remember the VMAs?
looking back at moonmen and monocultural moments on MTV
The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards were last week and they were….fine?
I miss the time when the VMAs were creating pop culture moments. While the viewership was up slightly from last year, nothing from the broadcast felt like the type of thing we will be talking about years from now. There are so many music award shows, and the VMAs used to be the one that you couldn’t miss because anything could happen. It was a night with everything you could want: crazy red carpet looks, iconic performances, messy drama! Now it just feels like any other award show, but worse because you already know who is going to win everything.
In an effort to remember how iconic these awards used to be, I have compiled my list of the best moments, looks, and performances in VMA history.
The 1st VMAs:
The very first ceremony became enshrined in the pop-girl history books as soon as Madonna descended the cake stairs in that infamous wedding gown. The world heard Like A Virgin for the first time, and after exiting the stage, Madonna’s manager told her that she had just ended her career. The song became her first number 1 on The Hot 100, and MTV called this performance “one of the most important and most unforgettable VMA performances ever, if not one of the most iconic pop performances of all time."
Less remembered (by the general public at least) from that first broadcast is Cher’s blonde short hair moment. Maybe that is for the best. I love her, but what was this? Traumatizing.
My favorite fashion/beauty moment from the inaugural awards night (other than the wedding gown) is Cindy Lauper looking insane.
The Rest of the 80s:
Whitney Houston made her VMA debut in 1986. This performance isn’t crazy or over the top, but with that voice, you don’t need anything else. I would listen to her sing anything.
In case you forgot, this is Cher at 40.
She performed but was robbed of a nomination for the Turn Back Time video in ‘89. The video was so controversial that the US Navy had to put out a statement and make a new rule that prohibits music videos to be filmed on ships.
The 90s:
This is my personal favorite Madonna performance and it’s up there as one of my favorite award show performances of all time. It is perfect and I watch it at least once a month.
In 1991, Prince wore these assless pants and people freaked out.
The Cobains brought their Frances Bean to the 1993 awards, and this picture with RuPaul holding her while towering over Kurt is one of my favorites from any VMA red carpet. This is pop culture. This is the 90s.
1995 was a big year at the VMAs. Michael Jackson won the Video Vanguard award. The award was later named in his honor, but that has since been revoked. This performance is pretty great, especially the middle section with the dancers. The end where he sings a song written by R. Kelly with a lot of small children on stage with him is super uncomfortable though. So watch with caution or just stop watching at the 11-minute mark.
The infamous Madonna/Courtney Love interview is from the same year. For context, Madonna was in her classy Evita era and this was Courtney on the red carpet that night. I know I wrote about the interview previously, but it really is required viewing.
The late 90s had some of the best red carpet looks, culminating in Lil’ Kim wearing one of the most famous VMA looks of all time in ‘99. Additionally, here is the proof that women were always naked at the VMAs. I’m so tired of hearing people complain about how “today’s feminism is causing women to exploit themselves on MTV”, a conversation that I’m sure has been happening since Madonna wore the wedding dress. Find a new talking point, please.
The Early 2000s aka The Reign of Britney:
I know that Britney’s first time at the VMAs was in 1999. She won 4 awards that night and performed Baby One More Time. So technically her reign started before the new millennium, but whatever. This post already has too many videos and while the ‘99 performance was great, she blew it out of the water in 2000.
She outdid herself again in 2001. This is what you think of when you think of Britney at the VMAs. This needs to go into the National Archives for prosperity with Citizen Kane. You could make the argument that Britney Spears with that snake is the definitive image of VMA performances and maybe even of Britney herself.
In 2002, the broadcast was on Michael Jackson’s birthday, so they had Britney present him with a birthday cake. He thought that he had won a special award, and gave a full acceptance speech. In it, he thanks David Blaine and says “Your magic is real and I believe in you.” It is so deliciously awkward to watch.
The Madonna, Britney, and Christina three-way kiss is historic. Shoutout to (villain) Justin Timberlake for giving a great reaction face to his ex-girlfriend kissing Madonna. I was trying to think who would do this if they were to recreate it now, and I came up with Taylor Swift (as the Madonna figure), Olivia Rodrigo, and Sabrina Carpenter. They would literally never do it, but if they do……MTV send me my check.
2009 aka The Year The Culture Shifted:
This may be the best VMA ceremony ever. It is my favorite because it is equal parts showstopping performances from top-tier talent and messy drama. First, to fully display the amount of clout/money MTV had, just watch this video of pop stars recreating West Side Story.
Beyoncé performed Single Ladies. She has had so many incredible performances that this one is almost never talked about because the others overshadow it. But just know this is the level of excellence that we were taking for granted at the VMAs in 2009.
Michael Jackson had died earlier that summer, so the opening was a tribute to him. I feel gross watching anything celebrating him, but Janet and the dancers are amazing and Beyoncé gets really excited when Janet comes out and that’s cute.
We all remember where we were when Kanye interrupted Taylor’s acceptance speech. This is probably the most famous non-performance VMA moment ever. Even the president made a comment on this. Let that marinate in your mind for a second. The pop culture was so rich that we had to get Obama’s take on it. That is simply not happening anymore!
The real injustice of that evening is that the Kanye/Taylor drama overshadowed what is the most iconic performance to ever grace the VMA stage. This was Lady Gaga’s first time at an award show ever. Literally who else could do a debut like this? The Paparazzi performance was the best part of the 2009 VMAs and you can argue with a wall if you disagree.
2010 - 2013 aka Shock The Audience Olympics
She might have been overshadowed in 2009, but no one can deny that the 2010 VMAs belong to Gaga. She broke the record for most nominations in a single year and became the first female artist to have 2 videos nominated for Video of the Year.
She walked the red carpet (in the armadillo boots!!) with discharged soldiers to protest “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in a look from Alexander McQueen’s last collection and no one remembers it because she changed into The Meat Dress™ to accept Video of the Year. In her speech, she announced her upcoming album “Born This Way.” Perhaps inspiring someone sitting in the audience to do the same thing 11 years later? We will have to wait and see!
Cher handed out the award and then held Gaga’s meat purse so that she could give her speech. This is a pop culture moment created specifically for me in a lab. I think it altered my brain chemistry in ways that I am just now beginning to understand.
In 2011, Beyoncé announced her pregnancy and it broke the “most tweets per second recorded for a single event” record. I remember watching this happen and so seeing Blue Ivy dance on stage this summer at the Renaissance tour made me feel so old. If you want to watch the full performance here is a link.
2011 was also the year that Gaga came as Jo Calderone and stayed in character the entire time. We were about to enter the Artpop era and didn’t even know it.
In 2013, Miley Cyrus did this performance. Again, we all remember where we were.
The crowd booed One Direction when they won that year, which really upset Lady Gaga. So we have these photos of her giving them serious advice in her aphrodite lady seashell bikini. Iconic mother behavior.
2014-Last Week aka The Flop Era
In 2014, Beyoncé was awarded the Video Vanguard award and did a 15-minute performance that MTV has essentially scrubbed from the internet. I have spent so much time looking for it and can’t find it. 2015 was chaotic. It was the year of “Miley, what’s good?” and Kanye announced he was running for president.
Beyoncé became the most-awarded artist in VMA history at the 2016 awards. She performed a Lemonade medley during the show that I’ve linked here.
I think the best VMA ceremony in recent history is the one from 2021. Madonna did a surprise opening, and the red carpet looks were pretty good. Lil Nas X gave a great performance, definitely the best of the night. I will link it here because MTV keeps deleting it. Taylor Swift announced Midnights while accepting an award in 2022, but I don't know if that will be something that will be remembered as an iconic moment. I guess time will tell.
Can the VMAs make a comeback? I hope so. In the meantime, I wish MTV/Paramount+ would put the full broadcasts of past ceremonies on streaming. This seems unlikely because, as I quickly discovered, they don’t even want clips or performance videos online. It was such a hassle to find videos from past awards because MTV is very diligent about getting them taken down and it is a real shame.
One of the biggest issues facing the awards is certainly a lack of monoculture, but the 2021 ceremony gives me hope that with a few changes, the awards can be better. I think they need to move back to a smaller venue and focus on getting bigger celebrities to attend. I know that these things are expensive, but maybe MTV could make more money and cultivate a larger viewership if they showed more than Ridiculousness reruns 24/7. They could save even more money by not doing the weird animation during the performances because it is weird and most likely expensive. Also, just call the statue a Moonman. “Moon person” is so embarrassing.
In conclusion, I would just like to say this: I’m really happy for you and imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.