Taylor Swift was in the house at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 11, which means she was guaranteed to win something. The only question was just how many Moon Persons out of her 12 nominations would she end up taking home?
The answer was seven, including Video of the Year for “Fortnight” — her unprecedented fifth win in the category. Added to Taylor’s previous 23 wins, that means she has now won 30 times, making her the most-awarded artist in VMA history. Beyoncé was the previous record holder with 29 wins.
During Taylor’s first televised acceptance speech for Best Collaboration, she acknowledged that the ceremony was taking place in New York City on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “I’ve just been thinking about what happened 23 years ago,” she said. “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.”
During her Video of the Year acceptance speech, Taylor talked about how much fun she had making “Fortnight,” mentioning that every time she said “Cut!” she heard cheering and “woo-hooing” from across the set from “my boyfriend, Travis Kelce.”
“Everything this man touches turns to happiness, and fun and magic,” she added. “I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot.” Taylor then urged her fans to register to vote in the upcoming election.
The rest of the show was heavily focused on musical performances rather than awards, but it also acknowledged the fact that 2024 marked the 40th anniversary of the event with clips of memorable moments from shows past, and appearances from Cyndi Lauper, who was a winner at the first VMAs, and TRL host Carson Daly.
Katy Perry received the Video Vanguard Award and performed a megamedley of her hits, including “I Kissed a Girl,” “Teenage Dream,” “California Gurls” and “Firework,” plus two new songs, in an elaborate production number that saw her floating in the air in the middle of a huge ring of light.
Katy’s partner, Orlando Bloom, presented her with the award, and she thanked him for “doing the dishes” — a reference to a recent interview in which she said she would reward a man with sexual favors if he did that household chore. She also thanked her daughter, Daisy, “the only flower I’ll ever need.”
In her defiant speech, Katy noted, “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.”
“I just want to say with my whole heart, 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.”
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