- Nasima Akter
MTV VMA 2023: Lists of Winners, Awards, and More
MTV's major music event concluded late on Tuesday night, featuring nearly four hours of captivating performances, a surprise appearance by a special guest, record-breaking award victories, and a grand celebration marking the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
Shakira had a remarkable evening, becoming the first South American artist to receive the prestigious Video Vanguard Award, which recognizes an artist's significant contributions to music videos and pop culture. Ice Spice also had a great night, securing the title of Best New Artist.
Taylor Swift achieved a historic milestone, winning nine awards, including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for "Midnights." This accomplishment ties her for the most wins in a single night and places her second overall in total wins, as reported by MTV.
The audience went into a frenzy when *NSYNC made an unexpected appearance, marking their first time sharing the stage since their performance at the 2013 VMAs. There are speculations circulating that the group might be working on new music for the upcoming third installment of the "Trolls" movie series.
Sean "Diddy" Combs was honored with the Global Icon Award, which he received following a performance of his timeless songs. His introduction was done by his friend and fellow artist Mary J. Blige, as well as his daughter Chance.
The show came to a spectacular close with an epic celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, featuring performances by Grandmaster Flash, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, LL Cool J, and other talented artists.
A few artists were fortunate enough to win the highly sought-after "moon person" trophies. Here's the complete list of winners, including those whose victories weren't featured on television.
● Video of the year: Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
● Artist of the year: Taylor Swift
● Song of the year: Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
● Best new artist: Ice Spice
● Push performance of the year: April 2023: Tomorrow X Together — “Sugar Rush Ride”
● Best collaboration: Karol G, Shakira — “TQG”
● Best pop: Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
● Best hip-hop: Nicki Minaj — “Super Freaky Girl”
● Best R&B: SZA — “Shirt”
● Best alternative: Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Batiste — “Candy Necklace”
● Best rock: Måneskin — “The Loneliset”
● Best latin: Anitta — “Funk Rave”
● Best K-Pop: Stray Kids — “S-Class”
● Best Afrobeats: Rema & Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”
● Video for good: Dove Cameron — “Breakfast”
● Best direction: Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero." Directed by Taylor Swift.
● Best cinematography: Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero." Cinematography by Rina Yang.
● Best visual effects: Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero." Visual effects by Parliament.
● Best choreography: Blackpink — “Pink Venom," Kiel Tutin, Sienna Lalau.
● Best art direction: Doja Cat — “Attention." Art direction by Spencer Graves.
● Best editing: Olivia Rodrigo — “vampire." Edited by Sofia Kerpan and David Checel.
● Show of the summer: Taylor Swift
● Group of the year: BLACKPINK
● Song of the summer: Jung Kook featuring Latto — “Seven”
● Album of the year: Taylor Swift— "Midnights"
In the final count of MTV VMA winners, Taylor Swift emerged victorious in nine out of the 11 categories she was nominated in. This accomplishment ties her for the most wins in a single night and elevates her to the second-highest total wins position in MTV's records.
Here is the list of categories in which Swift secured victories (note that not all of these were televised):
● Video of the year (“Anti-Hero”)
● Artist of the year
● Song of the year (“Anti-Hero”)
● Best pop (“Anti-Hero”)
● Best direction (“Anti-Hero”)
● Best cinematography (“Anti-Hero”)
● Best visual effects (“Anti-Hero”)
● Show of the summer
● Album of the year ("Midnights")
Swift's impressive sweep across these categories solidifies her remarkable presence at the MTV VMA awards.
