By Solé Scott
Editor in Chief
The host of the VMA Awards, Megan Thee Stallion.
Finally, a host connects with the audience without brewing up drama as a form of publicity.
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards premiered, hosted by Megan Thee Stallion.
I watched the entire live show and enjoyed it more than any of the last four years’.
The energy this year was positive and did not feel like a dark cloud was looming around, so much that this year’s ceremony saw an 8% increase in viewership.
This VMA ceremony was the most viewed in 4 years, with 4.08 million people watching.
The best performance of the night was GloRilla, who performed a medley of her hit songs.
Sabrina Carpenter also stole the show, as she performed her hit songs from her album “Short n’ Sweet,” which she released in August.
Carpenter won Song of the Year with “Espresso,” which was a no-brainer.
The recipient of the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award this year was none other than Katy Perry.
She was worthy of the award, as she pushed the envelope for pop stars in the 2010s.
Taylor Swift collected 7 moonmen like infinity stones throughout the night, as she now ties Beyoncé for most wins at the VMA’s.
Swift questionably won Video of the Year, which should have been given to Doja Cat for “Paint The Town Red” or Ariana Grande’s “we can’t be friends.”
Also, Best Collaboration should have been awarded to GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion for “Wanna Be” or Jungkook and Latto for “Seven.”
This year, it was refreshing to see that the newer generation of singers like to sing live, such as Benson Boone.
The newcomer performed his smash hit “Beautiful Things” with kinetic energy, as he ran and jumped across the stage without altering his voice.
Chappell Roan was a performer I was intrigued to watch because I had never seen her perform live, and she did not disappoint. The artist sang her hit song “Good Luck, Babe!” on a medieval–themed set.
What grinded my gears throughout the night was the constant camera pan to Taylor Swift.
I am sure she felt the same way because the cameras are purposely in her face, and she cannot enjoy herself as much.
MTV has declined since the organization no longer pushes and promotes music videos. This is a bummer because MTV’s success was the backbone of the music industry when it was founded in 1981.
However, its history is not without blemish. The television channel famously barred African American artists from appealing on their channel.
Artists such as Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston had to fight for their music to be included.
Unfortunately, this issue is still prevalent because Victoria Monét was told that she was not allowed to perform at the 2023 VMA awards because she was not ready.
Yet, Monét has been in the industry for over 10 years now and wrote smash hit songs for Ariana Grande and Chloe x Halle.
This year, Monét did not perform, and I was bewildered by the fact that she was “not ready” to perform, but newcomers Chappell Roan and Benson Boone were.
Nonetheless, the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards was a massive improvement from the last few years, and I hope Megan Thee Stallion continues to host from now on.
VOL. 64- ISSUE 2
