The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards astonished millions of viewers excited to see their favorite artist’s outfits, awards, and performances. Occurring in UBS Arena in the one and only New York-the state of dreams-on September 11th, artists first went to the red carpet event to give their fans an opportunity to see up close what they will be wearing. Sabrina Carpenter’s dress, being based off of Marilyn Monroe and also recognized by Madonna, is one of many phenomenal moments fans will never forget. Her rise to popularity is very clearly expressed in her confidence on and off the red carpet. One of Sabrina’s many friends, Taylor Swift, closed out the event with her amazing outfit. Expecting no less, she wore a black and yellow plaid gown custom-made by Dior. She then changed into a shorter dress inspired by her song “Down Bad” from her new album The Tortured Poets Department. Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter definitely became one of many stars with their grand entrances in their astonishing dresses.
Towards the middle of the event, the awards were announced. Taylor Swift won “Video of the Year” and Chappell Roan winning “New Artist” was one of the most surprising turns of events. Given that Taylor has now won thirty VMA awards, setting the most number of VMA awards won by any artist, it is evident that her fans’ devotion have reflected on the results. While, there were other rising to fame artists that could’ve won, however, Chappell’s strive to success has influenced her popularity and fame. However, Sabrina Carpenter’s win on her song “Espresso” was unmatched and SZA’s rightful win in the R&B category for her song “Snooze” did not go unheard. Last but not least, Dua Lipa’s choreography in her music video—“Houdini”—was thrilling to watch and deserved the award of “Best Choreography”.
The night included several captivating and exciting performances from rising artists and fan favorites such as Chappell Roan, Eminem, Halsey, LE SSERAFIM, Sabrina Carpenter, Camilla Cabello, and so many more. Chappell Roan has received massive recognition for her performance of her hit song “Good Luck Babe” dressed as Joan of Arc.
Lenny Kravitz also gave an energetic performance of his songs “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” “Human,” and “Fly.” The lively rock performance received much positive feedback from fans and viewers.’
We also can’t forget Sabrina Carpenter’s performance of “Please Please Please,” “Taste,” and “Espresso”, which were fan favorites. After descending to the stage, she gave a glittering performance for all the fans and viewers. However, the performance did receive some confusion over the acting with an alien (???). Regardless, Carpenter gave an iconic and memorable show.
The performances were definitely one of the most memorable aspects of the night, engaging and captivating audiences everywhere. If you haven’t yet, watch all of Variety Music Awards performances on Youtube or other social media platforms to see some of the amazing performers we didn’t cover and see your faves!
The VMA Awards Show was amazing but not appealing to everyone, considering the fact that the awards event was not similar to last year’s. The VMA Awards Show in 2023 was more enticing and they announced relatively the same amount of awards with performances. We interviewed a fellow Isidore Newman Student their opinion and their rating on the music awards from 2024: “I would rate it a 6. I liked the performances, but I didn’t like how they only announced like 4 awards. If it’s an award show, where are the awards?”- Julia Rai ’26. This student’s opinion is valid considering the fact there were more performances broadcasted than the awards people cared to see. Even though the viewers were not able to love the event to the fullest effect, they were able to watch the live performances with their favorite artists.
