One of the few pop-culture extravaganzas undisturbed by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, the MTV Video Music Awards has the distinction of depriving the night sky of actual stars for the evening. MTV won’t have a problem like the Emmys until the musicians squeezed out of residuals by Spotify and Apple Music join Snoop Dogg and demand they, too, get paid for their work. For those curious, the VMAs are under a different SAG-AFTRA contract, meaning members cannot attend but still cannot promote AMPTP projects. But that’s neither here nor there at the moment. Tonight is the one night the channel formerly known as Music Television devotes to its original mission: Promoting music videos.
Now it might seem anathema for a network that fills its schedule with reruns of Ridiculousness to still do this song and dance—though MTV’s going to have to start paying those writers too. But it apparently means enough to Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo, and other massively popular and influential artists to show up. Still, we could go on and on about why MTV still does this, but at the end of the day, it’s an excuse to see Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, and Lil Wayne perform live on television. It’s also another opportunity for Taylor Swift to add another 11 awards to an already unprecedented year of success. Swift will have some stiff competition, though. SZA nabbed eight nominations while Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Blackpink, and Olivia Rodrigo earned six. Plus, there’s an Album Of The Year category, which makes no sense for a show about music videos, but whatever, neither does a music-based awards show on MTV.
We’ll be updating the list of winners tonight, so join along with us as we spend this magical night checking in with our old friend MTV.
Best Afrobeats
Ayra Starr – “Rush”
Burna Boy – “It’s Plenty”
Davido ft. Musa Keys – “UNAVAILABLE”
Fireboy DML & Asake – ”Bandana”
Libianca – “People”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Wizkid ft Ayra Starr– “2 Sugar”
Best Latin
Anitta – “Funk Rave”
Bad Bunny – “WHERE SHE GOES”
Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma – “Ella Baila Sola”
Parlay, Inc., Grupo Frontera, and Bad Bunny – “un x100to”
KAROL G and Shakira – “TQG”
ROSALÍA – “DESPECHÁ”
Shakira – “Acróstico”
Best R&B
Alicia Keys ft. Lucky Daye – “Stay”
Chlöe ft. Chris Brown – “How Does It Feel”
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
SZA – “Shirt”
Toosii – “Favorite Song”
Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj – “Love In The Way”
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”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best K-Pop
aespa – “Girls”
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom”
FIFTY FIFTY – “Cupid”
SEVENTEEN – “Super”
Stray Kids – “S-Class”
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride”
Best Pop
Demi Lovato – “Swine”
Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)”
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
P!NK – “TRUSTFALL”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Video For Good
Alicia Keys – “If I Ain’t Got You (Orchestral)“
Bad Bunny – “El Apagón – Aquí Vive Gente”
Demi Lovato – “Swine”
Dove Cameron – “Breakfast”
Imagine Dragons – “Crushed”
Maluma – “La Reina”
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”
April 2023: TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride”
May 2023: Ice Spice – “Princess Diana”
June 2023: FLO – “Losing You”
July 2023: Lauren Spencer Smith
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”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Artist Of The Year
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
KAROL G
Nicki Minaj
Shakira
Taylor Swift
Best New Artist
GloRilla
Ice Spice
Kaliii
Peso Pluma
PinkPantheress
Reneé Rapp
Best Collaboration
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – “I’m Good (Blue)”
Post Malone, Doja Cat – “I Like You (A Happier Song)”
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
KAROL G, Shakira – “TQG”
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Best Hip-Hop
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
DJ Khaled ft. Drake & Lil Baby – “STAYING ALIVE”
GloRilla & Cardi B – “Tomorrow 2”
Lil Uzi Vert – “Just Wanna Rock”
Lil Wayne ft. Swizz Beatz & DMX – “Kant Nobody”
Metro Boomin ft Future – “Superhero (Heroes and Villains)”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
Best Alternative
blink-182 – “EDGING”
boygenius – “the film”
Fall Out Boy – “Hold Me Like A Grudge”
Lana Del Rey ft. 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”
Måneskin – “THE LONELIEST”
Metallica – “Lux Æterna”
Muse – “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”
Best Direction
Doja Cat – “Attention” – Directed by Tanu Muiño
Drake – “Falling Back” – Director X (Julien Christian Lutz)
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” – Directed by Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her”– Directed by Colin Tilley
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Directed by Floria Sigismondi
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Directed by Christian Breslauer
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” — Directed by Taylor Swift
Best Cinematography
Adele – “I Drink Wine” – Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed”– Cinematography by Natasha Baier
Janelle Monae – “Lipstick Lover” – Cinematography by Allison Anderson
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” – Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers” – Cinematography by Marcell Rev
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”– Cinematography by Russ Fraser
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Cinematography by Rina Yang
Best Visual Effects
Fall Out Boy – “Love From The Other Side” — Visual Effects by Thomas Bailey and Josh Shaffner
Harry Styles – “Music For A Sushi Restaurant”– Visual Effects by Chelsea Delfino and Black Kite Studios
Melanie Martinez – “VOID” – Visual Effects by Carbon
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl” — Visual Effects by Max Colt and Sergio Mashevskyi
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Visual Effects by Max Colt / FRENDER
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”– Visual Effects by Parliament
Best Choreography
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Choreography by Kiel Tutin, Sienna Lalau, Lee Jung (YGX), Taryn Cheng (YGX)
Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)” — Choreography by Charm LaDonna
Jonas Brothers – “Waffle House” – Choreography by Jerry Reece
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – Choreography by Sean Bankhead
Panic! At The Disco – “Middle Of A Breakup” – Choreography by Monika Felice Smith
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Choreography by (LA)HORDE – Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, Arthur Harel
Best Art Direction
boygenius – “the film” – Art Direction by Jen Dunlap
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Art Direction by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT)
Doja Cat – “Attention” – Art Direction by Spencer Graves
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace” – Art Direction by Brandon Mendez
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – Art Direction by Niko Philipides
SZA – “Shirt” – Art Direction by Kate Bunch
Best Editing
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Editing by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT)
Kendrick Lamar – “Rich Spirit” – Edited by Grason Caldwell
Miley Cyrus – “River” Edited by Brandan Walter
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” Edited by Sofia Kerpan and David Checel
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Edited by Luis Caraza Peimbert
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Edited by Chancler Haynes
Show Of The Summer
Beyoncé
Blackpink
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Karol G
Taylor Swift
Group Of The Year
Blackpink
Fifty Fifty
Flo
Jonas Brothers
Maneskin
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 motion picture Barbie)
Fifty Fifty – “Cupid”
Gunna – “Fukumean”
Jungkook (featuring Latto) – “Seven”
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice with Aqua – “Barbie World” (from the motion picture Barbie)
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 and 21 Savage – Her Loss
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
SZA – SOS
Taylor Swift – Midnights
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
Shakira
Global Icon Award
Diddy
