The Music Television Video Music Awards (MTV VMAs) took place on Sept. 12 in Newark, New Jersey and Nicki Minaj was the host.The nearly four hour production featured performances from various artists.
“I don’t usually pay too much attention to the various Hollywood award shows,” Ponce de Leon said. “But the VMAs were very exciting to watch this year because of the variety of artists,”
This year, the MTV VMAs celebrated 50 years of hip hop as a genre in the music industry. To mark the category’s anniversary, the Video Music Awards featured an ensemble of various renowned rappers in the industry, according to sophomore Julia McKinnon. “It is incredible that a genre like hip hop that is so popular today has been able to blossom and grow only over the last 50 years,” Julia McKinnon said. “I am very excited to see what will happen in the future,”
Taylor Swift took home nine awards for various songs on her newest album, Midnights. She is also the second biggest MTV VMA award winner, falling just three awards behind Beyonce, who has 28, according to Billboard. Overall, the student population of Convent High School are fans of Swift and were excited to see this success for her, according to McKinnon.
“I know from speaking with many of my peers that Taylor Swift is someone that they greatly look up to and admire,” McKinnon said. “Many students were very happy to see her accomplish great things as she is a role model for them,”
Another record that was broken was Shakira being the first South American woman to receive the Video Vanguard Award. Shakira has had 30 VMA nominations throughout her career, representing South American women around the world.
“I’m glad to see women of different cultures break records and stereotypes on behalf of their countries,” said McKinnon. “I hope this inspires people around the world to pursue their passions.”
The first Video Music Awards was held in 1984 and 2024 will be the 40 year anniversary of the MTV VMAs. Many students are excited to see what the award ceremony will have in store, according to Ponce de Leon.
“It is so exciting to see new artists come and receive awards and get the recognition they deserve for their amazing work,” said Ponce de Leon. “Next year will be even more exciting than this one and I love to see my favorite artists represented .”
