Columnists,Shavinya Illankoon,Main Slider,Top Story l by Shavinya Illankoon l 14 Sep 2020     - 196

A Quarantined Award Show; MTV Video Music Awards 2020


An award show like never before, this time music fans from all around the world were able to experience their first social-distancing MTV Video Music Awards which took place on August 30th, 2020 at the Radio City Music Hall, New York! The 37th annual ceremony was hosted by American actress & Television Personality, Keke Palmer, who didn't only manage to keep everyone's spirits up throughout the night but also was able to celebrate the hard work and dedication inputted by frontline & healthcare workers during this very difficult period; The COVID-19 Pandemic has hit the US ever so hard that their numbers are still at large every passing day.

Starting the musical night off with an extravagant performance by The Weeknd, the Canadian Singer delivered an excellent production of his New Hit Single "Blinding Lights" from Edge at Hudson Yards. He was also the proud winner of the categories 'Video Of The Year' and 'Best R&B', showing his fan-nation that his comeback was proved to be a massive success in his career! 

Prior to The Weeknd's Rooftop extraordinaire, we had a line of pre-show performers; Chloe x Halle, Jack Harlow, Machine Gun Kelly, Tate Mcrae and Lewis Capaldi. These rising artists collectively but seperately gave the audience an outstanding, social-distant gig by versifying their latest or hit singles in isolated, individual halls. The MTV crew did an amazingly defined job in maintaining the required social message while being able to provide entertainment at the same time! 

The list of winners for MTV Video Music Awards 2020 is as follows:

  • Video Of The Year- The Weeknd ("Blinding Lights")
  • Artist Of The Year- Lady Gaga
  • Push Best New Artist- Doja Cat
  • Song Of The Year- Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande ("Rain On Me")
  • Best Collaboration- Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande ("Rain On Me")
  • Best Pop- BTS ("On")
  • Best Hip-Hop- Megan Thee Stallion ("Savage")
  • Best R&B- The Weeknd ("Blinding Lights")
  • Best K-Pop- BTS ("On")
  • Best Latin- Maluma ft. J Balvin ("Qué Pena")
  • Best Rock- Coldplay ("Orphans")
  • Best Alternative- Machine Gun Kelly ("Bloody Valentine")  
  • Best Music Video From Home- Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber ("Stuck With U")
  • Best Quarantine Performance- CNCO (MTV Unplugged At Home)
  • Video For Good- H.E.R ("I Can't Breathe")
  • Best Group- BTS
  • Song Of Summer- BLACKPINK ("How You Like That")
  • Best Direction- Taylor Swift ("The Man" directed by Taylor Swift)
  • Best Art Direction- Miley Cyrus ("Mother's Daughter" directed by Christian Stone)
  • Best Choreography- BTS ("On" choreographed by The Lab, Son Sung Deuk)
  • Best Cinematography- Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande ("Rain On Me" by Micheal Merriman)
  • Best Editing- Miley Cyrus ("Mother's Daughter" edited by Alexandre Moors, Nuno Xico)
  • Best Visual Effects- Dua Lipa ("Physical" by EIGHTY4 & MATHEMATIC)

The list of winners is slightly different this year since they’ve included some new categories which are related to quarantine and staying at home along with the category “Everyday Heroes: Frontline Medical Workers” where a selected number of health officers have all been made winners for their constant service! They include Dr. Nate Wood’s “Lean On Me”, Dr. Elvis Francois & Dr. William Robinson’s “Imagine”, Jason “Tik Tok Doc” Campbell, Jefferson University Hospital’s Swab Squad’s “Level Up” and Lorl Marle Key’s “Amazing Grace”.

“Rain On Me” won the most awards that night and it has made history by being one of the biggest collaborations this year! Lady Gaga was also awarded ‘Artist Of The Year’ and she was also the first-ever to win the Tricon Award! The “Stupid Love” singer accepted and shared this award with her fans while asking everyone to reward themselves for withstanding this year’s challenges and to continue to wear a mask. She even gave a beautiful mash-up of songs “Enigma”, “Chromatica II”, “911”, “Rain On Me” with Ariana Grande and “Stupid Love”, bringing her latest album “Chromatica” to life!

The rest of the evening was entertained by other amazing artists namely Black Eyed Peas, DaBaby and so much more. BTS sets the stage on fire by performing their new song “Dynamite” live on TV and rising star Doja Cat makes her debut on the MTV Stage with songs “Say SO” and “Like That”! Pop sensation Miley Cyrus declared her independence and free-spirit in song with her disco-pop single “Midnight Sky” and what with Black Eyed Peas Reunion this year, they made an exclusive comeback Live on TV that night!

All in all, it was, once again, a rather memorable night as these musicians and artists showed the entire globe that it is still pretty possible to pull off an event irregardless what problem takes place in our lives! They are simply emphasizing on the fact that “Life must go on..” and so, they distinctly proved it right!                

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shavinya Illankoon

I am an independent solo artist that debuted last October. I write lyrics, make my own music and collaborate with fresh and talented producers. I focus on themes such as Mental Health and psychological aspects of people in order to provide a voice to them and to let them know that we're all in this together and they are not alone.

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