“Taylor Swift Triumphs with Nine Wins at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards”
The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards witnessed the grand finale of music’s most iconic Moon Person trophies.
Taylor Swift’s Triumph at the 2023 MTV VMAs: Taylor Swift emerged as the night’s biggest victor, securing a remarkable nine awards in various categories. Her wins included the coveted Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects, all for her chart-topping hit, “Anti-Hero.” Additionally, Taylor clinched the Album of the Year title for “Midnights,” as well as the prestigious Artist of the Year and Show of the Summer awards.
Notably, Taylor Swift made history by becoming the first artist to secure the Video of the Year award for two consecutive years. Her triumph in this category marked her fourth win, following previous victories for “Bad Blood,” “You Need to Calm Down,” and “All Too Well: The Short Film.”
The evening kicked off with an exciting presentation by the reunited members of NSYNC, featuring Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick, who presented Taylor Swift with her first award. Swift graciously acknowledged their contribution to pop music, stating, “You guys are pop personified, so to receive this from your golden pop hands is really, it’s too much.”
The event was packed with sensational performances, starting with Lil Wayne opening the show at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Olivia Rodrigo wowed the audience with a mesmerizing performance of her singles “Vampire” and “Get Him Back,” which featured an intentional stage glitch that left some spectators in awe. Demi Lovato delivered a rock-infused medley of her classic hits like “Cool for the Summer” and “Sorry Not Sorry” in anticipation of her upcoming album, “Revamped.”
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion took the stage for the first live performance of their new single, “Bongos,” accompanied by a fittingly percussive backing band. Doja Cat delivered a captivating performance of three songs from her upcoming album, “Scarlet,” including “Attention,” “Paint the Town Red,” and “Demons,” which electrified the audience.
Before receiving the Video Vanguard Award from Wyclef Jean, Shakira dazzled the crowd with a medley of her greatest hits, featuring songs like “Hips Don’t Lie,” “She Wolf,” and “TQG.” Sean “Diddy” Combs also graced the stage with an impressive medley of his timeless tracks, including “I’ll Be Missing You,” “It’s All About the Benjamins,” and “Bad Boy for Life,” before being presented with the Global Icon Award by Mary J. Blige.
Host Nicki Minaj delivered an energetic performance, treating the audience to “Last Time I Saw You” and debuting new material from her upcoming album, “Pink Friday 2.” Fall Out Boy offered their rendition of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” and Tomorrow X Together and Anitta premiered their new single, “Back for More.”
Towards the show’s conclusion, music legends Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, along with Minaj, Lil Wayne, LL Cool J, and DMC, commemorated 50 years of hip-hop with a timeless medley.
The night also featured a lineup of distinguished presenters, including Ice Spice, Sabrina Carpenter, Emily Ratajkowski, Jared Leto, French Montana, and Rita Ora.
Leading the nominations with 11 nods, Taylor Swift’s dominance was evident throughout the evening. Other notable contenders included SZA with eight nominations, and Blackpink, Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, and Olivia Rodrigo, each with six nominations.
Below is the complete list of winners and nominees from the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards:
Video of the Year
- Doja Cat – “Attention”
- Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
- Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
- Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
- Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
- SZA – “Kill Bill”
- WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Artist of the Year
- Beyoncé
- Doja Cat
- Karol G
- Nicki Minaj
- Shakira
- WINNER: Taylor Swift
Song of the Year
- Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
- Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
- Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
- Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
- Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit”
- SZA – “Kill Bill”
- WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best New Artist
- GloRilla
- WINNER: Ice Spice
- Kaliii
- Peso Pluma
- PinkPantheress
- Reneé Rapp
Push Performance of the Year
- August 2022: Saucy Santana – “Booty”
- September 2022: Stephen Sanchez – “Until I Found You”
- October 2022: JVKE – “golden hour”
- November 2022: Flo Milli – “Conceited”
- December 2022: Reneé Rapp – “Colorado”
- January 2023: Sam Ryder – “All The Way Over”
- February 2023: Armani White – “Goated”
- March 2023: Fletcher – “Becky’s So Hot”
- WINNER: April 2023: Tomorrow X Together – “Sugar Rush Ride”
- May 2023: Ice Spice – “Princess Diana”
- June 2023: FLO – “Losing You”
- July 2023: Lauren Spencer Smith – “That Part”
Best Collaboration
- David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – “I’m Good (Blue)”
- Post Malone, Doja Cat – “I Like You (A Happier Song)”
- Diddy featuring Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
- WINNER: Karol G, Shakira – “TQG”
- Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
- Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Best Pop
- Demi Lovato – “Swine”
- Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)”
- Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed”
- Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
- Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
- Pink – “Trustfall”
- WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best Hip-Hop
- Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
- DJ Khaled featuring Drake & Lil Baby – “Staying Alive”
- GloRilla & Cardi B – “Tomorrow 2”
- Lil Uzi Vert – “Just Wanna Rock”
- Lil Wayne featuring Swizz Beatz & DMX – “Kant Nobody”
- Metro Boomin featuring Future – “Superhero (Heroes and Villains)”
- WINNER: Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
Best R&B
- Alicia Keys featuring Lucky Daye – “Stay”
- Chlöe featuring Chris Brown – “How Does It Feel”
- Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
- WINNER: SZA – “Shirt”
- Toosii – “Favorite Song”
- Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj – “Love In the Way”
Best Alternative
- Blink-182 – “Edging”
- Boygenius – “The Film”
- Fall Out Boy – “Hold Me Like A Grudge”
- WINNER: Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace”
- Paramore – “This Is Why”
- Thirty Seconds To Mars – “Stuck”
Best Rock
- Foo Fighters – “The Teacher”
- Linkin Park – “Lost (Original Version)”
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Tippa My Tongue”
- WINNER: Måneskin – “The Loneliest”
- Metallica – “Lux Æterna”
- Muse – “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”
Best Latin
- WINNER: Anitta – “Funk Rave”
- Bad Bunny – “Where She Goes”
- Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma – “Ella Baila Sola”
- Bad Bunny – “Un x100to”
- Karol G, Shakira – “TQG”
- Rosalía – “Despechá”
- Shakira – “Acróstico”
Best K-Pop
- Aespa – “Girls”
- Blackpink – “Pink Venom”
- Fifty Fifty – “Cupid”
- Seventeen – “Super”
- WINNER: Stray Kids – “S-Class”
- Tomorrow X Together – “Sugar Rush Ride”
Best Afrobeats
- Ayra Starr – “Rush”
- Burna Boy – “It’s Plenty”
- Davido featuring Musa Keys – “Unavailable”
- Fireboy DML & Asake – “Bandana”
- Libianca – “People”
- WINNER: Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
- Wizkid featuring Ayra Starr– “2 Sugar”
Video for Good
- Alicia Keys – “If I Ain’t Got You (Orchestral)”
- Bad Bunny – “El Apagón – Aquí Vive Gente”
- Demi Lovato – “Swine”
- WINNER: Dove Cameron – “Breakfast”
- Imagine Dragons – “Crushed”
- Maluma – “La Reina”
Best Direction
- Doja Cat – “Attention”
- Drake – “Falling Back”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out”
- Megan Thee Stallion – “Her”
- Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
- SZA – “Kill Bill”
- WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best Cinematography
- Adele – “I Drink Wine”
- Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed”
- Janelle Monáe – “Lipstick Lover”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out”
- Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
- Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
- WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best Visual Effects
- Fall Out Boy – “Love From The Other Side”
- Harry Styles – “Music For A Sushi Restaurant”
- Melanie Martinez – “Void”
- Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
- Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
- WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best Choreography
- WINNER: Blackpink – “Pink Venom”
- Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)”
- Jonas Brothers – “Waffle House”
- Megan Thee Stallion – “Her”
- Panic! At The Disco – “Middle Of A Breakup”
- Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
Best Art Direction
- Boygenius – “The Film”
- Blackpink – “Pink Venom”
- WINNER: Doja Cat – “Attention”
- Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste
- Megan Thee Stallion – “Her”
- SZA – “Shirt”
Best Editing
- Blackpink – “Pink Venom”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Rich Spirit”
- Miley Cyrus – “River”
- WINNER: Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
- SZA – “Kill Bill”
- Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Show of the Summer
- Beyoncé
- Blackpink
- Drake
- Ed Sheeran
- Karol G
- WINNER: Taylor Swift
Group of the Year
- WINNER: Blackpink
- Fifty Fifty
- FLO
- Jonas Brothers
- Måneskin
- NewJeans
- Seventeen
- Tomorrow x Together
Song of the Summer
- Beyoncé – “Cuff It”
- Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For? (From The Motion Picture Barbie)”
- Doja Cat – “Paint the Town Red”
- Doechii featuring Kodak Black – “What It Is (Block Boy)”
- Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night (From the Barbie Album)”
- Fifty Fifty – “Cupid”
- Gunna – “Fukumean”
- WINNER: Jung Kook featuring Latto – “Seven”
- Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice – “Barbie World (with Aqua) [From Barbie The Album]”
- Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”
- SZA – “Kill Bill”
- Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice – “Karma”
- Tomorrow X Together and Jonas Brothers – “Do It Like That”
- Luke Combs – “Fast Car”
- Troye Sivan – “Rush”
- Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma – “La Bebe (Remix)”
Album of the Year
- Beyoncé – Renaissance
- Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
- Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
- Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
- SZA – SOS
- WINNER: Taylor Swift – Midnights
Video Vanguard
- Shakira