In 2022, the MTV Video Music Awards – with host LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj as well as Jack Harlow — took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Sunday night. the most famous names in the music industry were feted and some received the infamous Moon Person trophy. The event proved to be fairly tame in comparison to previous years.
The audience was entertained by performances by Anitta, Blackpink, Lizzo, Maneskin, Jack Harlow, J Balvin, Marshmello and Khalid, Panic! at the Disco along with Kane Brown, who made history by becoming one of the country’s first male artist to perform at the VMA MTV Awards. The show also featured a exciting and wild collaboration by Eminem with Snoop Doggy who performed a multiverse rendition of their song “From the D to The LBC.”
One of the highlights of the MTV Awards & evening was the moment when Minaj received the highly coveted Video Vanguard Award. The rapper, who been awarded 17 VMA nominations in the span in her professional career opened with a mashup of her greatest hits, which featured every single track from “Super Bass” to her latest track, “Super Freaky Girl.” Then, upon receiving the award she delivered a moving speech on how she wishes Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were present to celebrate her. “I would like to see people take care of their mental well-being, not just for those who seem to lead flawless lifestyles,” she said of the late pop stars.
JOHNNY DEPP APPEARING AS A MOONMAN:
One of the most bizarre moments of the evening, i.e. MTV Awards was during the ceremony when Johnny Depp appeared as a Moonman who was hovering over the stage in an augmented reality image, constantly floating around during the event.
The moment that’s certain to be talked about by everyone was towards the close of the event, the moment Taylor Swift won Video of the Year. After receiving the Moon Person trophy, she declared that she’s got an album due out on October. 21. She will reveal more details shortly after midnight.
See the complete list of winners of MTV Awards here:
GLOBAL ICON AWARD
Honoree: Red Hot Chili Peppers
VIDEO VANGUARD AWARD
Honoree: Nicki Minaj
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Doja Cat – “Woman”
Drake ft. Future & Young Thug – “Way 2 Sexy”
Ed Sheeran – “Shivers”
Harry Styles – “As It Was”
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “Industry Baby”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Brutal”
WINNER: Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version)
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Bad Bunny
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Harry Styles
Jack Harlow
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
SONG OF THE YEAR
Adele – “Easy on Me”
WINNER: Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever”
Doja Cat – “Woman”
Elton John & Dua Lipa – “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)”
Lizzo – “About Damn Time”
The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – “Stay”
BEST NEW ARTIST
Baby Keem
WINNER: Dove Cameron
Gayle
Latto
Måneskin
Seventeen
PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
September 2021: Griff — “One Night”
October 2021: Remi Wolf – “Sexy Villain”
November 2021: Nessa Barrett – “i hope ur miserable until ur dead”
WINNER: December 2021: Seventeen – “Rock With You”
January 2021: Mae Muller – “Better Days”
February 2022: Gayle – “abcdefu”
March 2022: Sheneesa – “R U That”
April 2022: Omar Apollo – “Tamagotchi”
May 2022: Wet Leg – “Chaise Longue”
June 2022: Muni Long – “Baby Boo”
July 2022: Doechii – “Persuasive”
BEST COLLABORATION
Drake ft. Future & Young Thug – “Way 2 Sexy”
Elton John & Dua Lipa – “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)”
WINNER: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “Industry Baby”
Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa – “Sweetest Pie”
Post Malone & The Weeknd – “One Right Now”
Rosalía ft. The Weeknd – “La Fama”
The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – “Stay”
BEST POP
Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever”
Doja Cat – “Woman”
Ed Sheeran – “Shivers”
WINNER: Harry Styles – “As It Was”
Lizzo – “About Damn Time”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Traitor”
BEST HIP-HOP
Eminem & Snoop Dogg – “From the D 2 the LBC”
Future ft. Drake, Tems – “Wait for U”
Kendrick Lamar – “N95”
Latto – “Big Energy”
WINNER: Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Baby – “Do We Have a Problem?”
Pusha T – “Diet Coke”
BEST ROCK
Foo Fighters – “Love Dies Young”
Jack White – “Taking Me Back”
Muse – “Won’t Stand Down”
WINNER: Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Black Summer”
Shinedown – “Planet Zero”
Three Days Grace – “So Called Life”
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Avril Lavigne ft. Blackbear – “Love It When You Hate Me”
Imagine Dragons x JID – “Enemy”
Machine Gun Kelly ft. Willow – “emo girl”
WINNER: Måneskin – “I Wanna Be Your Slave”
Panic! at the Disco – “Viva Las Vengeance”
Twenty One Pilots – “Saturday”
Willow, Avril Lavigne ft. Travis Barker – “Grow”
BEST LATIN
WINNER: Anitta – “Envolver”
Bad Bunny – “Tití Me Preguntó”
Becky G x Karol G – “Mamiii”
Daddy Yankee – “Remix”
Farruko – “Pepas”
J Balvin & Skrillex – “In Da Getto”
BEST R&B
Alicia Keys – “City of Gods (Part II)”
Chlöe – “Have Mercy”
H.E.R. – “For Anyone”
Normani ft. Cardi B – “Wild Side”
Summer Walker, SZA & Cardi B – “No Love (extended version)”
WINNER: The Weeknd – “Out of Time”
BEST K-POP
BTS – “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)”
Itzy – “Loco”
WINNER: Lisa – “Lalisa”
Seventeen – “Hot”
Stray Kids – “Maniac”
Twice – “The Feels”
VIDEO FOR GOOD
Kendrick Lamar – “The Heart Part 5”
Latto – “P*ssy”
WINNER: Lizzo – “About Damn Time”
Rina Sawayama – “This Hell”
Stromae – “Fils de joie”
BEST METAVERSE PERFORMANCE
WINNER: Blackpink The Virtual | PUBG
BTS | Minecraft/YouTube
Charli XCX | Roblox
Justin Bieber – An Interactive Virtual Experience | Wave
Rift Tour ft. Ariana Grande | Fortnite
Twenty One Pilots Concert Experience | Roblox
BEST LONGFORM VIDEO
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles
Foo Fighters – Studio 666
Kacey Musgraves – Star-Crossed
Madonna – Madame X
Olivia Rodrigo – Driving Home 2 U
WINNER: Taylor Swift – All Too Well (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – “Family Ties”
Camila Cabello ft. Ed Sheeran – “Bam Bam”
WINNER: Harry Styles – “As It Was”
Kendrick Lamar – “N95”
Normani ft. Cardi B – “Wild Side”
Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version)
BEST DIRECTION
Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – “Family Ties”
Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever”
Ed Sheeran – “Shivers”
Harry Styles – “As It Was”
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “Industry Baby”
WINNER: Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version)
BEST ART DIRECTION
Adele – “Oh My God”
Doja Cat – “Get Into It (Yuh)”
Drake ft. Future & Young Thug – “Way 2 Sexy”
Kacey Musgraves – “Simple Times”
WINNER: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “Industry Baby”
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Dua Lipa – “Sweetest Pie”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Billie Eilish – “Happier Than Ever”
Coldplay x BTS – “My Universe”
Kendrick Lamar – “The Heart Part 5”
WINNER: Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “Industry Baby”
Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa – “Sweetest Pie”
The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber – “Stay”
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
BTS – “Permission to Dance”
WINNER: Doja Cat – “Woman”
FKA Twigs ft. The Weeknd – “Tears in the Club”
Harry Styles – “As It Was”
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – “Industry Baby”
Normani ft. Cardi B – “Wild Side”
BEST EDITING
Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – “Family Ties”
Doja Cat – “Get Into It (Yuh)”
Olivia Rodrigo – “Brutal”
WINNER: Rosalía – “Saoko”
Taylor Swift – “All Too Well” (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version)
The Weeknd – “Take My Breath”
SOCIAL CATEGORIES
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blackpink
WINNER: BTS
City Girls
Foo Fighters
Imagine Dragons
Måneskin
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Silk Sonic
SONG OF THE SUMMER
Bad Bunny & Chencho Corleone – “Me Porto Bonito”
Beyoncé – “Break My Soul”
Charlie Puth – “Left and Right (feat. Jung Kook of BTS)”
Doja Cat – “Vegas (from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Elvis)”
Future ft. Drake, Tems – “Wait for U”
Harry Styles – “Late Night Talking”
WINNER: Jack Harlow – “First Class”
Kane Brown – “Grand”
Latto x Mariah Carey – “Big Energy (Remix) ft. DJ Khaled”
Lizzo – “About Damn Time”
Marshmello x Khalid – “Numb”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
Nicky Youre & Dazy – “Sunroof”
Post Malone with Doja Cat – “I Like You (a Happier Song)”
ROSALÍA – “BIZCOCHITO”
Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit”
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Adele – 30
Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti
Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever
Drake – Certified Lover Boy
WINNER: Harry Styles – Harry’s House