Unlike other years, this time, the MTV Video Music Awards was free of controversy and had a dozen of powerful performances. But the star of the show was Beyonce who once again proved that she is the ultimate contemporary rock star. The 34-year-old pop star used the stage to not only showcase her skills but to outshine peers like Rihanna, Britney Spears, etc.
Beyonce walked the carpet with daughter Blue Ivy and mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant and Michael Brown- all have appeared in her latest video.
Beyonce remains the ultimate queen
The pop superstar won ‘Video of the Year‘ for “Formation“, her most outspoken work so far, as well as ‘Best Female Video‘ for “Hold Up“. In total, she won 8 awards and performed five songs from her visual album “Lemonade“.
“Formation” directed by Melina Matsoukas offered solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality. In the video, the officers are depicted with their raised hand as if they are under arrest.
As she accepted the award for “Formation,” she dedicated it to the people of New Orleans. If that was not all the Diva performed on five songs from her latest album “Lemonade” in an epic 16-minute concert at Madison Square Garden. She performed on “Pray You Catch Me“, “Hold Up“, “Sorry,” “Don’t Hurt Yourself” and “Formation” while the audience cheered loudly.
The 34-year-old superstar with her 21 wins in total broke the record of Madonna who has a total of 20 Moonman trophies.
Other superstars who shined at 2016 MTV Awards
Another superstar who shined at the VMAs was Rihanna who opened the first of four performances during the New York show. She performed on hits like “Only Girl“, “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been“. She returned to the Madison Square Garden stage again to belt out tracks like “Work“, “Needed Me“, “Stay“, and “Diamonds“.
After the performance, the Diamonds artist was presented with the prestigious ‘Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award’ by her ex-boyfriend, Drake.
Britney Spears returned to the VMA stage for the first time since 2007 to perform on her new single “Make Me“. She was back in her trademark dance form which was quite a hit with the crowd.
The controversy artist Kanye West took the stage to talk about art and merchants. After giving the speech, he premiered his new music video for “Fade” comprising of dancing, suggested sex and animals.