Last night at Barclays Center was packed with big wins, amazing performances, stunning looks from your favourite artists and what’s that…an actual crowd in attendance enjoying all of it? Yes! If you couldn’t make it to New York or your couch, don’t you worry, we’ve got you!
Justin Bieber – Artist of the Year
Canada’s heartthrob not only made a huge entrance, but he also won huge with Artist of the Year and Best Pop for “Peaches.” We had to take a minute to recover from his electrifying performance of “Stay” and that emotive rendition of “Ghost” – feels good to see the Biebs back on the VMAs stage again.
Olivia Rodrigo – Best New Artist
2021 is the year of Olivia Rodrigo and we couldn’t be prouder! It’s been quite the year for our young superstar and last night was definitely one to remember. She slayed her performance and walked away with 3 wins: Best New Artist, Push Performance of the Year and Song of the Year for “Drivers License” — good 4 u Liv!
Kacey Musgraves – “star-crossed” Performance
Kacey’s debut VMAs performance of “star-crossed” was just about the dreamiest thing we’ve ever witnessed. We think it’s safe to say that we all walked away feeling more hopeful after that experience.
Billie Eilish – Video For Good
Undeniably one of the most important categories, Video For Good went to “Your Power” — a song and video with a strong message about abuse and accountability that hopes to inspire change. Billie also won Best Latin for her song, “Lo Vas A Olvidar.”
Machine Gun Kelly – Best Alternative
His debut VMAs performance of “Papercuts” was not one for the faint of heart — it was a jaw dropping performance that marked the end to that beautiful pink guitar. Big Rockstar moves. Another Rockstar move is winning the VMA for Best Alternative for “my ex’s best friend”!
“Shoutout to the emo kids for bringing it all back” – yeah, you know who you are.
Shawn Mendes – “Summer of Love” Performance
It’s the “Summer of Love” for Shawn Mendes, but we love this Canadian sweetheart through all the seasons.
Kim Petras – “Future Starts Now” Performance
Sticky + pure, bubble gum POP – that’s exactly what Kim Petras did at the VMAs pre-show with her performance of “Future Starts Now.”
Claire Rosinkranz – Best Breakthrough Song
Congratulations to Claire who won her first ever VMA: Best Breakthrough Song for “Backyard Boy” – we’re so proud!
Swedish House Mafia – New Collab Tease
As if their return AND performance of “It Gets Better” and “Lifetime” wasn’t enough, the Swedish house supergroup teased us with a short snippet of their upcoming collab with The Weeknd! We are way too excited, check out the performance below!
Congrats to all the winners and nominees of the 2021 VMAs! Thank you for the amazing performances and continuing to share your art – we appreciate everything you do! Check out the full list of winners and nominees at the link below. Stay up to date with us by following our Instagram and Twitter for all things music!