Aug. 28 (UPI) — Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift were the big winners at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Minaj co-hosted the event with Jack Harlow and LL Cool J.
She also took the stage in her signature pink and performed her popular verse from “Monster” and hits “Chun-Li,” “Anaconda,” “Super Bass” and more, then accepted the 2022 Video Vanguard Award.
In her speech, Minaj thanked the artists who inspired her and gave her breaks along the way.
She also said she wished the late superstars Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were still here to make music and celebrate the industry, and implored people to take mental illness seriously.
Before the night was over, she also won the prize for Best Hip-Hop for “Do We Have a Problem.”
She previously won the category for “Anaconda” (2015) and “Chun-Li” (2018). With three wins, she is the most honored rap artist in VMAs history, breaking her tie with Drake, who has two of the awards.
BARBZ!!!! IT’S THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!
PRESENTING… YOUR 2022 #VMA VIDEO VANGUARD HONOREE… @NICKIMINAJ ✨ #NICKIVANGUARD pic.twitter.com/n9X3ERACnI— Video Music Awards (@vmas) August 29, 2022
Taylor Swift collected the prize for Best Longform Video for “All Too Well,” which was also recognized for Best Direction. She also accepted the top award of the evening, Video of the Year.
Bad Bunny was declared Artist of the Year, BTS was voted Best Group and Dove Cameron won for Best New Artist.
Harry Styles won the trophies for Best Pop for “As it Was” and for Album of the Year for Harry’s House. Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” scored the statuette for Song of the Year.
Maneskin earned the honor for Best Alternative Video for “I Wanna Be Your Slave,” and Lil Nas X and Harlow won the statuette for Best Collaboration for “Industry Baby,” which also scored the honors for Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects.
The Best K-Pop award went to Blackpink’s Lisa for “Lalisa,” Anitta won Best Latin for “Envolver” and The Weeknd won Best R&B for Out of Time.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their Global Icon Award to Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who recently died of a drug overdose. The band also went home with the prize for Best Rock for “Black Summer.”
Harlow kicked off the show with a performance of “First Class,” with an assist from Fergie. The hit was later named Song of the Summer.
Lizzo then brought down the house with a mashup of “About Damn Time” and “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready).” Later in the evening, she won the prize for Best Video for Good for “About Damn Time.”
Another highlight of the show was Eminem and Snoop Dogg performing “From the D 2 The LBC” from of Eminem’s second greatest hits album, Curtain Call 2, which was released earlier this month.
Other performers throughout the evening included Kane Brown, Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello x Khalid, Panic! at the Disco and Blackpink.
The broadcast also included a surprise appearance of Johnny Depp as MTV’s mascot, the Moon Person, flying over the stage and offering to work at anyone’s special occasions.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Johnny Depp (@johnnydepp)
The stunt was a nod to the fact that Depp has lost numerous jobs in the wake of his tawdry legal battles with his ex-wife Amber Heard.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.