VMAs 2023: The Good, The Bad & The Questionable

From its inception in 1984, MTV’s VMAs have been a cultural fixture, honoring visual storytelling in music. Last night, its 38th iteration took place in New Jersey’s Prudential Center, where artists graced the pink carpet and foodless arena with ‘fits and energy that were meant to garner some more infamous or memorable moments. 

This year, the classic awards show was primed for success or, at the very least, an exciting night in music to close the summer. Right? Nicki Minaj was set to host, a slew of exciting talent from home and overseas was tapped to perform, and a tribute to the beloved genre of hip-hop on its 50th birthday was supposed to knock us off our feet. Surely it’d be a win? Below, a few members of the Complex Music team reflect on whether they succeeded at creating a memorable night and the overall takeaways of the evening—from the good to the bad and everything in between.

Nicki Minaj barely hosted

Earlier this month, ahead of the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards’ debut, Nicki Minaj was announced as the show’s host, following in the footsteps of previous hosts like Miley Cyrus, Russell Brand, Chelsea Handler, and many more. Fans (especially Barbz) were intrigued by the announcement, wondering what kind of theatrics Minaj would bring to MTV's biggest night. Unfortunately, Minaj didn’t bring anything exciting to her hosting gig; she barely brought herself. The rapper did open the show, welcoming celebrities and guests. She gave a brief speech in the beginning in which she stated, “MTV was petrified because they got a few calls yesterday asking, ‘What if Nicki says this or that?’ And I said, ‘It’s okay, MTV. I can control myself.’” And she really did. After reciting her opening monologue, Nicki Minaj basically disappeared, abandoning her hosting gig. Hours went by, awards were given out, and other celebrities presented before Nicki Minaj appeared onstage again. Her next appearance came halfway through the show, when she performed singles from her forthcoming album. At one point, Minaj made an outfit change and was seen sitting in the audience. She also closed out the show with a mini speech, but it’s hard to call what happened last night a hosting gig. Was she silent or silenced [Oprah voice]? Who knows? —Jessica McKinney

The length of the show

This year, the VMAs had performers do their sets back to back, like Lil Wayne’s opening performance bleeding directly into Olivia Rodrigo’s without a separate intro in between. This would continue for the rest of the night, and though one would think this would streamline the show, the program still went for nearly three hours, wrapping at midnight Eastern time. That makes no sense, especially given the lack of skits and extra content that the show had since its host, Nicki Minaj, didn’t really have a chance to do anything. Awards shows have often been plagued by long runtimes, but this year's VMAs felt like they were trying to do too much with all the performances they had lined up, and too many fell flat to warrant such a long Tuesday night. —Jordan Rose

What happened to the drama at awards shows?

Unlike other awards shows like the Grammys or Golden Globes, the Video Music Awards are known to be a night filled with drama and chaos. In fact, MTV has leaned into this reputation for years. In 2003, Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera shared a three-way kiss. In 2009, Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech in favor of Beyoncé. In 2013, Miley Cyrus made headlines for humping a foam finger. The list goes on. This year was completely drama-free, and it wasn’t a good thing. There were no interruptions, no fights (some people thought Megan Thee Stallion and Justin Timberlake got into an argument, but that was quickly debunked), not so much as a simple dress malfunction. Nicki Minaj didn’t even say anything messy. Nothing happened. The VMAs, without any drama, became just another long night of people (some we know and some we don’t) getting a trophy. —Jessica McKinney

HH50 tribute

Every major music awards show has been trying to incorporate a hip-hop tribute performance to honor the genre’s 50th anniversary this year, and the VMA’s rendition didn’t quite hit the mark. It did have some highs, like Nicki Minaj’s performance of “Itty Bitty Piggy,” and Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, as well as Lil Wayne, getting their flowers on a non-traditional rap platform. However, the transition from Nicki and Wayne to LL Cool J and DMC made no sense. The crowd already looked disoriented with Grandmaster Flash performing, but they were really out of it when LL Cool J rocked the mic with songs that the under-40 crowd definitely did not know. The tribute would have benefitted from having more artists from other generations and better transitions between acts and eras. Shoehorning the tribute at the end of an already long broadcast also hurt it. —Jordan Rose