With 8 awards, Taylor Swift is Artiste of The Year; Shakira bags Video Vanguard Award

Los Angeles, Sep 13 (IANS) The MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) concluded its latest session, with Nicki Minaj hosting the function. One of the function’s biggest highlights, was its primarily women centric wins, in particular with Taylor Swift winning Artist of the Year as she edged out with Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Drake, SZA.

Among all the winners, Taylor Swift ended up taking the top spot as she won eight awards straight in a row, in a new historical win. But Artist of the Year, in particular, was the highlight which Swift won by a very narrow margin, just inching out Beyonce.

Taylor was nominated for 11 awards in total winning eight, followed by SZA with eight; Blackpink, Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Minaj and Rodrigo with six; Kim Petras and Sam Smith (five each), Beyonce, Diddy, Drake, Ice Spice, Karol G, Metro Boomin, Shakira and Tomorrow X Together (four each), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Beyonce, Doja, Karol G, Minaj and Shakira joined Swift as artiste of the year nominees, marking the first time since the category was introduced in 2017 that all artistes of the year nominees are women.

Some of the other musicians who joined the show include: Demi Lovato, Shakira, Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B with Megan Thee Stallion, Diddy, Lil Wayne, Doja Cat and Fall Out Boy, among others, all of whom performed during the ceremony.

Shakira received the Video Vanguard Award, with the night also introducing a brand new category; Best Afrobeats.

The 2023 VMAs aired live from New Jersey’s Prudential Center, with the entirety of the VMA being driven by fan voting.

Other categories include Best Rock performance, won by the Italian rock band Maneskin for their song; ‘The Loneliest’ beating out the likes of Metallica, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.