10 takeaways from MTV’s VMAs, including Taylor Swift’s big win

Eminem’s opening performance was reminiscent of his “Houdini” music video — it featured Eminem in a blonde wig rapping with blonde-haired look-alikes. The quippy opener had the crowd jumping from the start. But the rapper, who has been the VMAs kickoff act once before, brought the mood down a bit by segueing into “Somebody Save Me” — a song about his fractured relationship with his daughter.

Before Flavor Flav and Jordan Chiles announced the winners for best collaboration, Flav had a different award for his co-presenter. After Chiles was stripped of her bronze medal over a technicality at this year’s Summer Olympics, Flavor Flav — who supported the U.S. women’s water polo team at the Olympic Games — had a bedazzled bronze clock necklace made for her. He shared the jewelry on social media last month before finally presenting it to the gymnast on the VMAs stage.

“I know they tried to take your medal away from you,” he said. “… But you know what? I got you something that they can’t take away from you.”

“Jordan, you did your thing!” he added.

Carpenter, who won song of the year for her chart-topping hit “Espresso,” delivered one of the night’s most memorable performances. While singing a medley of her pop tunes, Carpenter was joined onstage by an astronaut (playing off the “Moonman” award aesthetic of the VMAs) and a blue alien. The astronaut and alien were locked in a passionate embrace until Carpenter shoved the Moonman away and laid a big ol’ smooch on the creature. We’ve seen memorable kisses at the VMAs before, but this one was, for lack of a better word, otherworldly.

It’s not surprising that the VMAs highlighted some of its biggest moments on Wednesday night. It was, after all, the awards show’s 40th anniversary. Clips highlighted during the ceremony included Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” performance from 1984, the moment Britney Spears held a python around her shoulders in 2001 and Swift’s 2009 rendition of “You Belong With Me,” during which she ran from a subway station to Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Swims, a country artist whose “Lose Control” was the No. 1 song in the country in March, was all over the VMAs. Seriously. He was repeatedly shown singing from the Doritos Extended Play Stage before commercial breaks. Big night for Swims fans — tough night for anyone craving chips.

This year’s Video Vanguard Award went to Katy Perry, whose new album “143” will be out on Sept. 20. For the former Super Bowl halftime show headliner’s extensive medley — introduced by her fiancé, Orlando Bloom — she stuck to her hits, including a little of “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “I Kissed a Girl” and “Firework,” along with a Doechii cameo as the pair performed their song, “I’m His, He’s Mine.”

“I did that all on my first day of my period,” Perry said while accepting the award.

Megan Thee Stallion loves a snake theme, and it was no different during her awards show hosting debut, although she got squeamish in one of the evening’s many outfits, a Britney Spears “I’m a Slave 4 U”-inspired outfit complete with live snake. “Come get this snake! I don’t know this snake. This snake don’t know me,” the VMA host said.

The medley she performed included tracks from “Megan,” her snake-themed album. Her showcase had it all: dancers in bowl-cut bobs, thumping drums and a VMA debut by Yuki Chiba. The Japanese rapper, who is featured in “Mamushi,” wore a fuzzy hat that almost covered his face and a sparkly jacket-and-shorts combo.

Chappell Roan’s first VMAs was an eventful one. Roan, who recently made headlines for calling out “creepy behavior” from fans, established her boundaries once again by yelling at a rude photographer while she was on the black carpet.

She embraced medieval-themed fashion for the night, donning a robe and standing on a rug that she said were hundreds of years old for pre-show pictures before changing into faux armor and setting the stage ablaze during her performance of “Good Luck, Babe!” To top it off, Roan was awarded her first VMA for best new artist. Reading her acceptance speech from her diary, she dedicated her award to the drag artists who inspire her and the LGBTQ+ community.

“Thank you to the people who are fans, who listen to me, who hear me when I share my joy and my tears,” she said. “And for all the queer kids in the Midwest watching right now, I see you. I understand you, because I’m one of you. And don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t be exactly who you want to be!”

Swift set some records at the VMAs on Wednesday. Swift won the most awards of the night with seven and tied with Beyoncé for most wins by an artist with 30, according to a VMAs spokesperson. In addition to her video of the year win, she became the first artist to win the “Artist of the Year” award twice (she also won it in 2023).

Swift was spotted throughout the show in multiple outfits (one green-and-silver sparkly dress had what appeared to be an on-trend spaceship on it) sitting with Malone, Carpenter and others.

While accepting the award for best collaboration with Malone early in the broadcast, Swift honored the victims of 9/11. “Waking up this morning in New York on Sept. 11, I’ve just been thinking about what happened 23 years ago, everyone who lost a loved one and everyone that we lost. And that is the most important thing about today and everything that happens tonight falls behind that.”

The history of hip-hop was on full display Wednesday night when LL Cool J performed near the end of the ceremony to celebrate another 40th anniversary: 40 years of Def Jam Recordings. He was joined by original Def Jam artists Public Enemy and performed throwback hits “Mama Said Knock You Out” and “Bring the Noise.” It was another look back for the VMAs and demonstrated the depth of musical history the event has come to represent.