2023 MTV Video Music Awards

The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on September 12, 2023.[2] The show was hosted by Nicki Minaj, marking her second consecutive year in the role.[3] This was the first time the ceremony was held on a Tuesday.[4] A new award category, "Show of the Summer", was awarded this year through fan votes.[5] Shakira was honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.[6] Diddy was honored with the Global Icon Award.[7] Taylor Swift was the most nominated and awarded artist of the night, winning nine out of her eleven nominations.

2023 MTV Video Music Awards
DateTuesday, September 12, 2023
8:00–11:51 p.m. EDT
VenuePrudential Center,
Newark, New Jersey
CountryUnited States
Hosted byNicki Minaj[a]
Most awardsTaylor Swift (9)
Most nominationsTaylor Swift (11)
Websitemtv.com/vma
Television/radio coverage
Network
Produced byBruce Gillmer
Jesse Ignjatovic[1]
Directed byLiz Clare
← 2022 · MTV Video Music Awards · 2024 →

The 2023 edition was the most watched MTV Video Music Awards show on the flagship linear network to air since 2020. It was the highest-rated edition of the show in three years among the 18–49 demographic with a 1.03 (compared to a 0.58 in 2020), as well as among adults 18–34, where the show saw its best rating since 2019, up 118% to a 1.14. Viewership across all networks was comparable to the prior year with 3.92 million viewers.[8]

Performances

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Pre-show

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The performers for the pre-show were announced on September 6, 2023.[9]

Artist(s) Song(s)
NLE Choppa "Ain't Gonna Answer"
"It's Getting Hot"/"Hot in Herre" (with Nelly)
Sabrina Carpenter "Feather"
"Nonsense"

Main show

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The first round of performers for the main show were announced on August 22, 2023.[10][11] The second round of performers for the main show were announced on August 31, 2023.[12][13] Olivia Rodrigo was announced as a main show performer on September 7, 2023.[14] The third round of performers for the main show were announced on September 8, 2023.[15][16] Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion were announced as main show performers on September 9, 2023.[17] Performers for the Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Medley were announced on September 11, 2023.[18] Due to the ceremony's diversity, the musical performances featured artists from every country: United States, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Italy, South Korea, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Artist(s) Song(s)
Lil Wayne "Uproar"
"Kat Food"
Olivia Rodrigo "Vampire"
"Get Him Back!"
Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion "Bongos"
Demi Lovato Revamped Medley
"Heart Attack (Rock Version)"
"Sorry Not Sorry (Rock Version)"
"Cool for the Summer (Rock Version)"
Anitta
"Used To Be"
"Funk Rave"
"Casi Casi"
"Grip"
Doja Cat "Attention"
"Paint the Town Red"
"Demons"
Shakira Video Vanguard Medley
"She Wolf"
"Te Felicito"
"TQG"
"Objection (Tango)"
"Ojos Así"
"Whenever, Wherever"
"Hips Don't Lie"
"Bizarrap Music Sessions: Volume 53"
Nicki Minaj "Last Time I Saw You"
"Big Difference"[19]
Karol G "Oki Doki"
"Tá OK" (Remix)
Diddy
(with special guests Yung Miami and Keyshia Cole)
Global Icon Medley
"I'll Be Missing You"
"It's All About the Benjamins"
"Bad Boy for Life"
"I Need a Girl (Part Two)"
"Gotta Move On"
"Last Night"
"Mo Money Mo Problems"
Peso Pluma "Lady Gaga"
Stray Kids "S-Class"
Metro Boomin
Future
Swae Lee
A Boogie wit da Hoodie
Nav
"Superhero (Heroes & Villains)"
"Calling"
Fall Out Boy "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Tomorrow X Together feat. Anitta "Back for More"[20]
Måneskin "Honey (Are U Coming?)"
Kelsea Ballerini "Penthouse"
DMC
Doug E. Fresh
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Lil Wayne
LL Cool J
Nicki Minaj
Slick Rick
Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Medley
"The Message"
"The Show"
"Itty Bitty Piggy"
"Red Ruby da Sleeze"
"A Milli"
"I'm Bad"
"Mama Said Knock You Out"
"Rock Box"
"Walk This Way"

Extended Play stage

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Extended play stage performers were announced on September 6, 2023.[9][21]

Artist(s) Song(s)
Kaliii "Area Codes"
"K Toven"
Reneé Rapp "Too Well"
"Pretty Girls"
The Warning "More"
"Evolve"

Rankings

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Following the show, performances were ranked by various music and news outlets.

Billboard

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Performance Rank
Shakira – Video Vanguard Award Medley 1
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J, Lil Wayne & Darryl "DMC" McDaniels – medley 2
Peso Pluma – "Lady Gaga" 3
Demi Lovato – medley 4
Anitta – "Used to Be" & "Funk Rave" 5
Stray Kids – "S-Class” 6
Doja Cat – medley 7
Karol G – "Oki Doki" & "Ta OK" 8
Olivia Rodrigo – "Vampire" & "Get Him Back!" 9
Metro Boomin, Future, Swae Lee, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and NAV – "Superhero (Heroes and Villains)" & "Calling" 10

USA Today

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Performance Rank
Shakira 1
Demi Lovato 2
Olivia Rodrigo 3
Nicki Minaj 4
Tomorrow X Together and Anitta 5
Kelsea Ballerini 6
Sean 'Diddy' Combs 7
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion 8
Måneskin 9
Karol G 10

Presenters

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The first round of presenters were announced on September 6, 2023. Saweetie hosted the 90-minute pre-show event with co-hosts Nessa, Dometi Pongo, and Kevan Kenney.[21][24] Nicki Minaj was announced as the main show host on September 8, 2023.[3]

Pre-show

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  • Kevan Kenney – presented Push Performance of the Year
  • Saweetie and Dometi Pongo – presented Video for Good

Main show

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Winners and nominees

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The first round of nominees were announced on August 8.[25] The nominees for the Group of the Year, Show of the Summer, Album of the Year, and Song of Summer were announced on September 1.[5] Taylor Swift led the nominations with eleven, followed by SZA with eight nominations, and Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Blackpink, and Olivia Rodrigo each with six nominations.[26][27]

Voted categories

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The winners of the following categories were chosen by fan votes.[28] The first round of voting known as the "General Voting Period" began on August 8 at 12 pm. ET, for the categories which nominees were announced on the same day[29] and concluded on September 1 at 6 pm. ET, except for Best New Artist, which concluded on September 12 at 10 p.m. ET.[30] "Instagram Story Voting" began on September 3 at 11 am. ET and concluded on September 12 at 11 am. ET.[30]

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

Video of the Year
(Presented by Burger King)
Song of the Year
Artist of the Year Best New Artist
Push Performance of The Year Best Collaboration
Best Pop Best Hip Hop
Best R&B Best K-Pop
Best Latin Best Rock
Best Alternative Best Afrobeats
Video for Good Show of the Summer
Group of the Year Song of Summer
(Presented by M&M's)
Album of the Year

Professional categories

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The winners of the following categories were chosen by industry professionals.

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

Best Visual Effects Best Editing
Best Direction Best Art Direction
Best Choreography Best Cinematography

Special awards

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The following awards have special significance and are not necessarily awarded annually.[31] Shakira was announced as the recipient of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award on August 28,[6] becoming the first South American artist to receive the highest honor.[6] Diddy was announced as the recipient of the Global Icon Award on September 2.[b][7]

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
(Presented by Toyota)
Global Icon Award[c]
Shakira[6] Diddy[7]

Voting system

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The official voting system for the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, according to MTV, was as follows:[30]

  • Each voter must be at least 13 years or older to participate in the voting.

General voting period

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  • The first round of voting was known as the "General Voting Period" and included most of the voted categories (15 out of 19 categories).[32]
  • It began on August 8 at 12 pm. ET, and concluded on September 1 at 6 pm. ET, except for Best New Artist, which concluded on September 12 at 10 pm. ET.
  • Each voter can vote up to 10 times per category per day through Vote.MTV.com.
  • Voters should have signed in to their MTV.com Account, as its necessary to limit their votes across devices.[32]

Double Days and Power Hours

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  • There were three "Double Days" with "Power Hours".
    • August 8 from 12 pm. to 11:59 pm. ET
    • August 9 from 12 am. to 11:59 am. ET
    • September 1 from 12 am. to 6 pm. ET
  • During these periods, voting limits were doubled; each voter could vote up to 20 times per category per day.[29]

Instagram Story voting

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  • The second round of voting is known as the "Instagram Story Voting" and includes Group of the Year, Show of the Summer, Album of the Year, and Song of Summer.
  • It was held through MTV's Instagram stories from September 3 at 11 am. ET to September 12 at 11 am. ET.[33]
  • Voters can vote by clicking on their favorite nominees on Instagram polling stickers.

Single-round voting

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  • Show of the Summer was held as "single-round voting" from September 3 at 11 am. ET until September 4 at 11 am. ET.
  • Album of the Year was held as "single-round voting" from September 11 at 11 am. ET until September 12 at 11 am. ET.

Triple-round voting

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  • Group of the Year was held as "triple-round voting" from September 4 at 11 am. ET to September 7 at 11 am. ET.
  • In each round, nominees will proceed to the next round by bracket standings.

Four-round voting

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  • Song of Summer was held as "four-round voting" from September 7 at at 11 am. ET to September 11 at 11 am. ET.
  • In each round, nominees will proceed to the next round by bracket standings.

Ratings

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The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards received 3.9 million viewers across all networks, including 865,000 viewers on MTV, a 37% jump in comparison to the previous year for the flagship network and comparable total network viewers from 2022.[34] The show marked the event's highest MTV rating among the 18–49 demographic since 2019, with a 1.03.[35]

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MTV VMA Fantasy

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To celebrate the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, Meta Fantasy Games launched "MTV VMA Fantasy" on Facebook. It had four rounds of binary question groups. It began on August 31, 2023 and concluded on September 12, 2023.[36][37]

VMA Block Party

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To celebrate the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV hosted a free public event titled the "VMA Block Party" for the first time at Oculus Plaza in Lower Manhattan on September 9, 2023, from 12 p.m. to 4 pm. EDT.[38] MTV stated the event would be held annually for future shows.[39] Alexander Stewart, Amaarae, Jenna Raine, and DJ CherishTheLuv were announced as the performers for the event on September 8, 2023.[38]

References

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Explanatory notes

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  1. ^ Officially referred to as emcee by MTV, Minaj performed typical hosting duties such as introducing presenters and performers.
  2. ^ Even though Diddy was listed as the recipient of Global Icon Award on the MTV website on September 2, a press announcement was not made until September 5.
  3. ^ The Global Icon Award was first awarded in 2021, and it has been annually awarded since.

Citations

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  1. ^ Grein, Paul (August 8, 2023). "Taylor Swift Is Top Nominee for 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (Complete List)". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Grein, Paul (May 23, 2023). "2023 MTV Video Music Awards Are Headed Back to New Jersey". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Grein, Paul (September 8, 2023). "Nicki Minaj to 'Emcee' and Perform at 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "Historical Nielsen Ratings for MTV's 'Video Music Awards' 1994–2009". September 14, 2010. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (September 1, 2023). "Renaissance vs. Eras: Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to duke it out over Show of the Summer at MTV VMAs". EW.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Grein, Paul (August 28, 2023). "Shakira to Receive Video Vanguard Award & Perform at 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "The Complete List of Honorees | MTV VMAs 2023". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Campione, Katie (September 13, 2023). "MTV Scores Highest-Rated VMAs In 3 Years As Taylor Swift Sweeps Top Awards". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Sabrina Carpenter Is Taking the Stage at the 2023 MTV VMAs Pre-Show". Cosmopolitan. September 6, 2023. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  10. ^ Garcia, Thania (August 22, 2023). "MTV Video Music Awards Reveal First Round of 2023 Performers". Variety. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Blistein, Jon (August 22, 2023). "Demi Lovato, Karol G Tapped for 2023 MTV VMA Performances". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Grein, Paul (August 31, 2023). "Doja Cat, Lil Wayne, Anitta & More Added as Performers for 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  13. ^ Garcia, Thania (August 31, 2023). "Doja Cat, Anitta, Lil Wayne and More Added to Performers Lineup for 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  14. ^ "Exclusive: Olivia Rodrigo Is Returning to the VMAs Stage". Harper's BAZAAR. September 7, 2023. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  15. ^ Grein, Paul (September 8, 2023). "Nicki Minaj to 'Emcee' and Perform at 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  16. ^ Grein, Paul (September 8, 2023). "Fall Out Boy, Peso Pluma, Metro Boomin Set to Perform at 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  17. ^ Grein, Paul (September 9, 2023). "Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion Set to Perform at 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  18. ^ Grein, Paul (September 11, 2023). "LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash & More to Appear in Big VMAs Finale — a 50th Anniversary Salute to Hip-Hop". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 12, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  19. ^ Nicki Minaj – "Last Time I Saw You"/"Big Difference" – MTV VMAs 2023 | VMA, September 13, 2023, archived from the original on September 13, 2023, retrieved September 13, 2023
  20. ^ "Surprised with this Collab in VMAs? ☆⌒(*^-°)✌️ @anitta". www.instagram.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Grein, Paul (September 6, 2023). "Here Are All the Performers & Presenters for the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (Updating)". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  22. ^ Lynch, Joe (September 13, 2023). "2023 VMAs Performances Ranked From Worst to Best". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  23. ^ "Brutally honest reviews of every VMAs performance, including Shakira, Maneskin and Demi Lovato". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  24. ^ Bell, Sadie (September 6, 2023). "Emily Ratajkowski, Ice Spice, Sabrina Carpenter and More to Present at the 2023 MTV VMAs". People. Archived from the original on September 12, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  25. ^ Corcoran, Nina (August 8, 2023). "MTV VMAs 2023 Nominees Announced: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  26. ^ Blistein, Jon (August 8, 2023). "Taylor Swift, SZA, Doja Cat Lead 2023 MTV VMA Nominations". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  27. ^ Mier, Tomás (September 1, 2023). "Beyoncé vs. Taylor Swift at the VMAs: Queens Lead in Social-Voted Categories". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  28. ^ MTV. "Vote Now – Nominees for 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  29. ^ a b MTV. "Vote Now – Nominees for 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  30. ^ a b c MTV. "The Official Voting Rules" (PDF). 2023 MTV Video Music Awards Voting. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023 – via mtv.com.
  31. ^ "The Complete List of Honorees | MTV VMAs 2023". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  32. ^ a b MTV. "Vote Now – Nominees for 2023 MTV Video Music Awards". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  33. ^ "MTV (@mtv) on Instagram". Instagram. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  34. ^ Hailu, Selome (September 13, 2023). "2023 MTV VMAs Bring in 3.9 Million Viewers, Equal to Year Before". Variety. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  35. ^ Campione, Katie (September 13, 2023). "MTV Scores Highest-Rated VMAs In 3 Years As Taylor Swift Sweeps Top Awards". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  36. ^ MTV Video Music Awards. "VMAs on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  37. ^ Fantasy Games. "MTV VMA Fantasy 2023 – Participate now". Facebook. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  38. ^ a b Davenport, Emily (September 6, 2023). "MTV to host VMA block party this weekend in Lower Manhattan | amNewYork". www.amny.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  39. ^ "MTV VMAs Block Party". NYCPlugged. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
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