Taylor Swift broke multiple records, winning the top prize at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday.
The pop star took home video of the year for her song “Anti-Hero.” With this win, she became the first artist to ever score the VMA for video of the year two years in a row, as she won in 2022 for “All Too Well (10 minute version) (Taylor’s version) (from The Vault).”
She also extended her record as the most awarded artist in the video of the year category. She won in 2015 for “Bad Blood” and in 2019 for “You Need to Calm Down” as well. Since she also directed the music video for “Anti-Hero,” the win extended her record to three as the artist with the most video of the year awards for videos that she directed/co-directed.
“This is unbelievable,” she said after LL Cool J presented her with the award. “I just want to say that the fact that this is a fan-voted award means so much to me.”
Swift continued, “Based on the memories that we’ve made recently, I’ve just been on a tour that has been the most joyful and exhilarating experience, and we’re not even halfway done. It really felt like the adventure of a lifetime this past year. I cannot believe that it was a year ago that I announced the Midnights album. And all I have to say tonight is, thank you. I’m blown away.”
This year, female nominees dominated the top category for the first time in the awards show’s history. Among the other nominees for video of the year were SZA’s “Kill Bill,” Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “vampire,” Doja Cat’s “Attention” and “Unholy” by Kim Petras and Sam Smith (who identifies as nonbinary).
In all, it was a busy night for Swift who scored four total Moon Person trophies, including song of the year, best pop video and best direction.
The 2023 VMAs aired live from New Jersey’s Prudential Center on Tuesday. Check out the complete winner’s list here.
