The University is known across the nation as a football powerhouse, but for some students, award show season overshadows football season. The MTV Video Music Awards kicked off this year’s season, airing live on Sunday.
The VMA’s are known for their big, and sometimes controversial, moments — and this year’s show was no exception.
In no particular order, The Daily Reveille lists 10 of the best moments from the 32nd annual VMA’s.
1. Presenter Alicia Keys referenced the 53rd anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, offering a poignant response to the division we’re experiencing in America today.
2. The presence of American Olympians, including presenter Michael Phelps and the women’s gymnastics team, merged different facets of pop culture, and brought many highlights of this year full circle. The Olympians, much like the musicians, have broken records and made headlines. Their presence, along with the performers and nominees, reminded viewers of this year’s successes.
3. Not only did Kanye West reference his outburst at the 2009 VMA’s, in which he infamously interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech when she beat Beyoncé, but he mentioned their 2016 feud over his song ‘Famous.’ West’s lyrics suggest that he made Swift famous. He said that he ran the lyrics by Swift over the phone beforehand, but she disagrees. In his speech last night, he said, “I love all y’all. That’s why I called her.”
4. Beyoncé continued to be a flawless human being. She brought her four-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, to the show with her, and the mother-daughter duo dazzled in coordinating dresses, wooing photographers and viewers alike.
5. Rihanna is one of the most successful musicians of this generation. She has been a big name in music since 2007. She performed multiple times at this year’s show, but most significantly, performed a medley of her greatest hits, including ‘Rude Boy,’ ‘Pon de Replay,’ ‘What’s My Name?’ and ‘Work.’ She was awarded the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award later in the night, for her profound effect on MTV culture.
6. The VMA’s Twitter guys, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, acted as announcers for this year’s show. The two put on a skit with characters who were unapologetically themselves and held nothing back, eliciting scrutiny from many viewers for what some might call inappropriate comments.
7. Drake earned yet another Moonman at this year’s show for Best Hip Hop Video for ‘Hotline Bling.’ Unfortunately, he was unable to accept his award because, believe it or not, he was stuck in traffic. That’s a VMA’s first.
8. The Chainsmokers won the hearts of thousands with a performance of ‘Closer,’ their latest hit, which was second to none. The song, featuring Halsey, reached No. 1 in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.
9. When presenting the award for Video of the Year, Jimmy Fallon impersonated Olympian Ryan Lochte and parodied his recent scandal, concerning the over exaggeration of his robbery in Rio.
10. Last but not least, our girl Britney Spears performed and killed it. A native Louisianian, Spears hails from Kentwood, a small town in Tangipahoa Parish. She has teamed up with the American Red Cross and CrowdRise and will be raffling off her VMA’s outfit to help Louisiana residents affected by the recent flooding.