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.
The Good
Latinas Win Big
2023 has been a great year for Latin women in music, with Karol G casually breaking records whilst on her first-ever stadium tour, and Shakira’s deliciously victorious return, earning her a string of records including her first-ever Top 10 debut in over three decades in music thanks to a heartfelt, belt-worthy session with Bizarrap. The performance-to-award-giving ratio was oddly imbalanced at the VMAs ‘23, but the moments in which Karol and Shakira graced the stage for both were special. Shakira took home one of the most coveted awards of the night that will cement her in history as a Video Vanguard; her run through her catalog—which began with 2009’s “She Wolf” and ended with this year’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”—included something for both her nostalgic day-one follower and newly acquired, younger fan base. Ultimately, both won the Best Collaboration award of the night for “TQG”—a deserved win for Colombia and Latin America. Shoutout to the lobas who came out the mud (the mud, in this case, being toxic relationships). “Ah-ooooo.” —Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo
Sexyy Red's Quest For Food
Sexyy Red has been popping up everywhere lately, most recently running out with the New York Jets for their home opener, and her presence was felt at the Video Music Awards even though she wasn’t performing. Being the woman of the people that she is, Sexyy asked the questions on Twitter that all the viewers at home wanted to know: “So the VMAs ain’t got no food fr?” We would all quickly find out they do not. The rapper then chronicled her attempt to get some in the door. “They ain’t let my Uber eats in man,” Sexyy Red tweeted with dismay after images started rolling in of her looking bored at the show. Unfortunately, the rap superstar wasn’t able to satisfy her hunger by the end of the show, but her live-tweeting of the journey was better than some of the performances. —Jordan Rose
Doja Cat's popurrí
Despite some technical issues in both audio and camera pans, Doja Cat shone during her raw performance last night. With thoughtful use of the expansive space, and choreography carried by her blood-mimicking paint-bathed dancers that called back to her latest video release, the rapper had all eyes on her as she proved that her bars hit just as hard live. The energy in the room, and with viewers at home, was focused and loud, leaving us all the more expectant for the release of Scarlet next Friday and her tour alongside Ice Spice, who introduced her. —Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo
The Bad
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
The Questionable
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
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