It was clear at the MTV Video Music Awards: the next generation of stars have arrived.
The 2024 Video Music Awards took place on Sept. 11 in New York, and for the first time in years, there was some special energy at the awards show reminiscent of the early aughts. Some of those artists, like Eminem, were in attendance tonight, but there were plenty of new and deserving faces that became winners for the first time.
From Katy Perry‘s victory lap to Taylor Swift‘s big wins — and Travis Kelce shout-out — here are some of the standout moments from the night.
Perry gives career-spanning performance
It’s tradition for recipients of the Video Vanguard Award to perform a medley of their greatest hits, which is exactly what Perry did for 10 minutes as she sang and danced her heart out.
The 39-year-old singer’s performance was a highlight of the show as she had the crowd on their feet the whole time with songs like “Dark Horse,” “E.T.,” “Teenage Dream,” “I Kissed a Girl” and “Firework.” She included two singles off her forthcoming album 143 — and one of them was not“Woman’s World.”
Swift, a former Perry foe-turned-friend, danced throughout Perry’s memorable moment. We’ve come a long way from the “Bad Blood” days, everyone!
On the personal front, things seem to be going better than ever for Perry. She was introduced by fiancé Orlando Bloom and, well, they were adorable. The two shared a passionate kiss after her performance when he officially presented her with the award.
“I did that all on the first day of my period,” Perry began. She eventually got more serious in her acceptance speech as she said there are “no decade-long accidents” before delivering a message to the next generation of singers.
“I’m excited when I look around music today and I see all the amazing young artists who are operating with confidence, agency, vulnerability, and authenticity,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot of do this, don’t say that, wear less, wear more now… One of the biggest reasons I’m standing here right now is because I learned how to block out all of the noise that every single artist in this industry has to constantly fight against — especially women.”
Perry added, “Do whatever it takes to stay true to yourself and true to your art. Turn off social media, safeguard your mental health. Pause. Touch grass. And do what you were born to do, just like I was born to do this.”
The next gen of pop stars have arrived — but Swift still reigns supreme
Many of the artists Perry was referencing were in the building as Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Benson Boone and GloRilla all gave energetic performances during the show. Carpenter won the coveted Song of the Year for “Espresso.” Roan took home the Moon Person for Best New Artist. Tyla and Boone walked away winners.
It’s not all out with the old, in with the new, though. Swift won seven awards including two of the biggest categories: Artist of the Year and Video of the Year.
‘My boyfriend, Travis’
During her acceptance speech for Video of the Year, Swift started going through her list of “thank you’s” which included Post Malone, her cinematographer and one very special person.
“The thing is, that this video seems very sad when you watch it, but it actually was the most fun video to make,” Swift, who also directed the video, said. “Something that I’ll always remember is that when I would finish a take and I’d say ‘cut’ and we’d be done with that take, I would always just hear someone cheering and woooo from across the studio where we were shooting it — and that one person was my boyfriend, Travis [Kelce].”
Swift continued, “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic so I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot because I’ll always remember that.”
Although Kelce and Swift — who recently crossed the one-year mark in their relationship — have gone Instagram official, this is the first time fans have actually heard her shout out her boyfriend.
It was the Video Music Awards — minus a lot of awards
The show was jam-packed with live performances from Eminem, LL Cool J, LISA, Shawn Mendes, Megan Thee Stallion, Camila Cabello and others. That only left room for a handful of awards to be presented on stage. Viewers learned most winners in a montage during the second act. Several big awards — like Video of the Year, Best New Artist, Song of the Year — were handed out during the telecast.
