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“It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero,” sings Taylor Swift on her hit single Anti-Hero, and it was especially true for viewers of Wednesday’s MTV Video Music Awards who watched the singer claim nine wins during the ceremony.
The 33-year-old won the show’s biggest prize, video of the year for Anti-Hero, as well as song of the year, best artist, and best direction for her work as director on the song’s video. Her total nine-trophy haul tied the record for most wins in the competition in one night, matching Peter Gabriel’s achievement in 1987 when he swept the VMAs with Sledgehammer.
Taylor Swift: Hi, it’s me, I’m collecting another award.Credit: AP
It’s the second year in a row that Swift has claimed the awards’ top prize following her video of the year win for All Too Well: The Short Film in 2022. She also became the first artist to win the video of the year award four times, after previous wins in 2019 for You Need to Calm Down and 2015 for Bad Blood.
With a reputation for pop culture mayhem – in the past, the VMAs were the site of Kanye’s onstage interruption of Swift (2009), Britney Spears and Madonna’s controversial kiss (2003), and Fiona Apple’s infamous “this world is bullshit” speech (1997) – enthusiasm for the awards was high, especially as Hollywood’s red carpets have been curbed by the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes. This year’s Emmys, originally scheduled for next weekend, were postponed to January 2024.
Olivia Rodrigo, celebrating the release of her acclaimed new album Guts last week, kicked off the ceremony with a performance of her hits Vampire and Get Him Back, including a faked technical interruption that left onlookers in the audience (including Selena Gomez) visibly concerned. Despite the triumphant showing, the 20-year-old pop star claimed just one award on the night, a technical nod for best editing for Vampire.
Other major winners included Bronx rapper Ice Spice for best new artist, singer SZA for best R&B, Nicki Minaj for best hip hop, and Eurovision champs Maneskin for best rock.
There was a nostalgic bent to the show, which included a tribute to hip hop’s 50th anniversary featuring rappers LL Cool J, Minaj and Lil Wayne; medleys from pop icons Shakira and Diddy, who were honoured with a Video Vanguard and Global Icon award respectively; and reunions from Y2K-era favourites NSync and Nelly Furtado and Timbaland (famed for their early-’00s collaborations including 2006 hit Promiscuous Girl).
Colombian popstar Shakira performs onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday.Credit: Getty
Accepting the award for song of the year from the latter, after having already received the prize for best pop from the former, Swift landed the night’s best line in her acceptance speech, saying: “I’m sorry, I’m very Millennial-triggered by my choice of presenters tonight.”
Although Australia’s one artist in contention, Troye Sivan, lost song of the summer to BTS member Jung Kook’s Seven, there was a local presence at the show – particularly among the Kpop contingent. Korean boy band Stray Kids, which features two members from Sydney, won the award for best Kpop and Blackpink, whose singer Rose grew up in Melbourne, won group of the year.
Perhaps less enthusiastically, local country music star Morgan Evans was present in his absence: Kelsea Ballerini, the Newcastle singer’s ex-wife, landed the show’s most powerful performance – including a deafening mid-song pause – with her song Penthouse, inspired by the pair’s sudden divorce last November.
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