The much-anticipated 2019 VMAs rocked MTV last night with 17 incredible performances and 24 Moonman trophies awarded to our favorite artists, it was a must-see event. Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande rocked the awards with twelve nominations each. Taylor Swift opened the show with not one, but two performances of songs from her new album Lover, “You Need to Calm Down” and the album’s title track “Lover”.

Check out the complete list of winners!

VIDEO VANGUARD

Missy Elliott

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

21 Savage ft. J. Cole –  “a lot”
Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” — WINNER

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Cardi B
Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande — WINNER
Halsey
Jonas Brothers
Shawn Mendes

SONG OF THE YEAR

Drake – “In My Feelings”
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” — WINNER
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”

BEST NEW ARTIST

Ava Max
Billie Eilish — WINNER
H.E.R.
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
ROSALÍA

BEST COLLABORATION

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow”
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” — WINNER
Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!”
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care”
BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv”

PUSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Bazzi
CNCO
Billie Eilish — WINNER
H.E.R.
Lauv
Lizzo

BEST POP

5 Seconds of Summer – “Easier”
Cardi B & Bruno Mars – “Please Me”
Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”
Khalid – “Talk”
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker” — WINNER
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”

BEST HIP HOP

2 Chainz ft. Ariana Grande – “Rule the World”
21 Savage ft. J. Cole –  “a lot”
Cardi B – “Money” — WINNER
DJ Khaled ft. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend – “Higher”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”
Travis Scott ft. Drake – “SICKO MODE”

BEST R&B

Anderson .Paak ft. Smokey Robinson – “Make It Better”
Childish Gambino – “Feels Like Summer”
H.E.R. ft. Bryson Tiller – “Could’ve Been”
Alicia Keys – “Raise A Man”
Ella Mai – “Trip”
Normani ft. 6lack – “Waves” — WINNER

BEST K-POP

BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv” — WINNER
BLACKPINK – “Kill This Love”
Monsta X ft. French Montana – “Who Do You Love”
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Cat & Dog”
NCT 127 – “Regular”
EXO – “Tempo”

BEST LATIN

Anuel AA, Karol G – “Secreto”
Bad Bunny ft. Drake – “MIA”
benny blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, J Balvin – “I Can’t Get Enough”
Daddy Yankee ft. Snow – “Con Calma”
Maluma – “Mala Mía”
ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – “Con Altura” — WINNER

BEST DANCE

The Chainsmokers ft. Bebe Rexha – “Call You Mine” — WINNER
Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato – “Solo”
DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B – “Taki Taki”
David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin – “Say My Name”
Marshmello & Bastille – “Happier”
Silk City & Dua Lipa – “Electricity”

BEST ROCK

The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It”
Fall Out Boy – “Bishops Knife Trick”
Imagine Dragons – “Natural”
Lenny Kravitz – “Low”
Panic! At The Disco – “High Hopes” — WINNER
twenty one pilots – “My Blood”

VIDEO FOR GOOD

Halsey – “Nightmare”
The Killers – “Land of the Free”
Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey ft. Gallant – “Runaway Train”
John Legend – “Preach”
Lil Dicky – “Earth”
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” — WINNER

BEST DIRECTION

Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy” – Directed by Dave Meyers
FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang
Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” Directed by Hannah Lux Davis
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Directed by Calmatic​ — WINNER
LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Directed by Dano Cerny​
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Directed by Drew Kirsch & Taylor Swift

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Billie Eilish – “when the party’s over” – Visual Effects by Ryan Ross, Andres Jaramillo
FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Visual Effects by Matt Chandler, Fabio Zaveti for Analog
Ariana Grande – “God is a Woman” – Visual Effects by Fabrice Lagayette, Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic
DJ Khaled ft. SZA – “Just Us” – Visual Effects by Sergii Mashevskyi​
LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Visual Effects by Ethan Chancer​
Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX​ — WINNER

BEST EDITING

Anderson .Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Tints” – Editing by Elias Talbot
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Editing by Calmatic​
Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy” – Editing by Billie Eilish — WINNER
Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Editing by Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh
Solange – “Almeda” – Editing by Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Editing by Jarrett Fijal​

BEST ART DIRECTION

BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Art Direction by JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E)
Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Art Direction by John Richoux​ — WINNER
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Art Direction by Itaru Dela Vegas
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter​
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Art Direction by Brittany Porter
Kanye West and Lil’ Pump ft. Adele Givens – “I Love It” – Art Direction by Tino Schaedler​

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Choreography by Kelly Yvonne
ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – “Con Altura” – Choreography by Charm La’Donna​ — WINNER
LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Choreography by Ryan Heffington​
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Choreography by Calvit Hodge, Sara Biv
Solange – “Almeda” – Choreography by Maya Taylor, Solange Knowles
BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Choreography by Rie Hata​

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Anderson .Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Tints” – Cinematography by Elias Talbot
Billie Eilish – “hostage” – Cinematography by Pau Castejon
Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” – Cinematography by Christopher Probst​
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham — WINNER
Solange – “Almeda” – Cinematography by Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton
Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Cinematography by Starr Whitesides

BEST GROUP NOMINEES

5 Seconds of Summer
Backstreet Boys
BLACKPINK
BTS — WINNER
CNCO
Jonas Brothers
PRETTYMUCH
Why Don’t We

BEST POWER ANTHEMS

Ariana Grande – “7 Rings”
DJ Khaled, ft. Cardi B & 21 Savage – “Wish Wish”
Halsey – “Nightmare”
Lizzo ft. Missy Elliott – “Tempo”
Maren Morris – “GIRL”
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter”
Taylor Swift – “You Need To Calm Down”
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign “Hot Girl Summer” — WINNER

SONG OF SUMMER

Ariana Grande & Social House – “boyfriend” — WINNER
Billie Eilish – “bad guy”
DaBaby – “Suge”
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care”
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”
Khalid – “Talk”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”
Lil Tecca – “Ransom”
Lizzo – “Truth Hurts”
Miley Cyrus- “Mother’s Daughter”
Post Malone ft. Young Thug – “Goodbyes”
ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – “Con Altura”
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita”
Taylor Swift – “You Need To Calm Down”
The Chainsmokers & Bebe Rexha – “Call You Mine”
Young Thug ft. J. Cole & Travis Scott – “The London”

Previous articleSYTYCD Recap: A Dance Trip Around the World
Next articleFall Into These September Must-Reads
Veronica Good has been with Showstopper Magazine since 2016. When she isn't keeping you updated on the latest trends, she is at home with her many pets or probably playing The Sims 4. Veronica has a BA in English and an MA in writing from Coastal Carolina University. She is also a writer of fiction and poetry, and her work can be found in Archarios, Tempo, and Scapegoat.