For the first time, there was an all-female artist of the year category.
There was a surprise performance by *NSYNC who haven’t been onstage together since the 2013 Video Music Awards.
The show closed with a spectacular performance from Grandmaster Flash, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and LL Cool J and other artists celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.
Taylor Swift went into the night with eight nominations – seven for her hit 2022 track “Anti-Hero” – and swept the board. According to MTV, she now has the second-most overall wins for the awards.
For the first time, there was an all-female artist of the year category. There was also a brand new category for best afrobeats this year.
Here’s the full list of winners from this year’s awards.
Artist of the year
With Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, Karol G and Shakira contending for the award’s top artist of the year category in 2023, competition was tough.
This year, Swift triumphed, something of a theme of the night.
Video of the year
Swift was also victorious in the video of the year category, becoming the first artist to win the prize two years in a row.
“This is unbelievable,” the singer said as she accepted the award. “I just want to say that the fact that this is a fan-voted award means so much to me. “
She holds the record for the award having now won four times, previously for “Bad Blood,” “You Need to Calm Down,” and “All Too Well: The Short Film.”
Video Vanguard Award
Shakira became the first South American artist to win the esteemed Video Vanguard Award.
She was honoured with a standing ovation after performing a 10-minute mash-up of her top hits.
Global Icon Award
Sean “Diddy” Combs received the Global Icon Award and also performed a medley of his greatest hits.
All the other awards
Song of the year: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best collaboration: Karol G, Shakira – “TQG”
Best pop: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best hip-hop: Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
Best R&B: SZA – “Shirt”
Best new artist: Ice Spice
Push performance of the year: April 2023: Tomorrow X Together – “Sugar Rush Ride”
Best rock: Måneskin – “The Loneliest”
Best latin: Anitta – “Funk Rave”
Best K-Pop: Stray Kids – “S-Class”
Best Afrobeats: Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Best alternative: Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace”
Video for good: Dove Cameron – “Breakfast”
Best direction: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero.” Directed by Taylor Swift
Best cinematography: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” with cinematography by Rina Yang.
Best visual effects: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” with visual effects by Parliament.
Best choreography: BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom,” Kiel Tutin, Sienna Lalau.
Best art direction: Doja Cat – “Attention” with art direction by Spencer Graves.
Best editing: Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire” edited by Sofia Kerpan and David Checel.
Show of the summer: Taylor Swift
Group of the year: BLACKPINK
Song of the summer: Jung Kook ft. Latto – “Seven”
Album of the year: Taylor Swift – “Midnights”
