Looking back at the award show’s highlights and lowlights ahead of Sunday’s broadcast, on (gasp!) CBS.
The MTV Video Music Awards were once the premier playground for pop culture superstars of their respective eras: think Madonna in the ’80s and ’90s, Britney Spears in the ’90s and ’00s, and Kanye West in the ’00s and ’10s.
But its impact has diminished just as MTV’s has, and much like the network that birthed it, the VMAs are currently struggling to find their place in the culture.
Sunday night’s VMAs are set to air, for the first time, on CBS. (They will also be broadcast on MTV, which will take a few hours off from airing «Ridiculousness» to mark the occasion.) While it marks a new era for the show, its days as the most outrageous, unpredictable awards show on television are well in its past.
These days, the VMAs are lucky to make a ripple in the pop culture landscape. But once was a time the show was the very epicenter of the pop universe, creating moments that made (and folded) careers. If you weren’t watching, you were missing out on what was happening. It was TikTok, Instagram and X all rolled into one, and everyone was tuned in live to see what would happen next.
You never know, maybe we’ll get another big moment on Sunday night’s show. But in the meantime, here’s a look back at 25 earthshaking moments from the show’s history, from the triumphs to the tragedies, highlights to lowlights, which, either way, got people talking.
25. Nicki Minaj trades words with Miley Cyrus (2015)
The backstory is Miley Cyrus, who was hosting the 2015 VMAs, had made some comments to the New York Times about Nicki Minaj’s reaction to not being nominated for Video of the Year for her clip for «Anaconda.» So while winning an award that evening, Minaj called out Cyrus, using some choice words (including one that starts with the letter «B») to describe her and asking, «Miley, what’s good?» Cyrus quickly fired back and quelled the situation, but it was a reminder that on the VMAs stage, anything can happen at any time.
24. Kelly Clarkson soaks under a waterfall (2005)
She was already America’s «Idol» by the time Kelly Clarkson hit the stage at the VMAs in 2005. But for this performance of «Since U Been Gone,» Clarkson was in full rock queen mode, belting the song’s lyrics, jumping in place, and then getting soaked underneath an indoor waterfall during the song’s climax, like she was singing in the shower. It was pure pizazz, and proof Clarkson was in it for the long haul.
23. Lady Gaga puts on a bloody good show (2009)
For her debut live performance at the VMAs, Lady Gaga amped up the theatricality, starting her performance by lying on the stage and turning in a ferocious performance of «Paparazzi» that saw her doing a piano solo, dancing with a crutch and making monster faces throughout. By the end she was covered in (fake) blood and swinging in the air above the stage, a sign that this newbie pop star was ready to hang with the best of ‘em on one of the industry’s biggest stages.
22. Michael Jackson accepts a non-existent award (2002)
«When I was a little boy in Indiana, if someone had told me that one day I would be getting the Artist of the Millennium Award, I wouldn’t have believed it,» Michael Jackson said during the 2002 telecast. Well, there was no such award, so there was reason not to believe. Britney Spears presented Jackson with a birthday cake, because it was his birthday — his 44th — and she mentioned she considered him to be the artist of the millennium. But as far as there being an actual award, it was all a misunderstanding, apparently, because no such award existed, and certainly wouldn’t have been given out in 2002. But the moment did allow the King of Pop to thank the Godfather of Soul James Brown, who was in the room, one icon acknowledging another while they were both still around to receive it.
21. Eminem takes on Triumph (2002)
By 2002, Eminem was beefing with so many people that even he found it hard to keep up, and he shut down Triumph the Insult Comic Dog during an attempted ambush at that year’s VMAs. The puppet, powered by the wit of comedian Robert Smigel, had just finished questioning Eminem’s rival at the time, Moby, and Em wanted nothing to do with Triumph’s shenanigans and quickly shut down an interaction with the cigar-chomping mutt. Perhaps later realizing the ridiculousness of the incident, Eminem would go on to lampoon the moment and even rap as Triumph in his 2004 single «Ass Like That.»
20. Lil Mama invites herself to the stage (2009)
Displaying previously unimaginable levels of Main Character Energy, New York rapper Niatia «Lil Mama» Kirkland decided at the 2009 VMAs that it was her time to join superstar performers Jay-Z and Alicia Keys on stage during their performance of their joint smash «Empire State of Mind» which, it should be noted, does not feature Lil Mama in any way, shape or form. But she jumped up on stage — footage of the moment shows Beyoncé valiantly trying to stop her — and posed with the two New York icons, arms folded, at the close of the song. In her state of mind, and perhaps only there, that’s where she felt she belonged.
19. Kanye debuts ‘Runaway’ (2010)
Kanye West was seeking redemption at the VMAs by the time the 2010 show rolled around — yeah, we’ll get to why in a bit — but for this performance, which kicked off his «My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy» era, Kanye turned in a visually stunning performance, dressed in all red against a blinding white background, as he was joined by a trio of ballerinas and a flossy Pusha T, who hit the stage in a salmon colored sport coat. Kanye, live sampling on his Akai MPC sampler and signing through heavily autotuned vocals, is somehow both bulletproof and vulnerable, and the performance is both grand in its presentation and gorgeous in its simplicity. In a career stacked with showstopping televised performances, this is Kanye’s peak moment.
18. Diana Ross fondles Lil Kim (1999)
Diana Ross, as fabulous as ever at 55, hit the stage where Mary J. Blige and a half-topless Lil Kim were waiting to greet her. She gave Blige a huge hug and then gave Lil Kim’s exposed left breast a tap and a jiggle, and then asked her two fellow presenters if they were up for getting the Supremes back together. It made for a Supremely entertaining moment, and Lil Kim was clearly taken aback, mouthing «oh my gosh!» and laughing throughout the rest of the segment.
17. Nirvana asks, ‘where’s Axl?’ (1992)
Tensions were running high between various rock camps in the early ’90s. The new guard was on its way in, the old guard was on its way out, and those two communities were best represented by Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses. At the close of their blistering performance of «Lithium» which found the band members trashing their instruments, Nirvana’s Dave Grohl took to the mic to taunt GNR frontman Axl Rose. «Hi Axl! Hi Axl! Where’s Axl. Hi Axl! Hi Axl!» he repeated into the microphone. Members of the two bands had nearly come to blows backstage earlier in the night, representative of the culture shift that was playing out live on the battlefield, in real time, before our eyes.
16. Pearl Jam, Neil Young bridge generation gap (1993)
Anyone younger than 15 might not have known who the old man plugging in with Pearl Jam was at the 1993 VMAs, but they certainly knew after. That was «Godfather of Grunge» Neil Young, all of 47 at the time, giving his co-sign to young whipper snappers Pearl Jam, as the pair rocked out together on Young’s 1989 anthem, «Rockin’ in the Free World.» It was proof of unity and shared ideals between generations in the rock community. And it was heavy, loud and awesome.
15. Fiona Apple drops a bomb (1997)
Fiona Apple kept it real, maybe too real, when she accepted the award for Best New Artist in a Video for her clip for «Sleep to Dream» at the 1997 show. «Aww, man,» she said at the beginning of her speech, as if she knew she was about to go off script but was unable to stop herself. She went on to criticize the entire nature of celebrity, calling the ecosystem of the awards show «bulls—-,» and telling viewers, «you shouldn’t model your life about what you think that we think is cool and what we’re wearing and what we’re saying and everything,» she said. «Go with yourself, go with yourself.» It was the beginning of an uncompromising career that has yet to bend to anyone’s will but her own.
14. Miley Cyrus twerks on Robin Thicke (2013)
Miley Cyrus was the bad girl pop diva of the moment, a 20-year-old former Disney star playing in the sandbox of hip-hop, when she hit the stage at the 2013 VMAs to perform her party anthem «We Can’t Stop» in a skimpy body suit surrounded by dancing teddy bears. She stripped that off to get into an even skimpier two-piece number when 36-year-old Robin Thicke, dressed like Beetlejuice in a black and white striped suit, hit the stage to perform «Blurred Lines,» a song that even at the time was being questioned for its fuzzy relationship with the concept of consent. It all added up to a firestorm of controversy when Cyrus bent over and twerked in front of Thicke, a bit that pushed boundaries of good taste and would have melted TikTok had it been around at the time. The takes, and the subsequent fallout, would have been that hot.
13. Elton John joins Guns N’ Roses (1992)
The question of where Axl was was answered when he emerged from below the stage as Guns N’ Roses closed the 1992 show, performing «November Rain» with a string section, backup singers and Elton John, who joined Axl on an adjacent piano. Host Dana Carvey introduced the performance as «the biggest production in the history of the Video Music Awards,» and it was as big and bloated as you’d expect from GNR at that time. It was also the last gasp of prime-era GNR; when the band made a surprise appearance to close the show in 2002, it was a completely different animal indeed.
12. Madonna goes full costume drama with ‘Vogue’ (1990)
It was a period piece when Madonna performed «Vogue» at the 1990 show, with her and her dancers dressed in full «Dangerous Liasons»-style digs, with choreographed fan flips to match. Madonna was the undisputed queen of MTV at the time, and it wasn’t because she was handed the mantle; it was because she earned it by outworking all her peers, and this elaborately staged performance is a perfect example of how she did it.
11. Bon Jovi unplugs (1989)
For their appearance at the 1989 show, Bon Jovi’s Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora left the fireworks at home and chose to present a stripped-down performance, sitting on a pair of stools and performing their hits «Livin’ on a Prayer» and «Wanted Dead or Alive» acoustically. It was a novel idea at the time, and it went over so well that MTV adapted a whole new format around the idea of big artists doing away with the theatrics and getting down to basics, thus birthing «MTV Unplugged.» And you can thank Bon Jovi for that.
10. Britney flops (2007)
Britney Spears had turned in a number of showstopping performances on the VMAs by the time 2007 rolled around, but you could tell something was different the moment she opened that year’s show with «Gimme More.» Her eyes were glazed over, her choreography — usually so striking and exacting — was lazy, and something was generally just off with the Princess of Pop. She treated the whole thing like it was a dress rehearsal, and reaction was brutal. («Oh, the Horror!» was the headline in Entertainment Weekly, when this performance made the next issue’s cover.) She was able to find some redemption the following year, winning three trophies at the 2008 show, but this performance marked the end of her VMAs dominance.
9. Beyoncé shows off her baby bump (2011)
Following her performance of «Love on Top,» Beyoncé unbuttoned her jacket and placed her hand on her belly in the style of an expectant mother. That was how she announced her pregnancy with her first child, and cameras quickly cut to a reaction shot from proud papa Jay-Z, who was congratulated by his bestie at the time, Kanye West. It was a moment of pure happiness and joy, and it marked a peak for Twitter, with users logging a reported 8,868 tweets per second, marking a record at the time for «most tweets per second recorded for a single event.»
8. Prince moons the crowd (1991)
During a very randy performance of «Gett Off» which featured flames, simulated sex and a ritual-like setting, Prince, dressed in all yellow, flipped himself around to the crowd to reveal a cutout area in the material where his backside showed through. It was the kind of thing that only Prince would attempt, and only Prince could get away with.
7. An old friend returns (1991)
At the 1991 show, beloved comedian and children’s TV host Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, made his first public appearance following his arrest at a Florida porn theater earlier that summer. He was a surprise opener to the show, introduced as «someone who has been a friend for a long time,» and he received a warm ovation, which he took several seconds to soak in before asking the crowd, «Heard any good jokes lately?» nodding to his ubiquity as a punchline in the press at the time. It was an expertly played comeback, and the Video Music Awards was the perfect place to do it.
6. Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley kiss (1994)
Love, or something approximating the feeling, was in the air when Michael Jackson opened the 1994 show alongside his bride, Lisa Marie Presley. The pair, who had been married less than four months earlier, came out holding hands and welcomed people to the show, before Jackson joked, «and just think, nobody thought this would last,» before the two awkwardly kissed, embraced and walked off the stage together. The kiss became instant VMA history, its legacy lasting longer than the couple’s marriage; they were divorced less than a year and a half later.
5. Britney goes ‘from Mickey Mouse Club to the strip club’ (2000)
That fire that was missing from Britney Spears’ VMAs performance in 2007? It’s all here in her 2000 performance of «(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction» and a rock-infused «Oops!… I Did It Again,» in which she performs like she’s on a mission, stripping off a suit to reveal a sparkly, nude-colored top and pants combo underneath. Afterward, Marlon Wayans remarked she’d gone «from the Mickey Mouse Club to the strip club»; a year later, she would return to the VMAs stage with another knockout performance, doing «I’m a Slave 4 U» with a live snake.
4. Eminem unleashes his Stan army (2000)
Eminem started his performance at the 2000 VMAs in the street outside New York’s Radio City Music Hall, where he had an army of Slim Shady lookalikes — jeans, white T-shirt, bleached blonde hair — lined up behind him. He then entered the theater, his Stans behind him, as he performed «The Real Slim Shady» surrounded by impostors. It made for a striking visual and showed how naturally Eminem fit into MTV’s ecosystem.
3. Madonna rolls around on stage (1984)
What else happened the first year of the VMAs? It didn’t matter. Madonna appeared on top of a wedding cake in a bridal gown and ended up rolling around on the stage while a stunned audience looked on. The on-stage marriage might as well have been between her and MTV, because after that, the two were linked for life. Did Madonna make the VMAs, or did the VMAs make Madonna? It didn’t matter; both were here to stay, and it made for a long, happy relationship.
2. Britney and Madonna smooch (2003)
Everyone forgets that Madonna kissed Christina Aguilera, too. But that didn’t matter, because the Madonna and Britney smooch broke the internet, before there was much of an internet to break. It broke the media, this generational passing of the torch moment, which came after Britney (and Christina) recreated Madonna’s performance of «Live a Virgin» at the 1984 VMAs. Madonna then emerged and laid one on Britney, as Justin Timberlake’s reaction shot practically invented prioritizing crowd reaction shots over what was happening on stage. And the rest — including Missy Elliott’s performance, which also got lost in the sauce — is VMA and pop culture history.
1. «I’ma let you finish…» (2009)
… but Kanye West and Taylor Swift had the biggest VMAs moment of all time! Here’s the scene: 19-year-old Taylor Swift wins her first VMA. Kanye West, known for interrupting other people’s speeches at awards shows, takes the mic from her and says, in as many words, Beyoncé should have won instead. And those erupt a pop culture firestorm that we’re still feeling the fallout from more than 15 years later. Taylor and Kanye would make up and then break up again. She would ask to be excluded from the narrative. «Reputations» were set, snake emojis were deployed, and on and on and on. It was a seismic moment in the careers of both artists and it showed the power of the VMAs and its ability to bring people together, both for better and for worse.
agraham@detroitnews.com
2025 MTV Video Music Awards
Hosted by LL Cool J
With performances by Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Jelly Roll, Tate McRae and more
8 p.m. Sunday
CBS
