mackie dress previously worn by Madonna – is among the women who have “continued to dominate the landscape” in music this year. “This artist definitely knows how to have fun, right?” Lauper said, referring to her cult 1983 hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
Orlando Bloom supported Katy Perry
Katy Perry’s husband, actor Orlando Bloom, introduced Perry and recognized her as the recipient of the VMA Video Vanguard Award. Bloom said Perry has “instilled a sense of joy and laughter throughout her career and has inspired generations of people around the world.”
Perry sang a mix of her hits, including “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream” and “Firework,” while suspended from a harness. She ended her performance on the ground with her new song “Lifetimes.” Accepting her award, Perry thanked Bloom, her daughter Daisy, her team and her supporters, known as Katycats, who have “stood by her side throughout her life.”
Let’s call her Chappell Roan of Arc. Roan lit up the stage during her performance. Literally. The “Hot To Go!” singer shot a crossbow and a flaming arrow onto the stage to set the backdrop of her set on fire while she sang her hit “Good Luck, Babe!”
The stunt should come as no surprise to Roan followers, who know that pop music’s latest sensation has a penchant for a thematic aesthetic at her shows. On stage Wednesday, she channeled the warrior energy of patron saint Joan of Arc, clad in medieval armor and accompanied by her backup dancers who used swords as props.
Roan later won the award for Best New Artist following her successful debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. In her speech, Roan spoke “to all the queer kids in the Midwest watching right now.”
“I see you, I understand you, because I am one of you,” she said. “And don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t be exactly the person you want to be.”
Carson Daly – best known as the host of MTV’s “Total Request Live” in New York City between 1998 and 2003 – took a moment to introduce himself before presenting Lisa with the award for Best K-Pop for her song “Rockstar.”
“For those of you who are too young to know who I am, I was the host of a show on MTV called Total Request Live, or TRL,” Daly said. “It was the best show ever. Kids would run wild in Times Square, and every day after school I would be with your mother. So please say hi to her for me.”
