VMAs 2024 LIVE updates: Taylor Swift seeks to make history as ...

While there have been a million cutaways to the likes of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, Beyonce is nowhere to be seen. Despite her lead single of Cowboy Carter, Texas Hold ’Em, being nominated for song of the year, the reigning queen of the VMAs is sitting this one out.

That won’t be a surprise for diehards of the awards. Beyonce hasn’t been in attendance for years and is very selective about what events she rocks up to these days (and, when she does go, she usually sneaks in after it starts).

But it’s particularly notable this year as Taylor Swift is hot on her heels to take the title of the most-awarded artist in VMAs history. Beyonce has 30 wins and, after snagging best collaboration at the start of the night with Post Malone, Taylor is now on 24.

Could tonight be the night? The producers will probably be grateful Kanye isn’t the house...

Sabrina Carpenter wins Song of the Year for Espresso.

She really is working late, tonight (because she’s a singer). The win marks Carpenter’s first-ever VMA trophy, and she beat out a pretty strong field, including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Kenrick Lamar.

Sabrina Carpenter performing Espresso earlier during the ceremony.Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Carpenter is up for a few more VMAs tonight, but Song of the Year is an excellent way to kick off her Moon trophy collection.

Megan Thee Stallion’s pulling double-duty, pausing her hosting duties to take to the stage to perform her hits Boa, Hiss and Mamushi, backed by a frantic drum circle.

Continuing the evening’s international theme, she brings out Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba on stage to do his verse with all the swagger of a Shibuya-kei stoner. Great stuff, and this guy’s Spotify streams are gonna spike.

“This is a big moment for African music,” declared South African singer Tyla after winning the VMA for Best Afrobeats.

Her hit song Water was a global hit, helping boost her self-titled debut album to the top of the charts. In accepting the award, Tyla shouted at her fellow African nominees while pointing out how far the genre has come recently.

Tyla arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards.Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

“I represent my culture, African music is so much more than people think, Africa to the world, also, please stream my album, Tyla.” Nothing wrong with a bit of self promotion!

Chappell Roan, who arrived at the awards with her own knight and a 600-year-old rug, took the Crusades-y theme of her outfit tonight to the ultimate extreme with a performance that started behind a locked wrought-iron gate and kicked off with her shooting a flaming arrow from a crossbow.

With her typical flair for the dramatic - earlier in the night she yelled at a photographer who told her to shut up – she lent a medieval edge to her smash Good Luck, Babe, playing it like a rom-com fantasy from the Middle Ages.

To call this the most anticipated performance of the night is an understatement – artists including Katy Perry, Camilla Cabello and Tyla all named her as the one to watch during their pre-show interviews.

The only downside is we only got the one song – no Pink Pony Club, no Femininomenon. But, look you won’t forget the day you saw Chappell cosplaying as Joan of Arc.

Did anyone else catch Katy Perry thanking her fiance, Orlando Bloom, for “keeping her grounded” and getting her to “do the dishes”? It’s a real choice. Even if you hadn’t just released a song called Woman’s World and become obsessed with female empowerment.

Perry also used her speech to thank her fans, “the Katy Cats” who have “stood by” her for so long, “bygone spaces” like MySpace and the LGBTIQ community “who I recognise I would not be here without and who show me you can be both kind and a c—”

Orlando Bloom, left, kisses Katy Perry.Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Slyly addressing the horrific response to her new single and upcoming album, Perry also gave some advice to younger performers and said, “One of the biggest reasons I’m standing here right now is that I’ve learned how to block out the noise”.

No explicit shoutout to Dr. Luke though! Probably a good choice.

Curiously, that marks the end of Perry’s medley performance, and there was no room for her latest (and most polarising hit), Woman’s World. In accepting the award (from husband, Orlando Bloom), Perry announced: “I did that all on the first day of my period too, can you believe it?”

Katy Perry accepts the Vanguard Award.Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

See, it is a Woman’s World.

Perry then thanked several people, including her parents, fans, and the LGBTQ community, but there was no love for producer Dr. Luke. She did, however, encourage people to “turn off social media, pause, touch grass, take a moment,” which is presumably all the things she did after Woman’s World came out.

Katy Perry received the 2024 VMA Vanguard Award, which recognises her impressive career (let’s not talk about Woman’s World). Her performance was a capsule of a career spanning more than 20 years and proved a testament to her specific, if limited, style.

Kicking things off with Dark Horse, Perry then spent a fair bit of lime levitating around the stage before segueing into E.T. surrounded by an impressive team of dancers. Perry then called for backup, being joined by Doechii for a sultry rendition of I’m His, He’s Mine.

Personally, I was most excited when she wound the clock back to 2010 for California Gurls, and I think we can all agree this is Peak Perry. Turns out California Gurls really are unforgettable given this song still absolutely slaps 14 years after it was released.

Katy Perry’s epic performance.Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Having given the crowd what they wanted, Perry continued to revisit the hits, cue: Teenage Dream. It’s crazy to remember the stranglehold this song (and album) had on pop culture when it first hit the charts, and if nothing else, it serves as a reminder that Perry is a deserving recipient of this award.

Obviously, no VMA performance is complete without enormous silver butterfly wings which Perry donned for I Kissed A Girl and transitioned seamlessly into Firework.

As much as this song is inspirational etc, I think it is worth pinning for discussion this lyric: Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?

After the highs of Firework, we are back to the lows of Perry’s new stuff with Lifetimes. Can you feel it? sings Perry. No, not really.