The 2023 VMAs was one of the year’s campiest award shows.
Award shows are a subject of controversy among fans and even critics. The Grammys in particular are known to include their fair share of “snubs,” often favouring sales and popularity of music over critical praise; a topic that shouldn’t be ignored when declaring the “best album of the year”.
Nonetheless, if music award shows can offer anything, it’s performances – and MTV’s video music awards are known to provide. Naturally, the 2023 VMAs was one for the books.
The night included a number of performances from artists new and old. Doja Cat delivered an electrifying performance of the three singles “Attention,” “Paint the Town Red ” and “Demons” to promote her upcoming album, Scarlet. Despite Doja’s recent offbeat presence online that has sparked controversy, her stage presence earned her the spot as one of the most gutsy and memorable of the night.
Shakira made a surprising appearance amid her second investigation of alleged tax fraud. This did not prevent her from delivering a megamix performance that paid tribute to her biggest hits including “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Whenever, Wherever”. Her presence at the show was almost deserving of a good laugh considering the recent investigations. Here we are presented with a superstar of Latin pop music under investigation for serious allegations performing her greatest hits on the stage of a major award show. The scene is equally as admirable as it is ridiculous, adding to the campiness of the evening.
In celebration of hip hop’s 50 year anniversary, an ensemble performance with Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J and others took place. The showstopper here was Nicki Minaj, who’s crowd interaction and diva personality reflect her solidified icon status in the industry.
Olivia Rodrigo also delivered a powerful performance of her album GUTS’ lead single ‘vampire’. The stage setup directly reflects the song’s music video, with her seated in a meadow before realizing she stands on a stage, with countless people watching her as the stage collapses on her. The song was born to be performed live with this format, and the VMAs performance was meta in all the best ways.
Of course, the evening was meant for awards, with Taylor Swift sweeping 9 categories and becoming the night’s most awarded artist. Inquiry into whether she deserved all those awards is warranted, but her wins are unsurprising given her massive popularity among the voting audience. Swift garnered wins in major categories including artist of the year, video of the year, song of the year and album of the year.
The award for best new artist was given to Ice Spice. The Bronx-born rapper has amassed overnight fame and cultural significance to her generation. Sudden claims to fame are subject to the discussion of industry plants, but regardless of the truth, it is hard to not fall for the humble charm and shamelessness that Ice Spice exudes.
Perhaps the most well-earned award of the night was given to Lana Del Rey for best alternative song for her track “Let The Light In (ft. Father John Misty)”. The warm ballad is signature to Lana’s Americana style, and as well as being flawlessly produced and performed also has vividly romantic lyricism.
While award shows are ultimately beacons of entertainment in the music industry, they are a guilty pleasure to many people thanks to their grandiosity. The VMAs seem to know what the people want from them and know how to craft a lineup of performances and nominations to amass large audiences and attract discussion. The actual awards may be subject to debate and controversy in some discussion spaces, but like any sitcom, it is nice to tune into the performances and feel entertained for a little while.
