The MTV Video Music Awards held at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday 27th August, 2019. Hosted by American stand up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, the 2019 event was dominated by women who cleared the biggest awards of the night. Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift tied for the most nominations this year with a whopping 10 apiece, each in categories including video of the year, song of the year and best pop.
Major Highlights from the 2019 VMAs
Before you see the full list of winners, let’s take a look at the highlights. From out-of-this-world performances from legendary Missy Elliot, Lizzo, Queen Latifah, Miley Cyrus, Normani, Taylor Swift and more to award speeches, fashionable red carpet moments, last night’s vibe didn’t drop a bit.
A top moment was Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award recipient, Missy Elliott who knocked it out of the park with her performance. The choreography was top notch, the stage/set design was creative, the costuming was on point. She literally annihilated the VMA stage with a career-spanning medley that lasted over seven minutes and comprised no fewer than five costume changes. Recreating scenes videos like “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)“ and “Work It,”. She burnt it down and no water ever could have quenched such fire. She also brought out the child dance star from 2002 hit video for “Work It”- Allyson Stoner. She showed us that even tho it’s been 17 years, she’s still got it.
Next was the most tweeted about celebrity of the night – Normani. First of all, the girl can move. Her performance definitely snatched some wigs last night. She performed her solo single Motivation and I can’t help but wonder how she managed to twist, turn, bend and ….. wow! It’s just too much. She also won the award for Best R&B for her song Waves featuring 6lack.
Lizzo turned the crowd up with a fantastic performance of “Truth Hurts” and “Good as Hell”. She literally had a giant butt on stage during her performance. Also, Queen Latifah made her way to the stage on a power bike as she came to perform, total badass! Queen Latifah has had one of the most diverse and successful careers as a black entertainer. It would be nice to honour her everywhere from music, to TV, to film, to the stage, to philanthropy. You know what they say, black girls rock.
First time VMA winners like Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X also got some major nods while Taylor Swift won VMA’s highest honor of the night with her Video of the Year win for song, You Need to Calm Down. Don’t know how Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus didn’t win best collaboration for Old Town Road remix but…
See full list of winners below:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“a lot,” 21 Savage ft. J. Cole
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish
“thank u, next,” Ariana Grande
“Sucker,” Jonas Brothers
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift *WINNER
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Cardi B
Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande *WINNER
Halsey
Jonas Brothers
Shawn Mendes
SONG OF THE YEAR
“In My Feelings,” Drake
“thank u, next,” Ariana Grande
“Sucker,” Jonas Brothers
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus *WINNER
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift
BEST NEW ARTIST
Ava Max
Billie Eilish *WINNER
H.E.R.
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
ROSALÍA
BEST COLLABORATION
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“Señorita,” Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello *WINNER
“ME!,” Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco
“I Don’t Care,” Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber
“Boy With Luv,” BTS ft. Halsey
PUSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bazzi
CNCO
Billie Eilish *WINNER
H.E.R.
Lauv
Lizzo
BEST POP
“Easier,” 5 Seconds of Summer
“Please Me,” Cardi B & Bruno Mars
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish
“Talk,” Khalid
“thank u, next,” Ariana Grande
“Sucker,” Jonas Brothers *WINNER
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift
BEST HIP HOP
“Rule the World,” 2 Chainz ft. Ariana Grande
“a lot,” 21 Savage ft. J. Cole
“Money,” Cardi B *WINNER
“Higher,” DJ Khaled ft. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
“SICKO MODE,” Travis Scott ft. Drake
BEST R&B
“Make It Better,” Anderson .Paak ft. Smokey Robinson
“Feels Like Summer,” Childish Gambino
“Could’ve Been,” H.E.R. ft. Bryson Tiller
“Raise A Man,” Alicia Keys
“Trip,” Ella Mai
“Waves,” Normani ft. 6lack *WINNER
BEST K-POP
“Boy With Luv,” BTS ft. Halsey *WINNER
“Kill This Love,” BLACKPINK
“Who Do You Love,” Monsta X ft. French Montana
“Cat & Dog,” TOMORROW X TOGETHER
“Regular,” NCT 127
“Tempo,” EXO
BEST LATIN
“Secreto,” Anuel AA, Karol G
“MIA,” Bad Bunny ft. Drake
“I Can’t Get Enough,” benny blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, J Balvin
“Con Calma,” Daddy Yankee ft. Snow
“Mala Mía,” Maluma
“Con Altura,” ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho *WINNER
BEST DANCE
“Call You Mine,” The Chainsmokers ft. Bebe Rexha *WINNER
“Solo,” Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato
“Taki Taki,” DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B
“Say My Name,” David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin
“Happier,” Marshmello & Bastille
“Electricity,” Silk City & Dua Lipa
BEST ROCK
“Love It If We Made It,” The 1975
“Bishops Knife Trick,” Fall Out Boy
“Natural,” Imagine Dragons
“Low,” Lenny Kravitz
“High Hopes,” Panic! At The Disco *WINNER
“My Blood,” twenty one pilots
VIDEO FOR GOOD
“Nightmare,” Halsey
“Land of the Free,” The Killers
“Runaway Train,” Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey ft. Gallant
“Preach,” John Legend
“Earth,” Lil Dicky
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift *WINNER
BEST EDITING
“Tints,” Elias Talbot
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Calmatic
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish *WINNER
“7 Rings,” Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh
“Almeda,” Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor
“You Need to Calm Down,” Jarrett Fijal
BEST ART DIRECTION
“Boy With Luv,” JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E)
“7 Rings,” John Richoux *WINNER
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Itaru Dela Vegas
“Señorita,” Tatiana Van Sauter
“You Need to Calm Down,” Brittany Porter
“I Love It,” Tino Schaedler
SONG OF SUMMER
Ariana Grande, Social House, “boyfriend” *WINNER
Billie Eilish,”bad guy”
DaBaby,”Suge”
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber, “I Don’t Care”
Jonas Brothers, “Sucker”
Khalid,”Talk”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, “Old Town Road (Remix)”
Lil Tecca, “Ransom”
Lizzo, “Truth Hurts”
Miley Cyrus, “Mother’s Daughter”
Post Malone ft. Young Thug, “Goodbyes”
ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho, “Con Altura”
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello, “Señorita”
Taylor Swift, “You Need To Calm Down”
The Chainsmokers, Bebe Rexha, “Call You Mine”
Young Thug ft. J. Cole & Travis Scott, “The London”
Photo Credit: Getty Images