Taylor Swift could make history at 2024 VMAs: how to watch the singer
By Bryan West, USA TODAY NETWORK,
2024-09-09
Taylor Swift leads the pack with 12 nominations for MTV's Video Music Awards. If she wins big, the "Fortnight" singer with 23 total wins could pass Beyoncé's solo-artist record of 25 wins. Swift may also become the first artist to win the video of the year category five times.
Although Swift is not slated to perform at the awards show, she is expected to attend the New York City event on Sept. 11.
VMAs Most Iconic Performance: "You Belong With Me"
Video of the year: "Fortnight"
Artist of the year
Song of the year: "Fortnight"
Best collaboration: "Fortnight"
Best pop
Best direction: "Fortnight"
Best cinematography: "Fortnight"
Best visual effects: "Fortnight"
Best art direction: "Fortnight"
Best editing: "Fortnight"
Taylor Swift accepts the best direction award for "Anti-Hero" at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12, 2023. Mike Coppola, Getty Images for MTV
VMAs history: awards and music performances
Taylor Swift has a lengthy history with the VMAs extending back to 2008 when she was nominated for "Our Song." The country singer won her first moon man for the "You Belong With Me" music video in 2009. She's collected hardware for her music videos for "I Knew You Were Trouble," "Blank Space," "Bad Blood (ft. Kendrick Lamar)," "I Don't Wanna Live Forever (ft. Zayn)," "You Need to Calm Down," "ME! (ft. Brendon Urie)," "All Too Well: The Short Film" and "Anti-Hero."
Swift's first win came with a maelstrom of controversy, when Kanye West interrupted her speech telling the crowd , "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!" After the West interruption, Swift performed "You Belong With Me" in front of Radio City Music Hall.
In 2010, she sang "Innocent," a song she revealed in New York Magazine that she wrote to West. Two years later in a red and white top, she sang, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." In 2014, she shimmied to "Shake It Off," joking when her dancers encouraged her to jump off a second-story "1989" platform, "I don’t care if it’s the VMAs, I’m not jumping off there. People are getting bit by snakes; it’s dangerous." The next year, Swift joined Nikki Minaj on stage for a mashup of "The Night Is Still Young" with "Bad Blood." Her performance served as a harbinger to the dissolution of bad blood between her and West as she presented the rapper with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
The next year Swift was canceled by West and his then-wife Kim Kardashian. He released his song "Famous," which included the line, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that b**** famous." Swift denied approving the lyrics, and Kardashian released a series of videos on Snapchat that made it seem like Swift was lying. Years later it came out that the videos were edited and Swift was telling the truth.
In 2017, Swift premiered her music video riddled with Easter eggs for "Look What You Made Me Do" at the show. Two years later, she returned to the stage singing "You Need to Calm Down" and "Lover."
In 2022, to celebrate 13 years since her first win, Swift announced the release of "Midnights." The singer stunned in a strappy, bejeweled gown designed by Oscar de la Renta.
Last year , she lit up the red carpet in a black Versace gown with gold buttons and a thigh-high slit. The broadcast cut multiple times to the singer having a good time dancing with her friend and "Karma" collaborator Ice Spice. NSYNC reunited to honor the "Anti-Hero" star with an award for best pop video.
Where to watch the 2024 VMAs
MTV will air the VMAs live at 8 p.m. ET. Housed under the Paramount Network, the show will also air on BET, BET Her, CMT, CC, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Pop, TV Land and VH1. To commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, MTV will donate profits to 9/11 Day and Tuesday’s Children.
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