As fans wait to see if Taylor Swift’s 12 nominations can get her to pass Beyonce’s record of 30 VMA career wins, she is also poised to beat the record of the most VMAs won in a single night – currently set at 9. During last year’s VMAs, Swift tied this record after being nominated in 11 categories, causing her to surpass Madonna’s record of 20 career wins.
For many young fans, the idea of being able to watch Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter perform at the same show is enough to tune in, especially after the recent release of Short n’ Sweet, Sabrina’s 6th studio album. While for others, Halsey’s long-awaited return to the stage after battling multiple health issues and the announcement of their new album The Great Impersonator is more significant.
Since their inception in 1984, the VMAs have included awards voted on by both fans and professionals. Some question the legitimacy of the voting process due to MTV’s choice to reserve the right to select a winner in the case of fraud. With no available public data on the tallied votes, the exact process of deciding is vague. Nonetheless, hopeful and dedicated fans cast their votes for their favorite nominee on the MTV Voting page.
While voting was initially ending on August 30th, the VMAs opted to extend voting through September 6th due to the late addition of 4 social categories: Best Trending Video, Best Group, Song of the Summer, and VMA’s Most Iconic Performance. Voting for these social categories opens in a staggered fashion throughout this week.
The addition of these categories has fans debating who will win the VMA’s Most Iconic Performance. Some of the moments on the ballot range from Beyoncé’s 2011 “Love on Top” when she announced her pregnancy to Lady Gaga’s 2009 performance of “Paparazzi” in a bleeding wedding dress to Taylor Swift’s 2009 performance of “You Belong With Me” which followed immediately after Kanye West stole the stage from her. This category is making its debut for the first time this year, and it is yet to be publicly announced if it will become a recurring award or not.
Although many categories are fan-voted, MTV has deemed the Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Choreography, Best Art Direction, and Best Editing categories to be “professional categories.” This means they will be voted on by a panel, whose identities and qualifications remain anonymous.
The night will be hosted by the pop/hip hop singer Megan Thee Stallion and feature performances from the following artists: Anitta, Benson Boone, Camila Cabello, Chappell Roan, GloRilla, Halsey, KAROL G, Lenny Kravitz, LISA, LL COOL J, Rauw Alejandro, Sabrina Carpenter and Shawn Mendes.
While the initial date of the VMA’s conflicted with the presidential debate, the event has been delayed a day to avoid streaming conflicts and will now air on September 11, 2024, at 8/7c. The night will be hosted at UBS Arena on Long Island, but fans across the country can tune in to DIRECTV STREAM, Ferbo TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Paramount+, Philo, and YouTube TV to livestream all that goes down.
