The 2021 Moon Man statues were doled out at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Sun., Sept. 12. Back in June, MTV had announced that the VMAs would return to a single, live venue. (The 2020 show was held over several indoor and outdoor locations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) “Thanks to increased safety measures, the 2021 show is looking to center live entertainment once again, just as concerts return throughout the rest of the United States,” MTV said in a press release. With the stage set for a safe event, MTV rolled out a long list of superstars who made it a night that was so worth watching—not just for the performances, but for all the surprises as well! Keep reading to find out everything that happened at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards—including a full list of all the winners!
Who hosted the 2021 VMAs?
MTV took its time announcing a 2021 master of ceremonies after Keke Palmer did the honors last year. In fact, before they gave the gig to Doja Cat, it seemed possible that this year’s ceremony could have no host at all, which wouldn’t be without precedent: Since the show’s inception in 1984, the show has gone on without a host a total of seven times—including four times since 2013. Variety has noted that it was Doja Cat’s first time hosting any awards ceremony, but she’s no stranger to the VMAs: In 2020, she won the night’s Best New Artist award while also delivering a scorching performance of her hits “Like That” and “Say So.”
Who performed at the 2021 MTV VMAs?
Doja Cat
For starters, Doja Cat didn’t just host; she also performed!
Justin Bieber and The Kid LAROI
The show opened with a surprise appearance by none other than pop icon Madonna, who congratulated MTV on its 40th birthday (and showed off some, um, sweet cheeks in a butt-baring get-up) before Justin Bieber and The KidLAROI delivered a joint performance of “Stay” and “Ghost.”
Olivia Rodrigo
VMAs first-timer Olivia Rodrigo then sang her head-banging single “good 4 u”—and speaking of banging things up, she ended her performance by smashing the camera lens!
Twenty One Pilots
Not to be outdone, Twenty One Pilots delivered an electric performance of “Saturday” off their May 2021 LP, Scaled and Icy—during which, frontman Tyler Joseph revealed that he and his wife are expecting their second child!
Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Musgraves changed up the tempo when she sang her heart-wrenching breakup ballad, “star-crossed.”
Shawn Mendes and Tainy
ShawnMendes delivered his latest single “Summer of Love” alongside Tainy.
Chlöe
Chlöe (of Chloe x Halle) clocked her first-ever live televised performance of debut solo single “Have Mercy.”
Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow
And Lil Nas X continued his streak of mind-blowing awards-show sets by performing “Industry Baby” with collaborator Jack Harlow.
Camila Cabello
Mendes’ longtime love, Camila Cabello, sang her new track “Don’t Go Yet” from her forthcoming album, Familia.
Normani and Teyana Taylor
Normani brought down the house when she performed “Wild Side”—and brought out surprise guest TeyanaTaylor!
Ozuna
Ozuna also rocked the stage with his performance of “La Funka.”
Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl’s epic rock band Foo Fighters performed and received the VMAs’ first-ever Global Icon Award.
Busta Rhymes
And to top it all off, the night ended with another surprise guest—Busta Rhymes, whose electrifying performance showed he’s definitely still got it!
Who are the MTV VMAs 2021 nominees and winners?
The nominees for the 2021 VMAs were revealed on August 11. Leading the pack were Justin Bieber with seven nominations and Megan Thee Stallion with six. (On the frontrunner ballot, she had more entries for song and video than any other artist.) They were followed by several five-times-nominated artists, including Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Drake, Giveon and BTS. By the end of the night, Lil Nas and Rodrigo were the big winners, bringing home three Moon Men apiece. Here are all the 2021 nominees and winners:
2021 MTV Video Music Awards nominees and winners
Video of the Year Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP” DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “POPSTAR” (Starring Justin Bieber) Doja Cat ft. SZA – “Kiss Me More” Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits”WINNER Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” The Weeknd – “Save Your Tears” Song of the Year 24kGoldn ft. iann dior – “Mood” Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic – “Leave The Door Open” BTS – “Dynamite” Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP” Dua Lipa – “Levitating”WINNER Olivia Rodrigo – “drivers license” Artist of the Year Ariana Grande Doja CatWINNER Justin Bieber Megan Thee Stallion Olivia Rodrigo Taylor Swift Best New Artist 24kGoldn Giveon The Kid LAROIWINNER Olivia Rodrigo Polo G Saweetie Best Collaboration 24kGoldn ft. iann dior – “Mood” Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP”WINNER Doja Cat ft. SZA – “Kiss Me More” Drake ft. Lil Durk – “Laugh Now Cry Later” Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon – “Peaches” Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa – “Prisoner” Best Pop Ariana Grande – “positions” Billie Eilish – “Therefore I Am” BTS – “Butter” Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness”WINNER Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon – “Peaches” Olivia Rodrigo – “good 4 u” Shawn Mendes – “Wonder” Taylor Swift – “willow” Best Hip-Hop Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP” Drake ft. Lil Durk – “Laugh Now Cry Later” Lil Baby ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “On Me (remix)” Moneybagg Yo – “Said Sum” Polo G – “RAPSTAR”WINNER Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A. – “FRANCHISE” Push Performance of the Year September 2020: Wallows – “Are You Bored Yet?” October 2020: Ashnikko – “Daisy” November 2020: SAINt JHN – “Gorgeous” December 2020: 24kGoldn – “Coco” January 2021: JC Stewart – “Break My Heart” February 2021: Latto – “Sex Lies” March 2021: Madison Beer – “Selfish” April 2021: The Kid LAROI – “WITHOUT YOU”WINNER May 2021: Olivia Rodrigo – “drivers license” June 2021: girl in red “Serotonin” July 2021: Fousheé – “my slime” August 2021: jxdn – “Think About Me” Best Rock Evanescence – “Use My Voice” Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame”WINNER John Mayer – “Last Train Home” The Killers – “My Own Soul’s Warning” Kings Of Leon – “The Bandit” Lenny Kravitz – “Raise Vibration” Group of the YearWINNER BTS BlackPink CNCO Foo Fighters Maroon 5 Jonas Brothers Silk Sonic twenty one pilots Best Alternative Bleachers – “Stop Making This Hurt” Glass Animals – “Heat Waves” Imagine Dragons – “Follow You”WINNER Machine Gun Kelly ft. blackbear – “my ex’s best friend” twenty one pilots – “Shy Away” WILLOW ft. Travis Barker – “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” Best Latin Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez – “Dákiti”WINNER Billie Eilish & ROSALÍA – “Lo Vas A Olvidar” Black Eyed Peas and Shakira – “GIRL LIKE ME” J. Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy – “UN DIA (ONE DAY)” Karol G – “Bichota” Maluma – “Hawái” Best R&B Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid – “BROWN SKIN GIRL”WINNER Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic – “Leave The Door Open” Chris Brown and Young Thug – “Go Crazy” Giveon – “HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY” H.E.R. ft. Chris Brown – “Come Through” SZA – “Good Days” Best K-Pop (G)I-DLE – “DUMDi DUMDi” BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez – “Ice Cream”WINNER BTS – “Butter” SEVENTEEN – “Ready to love” TWICE – “Alcohol-Free” Best Breakthrough Song Masked Wolf – “Astronaut in the Ocean”WINNER Claire Rosinkranz – “Backyard Boy” Bella Poarch – “Build A B*tch” Yung Baby Tate ft. Flo Milli – “I Am” Bia – “Whole Lotta Money” Video for GoodWINNER Billie Eilish – “Your Power” Demi Lovato – “Dancing With The Devil” H.E.R. – “Fight For You” Kane Brown – “Worldwide Beautiful” Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” Pharrell Williams ft. JAY-Z – “Entrepreneur” Best Direction Billie Eilish – “Your Power” – Directed by: Billie Eilish DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “POPSTAR (Starring Justin Bieber)” – Directed by: Julien Christian Lutz aka Director XWINNER Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” – Directed by: Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino Taylor Swift – “willow” – Directed by: Taylor Swift Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A – “Franchise” – Directed by: Travis Scott Tyler, The Creator – “LUMBERJACK” – Directed by: Wolf Haley Best CinematographyWINNER Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid – “BROWN SKIN GIRL” – Cinematography by: Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, MOHAMMAED ATTA AHMED, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant Billie Eilish – “Therefore I Am” – Cinematography by: Rob Witt Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame” – Cinematography by: Santiago Gonzalez Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper – “Holy” – Cinematography by: Elias Talbot Lady Gaga – “911” – Cinematography by: Jeff Cronenweth Lorde – “Solar Power” – Cinematography by: Andrew Stroud Best Art Direction Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer – “ALREADY” – Art Direction by: Susan Linns, Gerard Santos Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits” – Art Direction by: Alison Dominitz Lady Gaga – “911” – Art Direction by: Tom Foden, Peter Andrus Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” – Art Direction by: John RichouxWINNER Saweetie ft. Doja Cat – “Best Friend” – Art Direction by: Art Haynes Taylor Swift – “willow” – Art Direction by: Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez Best Visual Effects Bella Poarch – “Build A Bitch” – Visual Effects by: Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova Coldplay – “Higher Power” – Visual Effects by: Mathematic Doja Cat & The Weeknd – “You Right” – Visual Effects by: La Pac, Anthony Lestremau, Julien Missaire, Petr Shkolniy, Alexi Bailla, Micha Sher, Antoine Hache, Mikros MPC, Nicolas Huget, Guillaume Ho Tsong Fang, Benjamin Lenfant, Stephane Pivron, MPC Bangalore, Chanakya Chander, Raju Ganesh, David Rouxel Glass Animals – “Tangerine” – Visual Effects by: Ronan FourreauWINNER Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” – Visual Effects by: Mathematic P!NK – “All I Know So Far” – Visual Effects by: Dave Meyers, Freenjoy Inc Best Choreography Ariana Grande – “34+35” – Choreography by: Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson BTS – “Butter” – Choreography by: SON SUNG DEUK With BHM PERFORMANCE DIRECTING TEAM Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits” – Choreography by: Natricia Bernard Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame” – Choreography by: Nina McNeelyWINNER Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness” – Choreography by: Paul Roberts Marshmello & Halsey – “Be Kind” – Choreography by: Dani Vitale Best EditingWINNER Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic – “Leave The Door Open” – Editing by: Troy Charbonnet BTS – “Butter” – Editing by: Yong Seok Choi from Lumpens Drake – “What’s Next” – Editing by: Noah Kendal Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness” – Editing by: Claudia Wass Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon – “Peaches” – Editing by: Mark Mayr, Vinnie Hobbs Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa – “Prisoner” – Editing by: William Town
How can you watch the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards?
The VMAs aired on Sunday, September 12 at 8 p.m. ET. The show simulcast on all ViacomCBS networks, including MTV (obviously), MTV2, VH1, Comedy Central and The CW. Prefer to stream the show? You can watch on the MTV app, as well as vma.mtv.com. You can also view the show on streaming services like YouTube TV, Hulu (Live), Sling TV and fuboTV. Next, check out everything we know about the 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards!
