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The Highlights of the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards

If you missed the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, which essentially took place for artists virtually on August 30, here is everything you need to know.

Although artists didn’t get to stunt their looks on an in-person red carpet, or perform for the millions of viewers to a live and in-person audience, several artists did perform at the show. Highlights included Doja Cat, The Weeknd, BTS, and more. The most show-stopping performance of the night had to go to the medley of “Rain On Me” and other songs from Chromatica by Lady Gaga featuring Ariana Grande. Watch the incredible performance below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D4vjndnB0w
Video credits to Youtube.com/MTV

Lady Gaga stole the show with five award wins and several more nominations. She also had incredible outfits and even better masks, which, in true Gaga fashion, included several outfit changes throughout the night.

Although the VMAs were primarily pre-recorded, host Keke Palmer did a great job. Palmer also paid homage to Chadwick Boseman, who passed away on August 28. The award show also made it a point to call attention to the Black Lives Matter movement, specifically demanding justice for both Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor.

The VMAs are iconic for the start of the Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West beef, and Nicki Minaj bluntly posing the question, “Miley, what’s good?” to Miley Cyrus. Obviously, with the award show being primarily pre-recorded and practically virtual, there weren’t really any iconic moments this year. With that being said, despite the fact that the 2020 VMAs didn’t get to happen in person, the award show was overall entertaining and smooth-running.

Check out the full list of MTV’s 2020 VMA winners below:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted”
Eminem ft. Juice WRLD – “Godzilla”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Taylor Swift – “The Man”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
DaBaby
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Megan Thee Stallion
Post Malone
The Weeknd

SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage”
Post Malone – “Circles”
Roddy Ricch – “The Box”

BEST COLLABORATION
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U”
Black Eyed Peas ft. J Balvin – “RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)”
Ed Sheeran ft. Khalid – “Beautiful People”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Karol G ft. Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”

PUSH BEST NEW ARTIST, Presented by Chime Banking
Doja Cat
Jack Harlow
Lewis Capaldi
Roddy Ricch
Tate McRae
Yungblud

BEST POP
BTS – “On”
Halsey – “You Should Be Sad”
Jonas Brothers – “What a Man Gotta Do”
Justin Bieber ft. Quavo – “Intentions”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Taylor Swift – “Lover”

BEST HIP-HOP
DaBaby – “Bop”
Eminem ft. Juice WRLD – “Godzilla”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage”
Roddy Ricch – “The Box”
Travis Scott – “Highest in the Room”

BEST ROCK
Blink-182 – “Happy Days”
Coldplay – “Orphans”
Evanescence – “Wasted On You”
Fall Out Boy ft. Wyclef Jean – “Dear Future Self (Hands Up)”
Green Day – “Oh Yeah!”
The Killers – “Caution”

BEST ALTERNATIVE
The 1975 – “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)”
All Time Low – “Some Kind Of Disaster”
Finneas – “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night”
Lana Del Rey – “Doin’ Time”
Machine Gun Kelly – “Bloody Valentine”
Twenty One Pilots – “Level of Concern”

BEST LATIN
Anuel AA ft. Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, Karol G & J Balvin – “China”
Bad Bunny – “Yo Perreo Sola”
Black Eyed Peas ft. Ozuna & J. Rey Soul – “Mamacita”
J Balvin – “Amarillo”
Karol G ft. Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
Maluma ft. J Balvin – “Qué Pena”

BEST R&B
Alicia Keys – “Underdog”
Chloe x Halle – “Do It”
H.E.R. ft. YG – “Slide”
Khalid ft. Summer Walker – “Eleven”
Lizzo – “Cuz I Love You”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”

BEST K-POP
(G)I-DLE – “Oh My God”
BTS – “On”
EXO – “Obsession”
Monsta X – “Someone’s Someone”
Tomorrow X Together – “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)”
Red Velvet – “Psycho”

VIDEO FOR GOOD
Anderson .Paak – “Lockdown”
Billie Eilish – “All the Good Girls Go to Hell”
Demi Lovato – “I Love Me”
H.E.R. – ”I Can’t Breathe”
Lil Baby – “The Bigger Picture”
Taylor Swift – “The Man”

BEST MUSIC VIDEO FROM HOME
5 Seconds of Summer – “Wildflower”
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U”
Blink-182 – “Happy Days”
Drake – “Toosie Slide”
John Legend – “Bigger Love”
Twenty One Pilots – “Level of Concern”

BEST QUARANTINE PERFORMANCE
Chloe x Halle – “Do It” from MTV’s Prom-athon
CNCO – Unplugged At Home
DJ D-Nice – Club MTV presents #DanceTogether
John Legend – #togetherathome Concert Series
Lady Gaga – “Smile” from One World: Together At Home
Post Malone – Nirvana Tribute

BEST DIRECTION
Billie Eilish – “Xanny” – Directed by Billie Eilish
Doja Cat – “Say So” – Directed by Hannah Lux Davis
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now” – Directed by Nabil
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Directed by Dave Meyers
Taylor Swift – “The Man” – Directed by Taylor Swift
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Directed by Anton Tammi

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
5 Seconds of Summer – “Old Me” – Cinematography by Kieran Fowler
Camila Cabello ft. DaBaby – “My Oh My” – Cinematography by Dave Meyers
Billie Eilish – “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” – Cinematography by Christopher Probst
Katy Perry – “Harleys In Hawaii” – Cinematography by Arnau Valls
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Cinematography by Thomas Kloss
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Cinematography by Oliver Millar

BEST ART DIRECTION
A$AP Rocky – “Babushka Boi” – Art Direction by A$AP Rocky & Nadia Lee Cohen
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Art Direction by Anna Colomé Nogu ́
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Art Direction by Laura Ellis Cricks
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” – Art Direction by Christian Stone
Selena Gomez – “Boyfriend” – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter
Taylor Swift – “Lover” – Art Direction by Ethan Tobman

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Billie Eilish – “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” – Visual Effects by Drive Studios
Demi Lovato – “I Love Me” – Visual Effects by Hoody FX
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Visual Effects by EIGHTY4
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Visual Effects by Mathematic
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Visual Effects by Ingenuity Studios
Travis Scott – “Highest in the Room” – Visual Effects by ARTJAIL, SCISSOR FILMS & FRENDER

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
BTS – “On” – Choreography by Son Sung Deuk, Lee Ga Hun, Lee Byung Eun
CNCO & Natti Natasha – “Honey Boo” – Choreography by Kyle Hanagami
DaBaby – “Bop” – Choreography by Dani Leigh and Cherry
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Choreography by Charm La’Donna
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Choreography by Richy Jackson
Normani – “Motivation” – Choreography by Sean Bankhead

BEST EDITING
Halsey – “Graveyard” – Edited by Emilie Aubry, Janne Vartia & Tim Montana
James Blake – “Can’t Believe the Way We Flow” – Edited by Frank Lebon
Lizzo – “Good As Hell” – Edited by Russell Santos & Sofia Kerpan
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” – Edited by Alexandre Moors, Nuno Xico
Rosalía – “A Palé” – Edited by Andre Jones
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Edited by Janne Vartia & Tim Montana

BEST GROUP
5 Seconds of Summer
The 1975
BLACKPINK
BTS
Chloe x Halle
CNCO
Little Mix
MONSTA X
Now United
Twenty One Pilots

SONG OF THE SUMMER
BLACKPINK – “How You Like That”
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP”
DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch – “Rockstar”
DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “Popstar”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Dua Lipa – “Break My Heart”
Harry Styles –“Watermelon Sugar”
Jack Harlow – “Whats Poppin”
Lil Baby ft. 42 Dugg – “We Paid”
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé – “Savage (Remix)”
Miley Cyrus – “Midnight Sky”
Pop Smoke ft. 50 Cent & Roddy Ricch – “The Woo”
SAINt JHN – “Roses”
Saweetie – “Tap In”
Taylor Swift – “cardigan”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”

Tricon Award
Lady Gaga

Marissa Bachrach

I am a recent grad from Indiana University Bloomington. My B.A. is in Journalism and with a specialization in strategic communications and public relations. I love music but my favorite genres are alternative, rap, and R&B.

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