The MTV Video Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as VMAs, is an award show presented by MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. The ceremony has often been called the Super Bowl for youth, an acknowledgment of the VMA ceremony's ability to draw millions of youth from teens to 20-somethings each year. By 2001, the VMA had become a coveted award.
The annual VMA ceremony occurs before the end of summer and held either in late August or mid-September, and broadcast live on CBS. The first VMA ceremony was held in 1984 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. The ceremonies are normally held in either New York City or Los Angeles. However, the ceremonies have also been hosted in Miami, Las Vegas, Newark, New Jersey, and more recently, in Elmont, New York, on Long Island.
The statue given to winners is an astronaut on the Moon, one of the earliest representations of MTV, and was colloquially called a "moonman", though it has been called a "moon person" by MTV since the 2017 ceremony. The statue was conceived by Manhattan Design, who were also designers of the original MTV logo, based on the network's debut network identification animation utilizing Apollo 11 mission footage, created by Fred Seibert and produced by Alan Goodman and Buzz Potamkin at Buzzco Associates. The statue is now made by Society Awards, a New York City-based firm. Since the 2006 ceremony, viewers are able to vote for their favorite videos in all general categories.
With 85 nominations, Beyoncé holds the record as the most-nominated artist in VMAs history. She is followed by Madonna with 82, who also shares with Lady Gaga the record for the most nominations in a single ceremony (13), in 2026 and 2010, respectively. Taylor Swift is the most-awarded artist, having won 33 trophies between 2009 and 2026, which includes a record-breaking six Video of the Year wins ("Bad Blood", "You Need to Calm Down", All Too Well: The Short Film, "Anti-Hero", "Fortnight", and "The Fate of Ophelia"). On September 21, 2026, Swift was announced as the inaugural recipient of the Artist Director Honors, recognizing her work in music video direction.
Notable moments 1980s
1984: at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, Madonna performed her hit "Like a Virgin" wearing a combination bustier/wedding gown, including her trademark "Boy Toy" belt. During the performance, she rolled around on the floor, revealing lace stockings and a garter. Cyndi Lauper spoke in "Exorcist-esque gibberish" to explain the VMA rules right before winning the Best Female video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". David Bowie, the Beatles and director Richard Lester were rewarded with the first ever Video Vanguard Awards for their work in pioneering the music video. The Cars' "You Might Think" won the very first video of the year, beating out Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Herbie Hancock's "Rockit".
1987: At the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, Peter Gabriel won ten awards, including the Video Vanguard Award and Video of the Year for his video "Sledgehammer", holding the VMA record for most Moonmen in a single night.
1988: At the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards, Michael Jackson appeared for the first time. A pre-recorded live performance of Bad was shown." He was also awarded the Video Vanguard Award, which was later renamed in his honor.
1989: Comedian Andrew Dice Clay appeared at the 1989 Video Music Awards to promote his new movie, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, earning a "lifetime ban" from the network when he introduced Cher with some of his recently notorious nursery rhymes that contained vulgar language and references. After performing with Tom Petty, Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin was assaulted by Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil, leading to a verbal battle between Neil and Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose.
Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora turned out a stripped-down acoustic performance of the Bon Jovi hits "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive", and in the process possibly provided the inspirational spark for MTV Unplugged. While the showrunners have stated that it was already in development by the time of the event, they've also credited the pair's performance with influencing the show to go from initially being meant only for "young, up-and-coming artists" into being a simplified showcase for the "big, stadium, electric-arena-type acts".
Paula Abdul was nominated for six awards, picking up four wins. She performed a seven-minute medley of her singles "Straight Up", "Cold Hearted", and "Forever Your Girl".
When Madonna won the Viewer's Choice Award (sponsored by Pepsi-Cola) for her "Like a Prayer" video, she thanked Pepsi-Cola in her acceptance speech "for causing so much controversy". Pepsi-Cola had paid Madonna $5 million to appear in a commercial that would predominantly feature the world premiere of "Like a Prayer"; the commercial, titled "Make a Wish", depicted Madonna drinking Pepsi and watching a home video of her eighth birthday. The tone that the commercial sought to convey sharply contrasted with the music video. When Pepsi executives saw the video, they yanked the advertisement after only two airings, in an attempt to dissociate themselves from Madonna. She also gave one of the most memorable performances of her hit "Express Yourself", as a preview of what would become her Blond Ambition World Tour.
1990s
1990: at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna performed her single "Vogue", which featured Madonna and her backup dancers dressed in an 18th-century French theme, with Madonna bearing great resemblance to Marie Antoinette. The performance consisted of both a dramatic historical reinterpretation of "Vogue" as well as her dramatically becorseted breasts.
1991: during the award show the MTV Video Vanguard Award was renamed to the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from then on, in honor of his contributions to the culture of music videos by changing them from a promotional tool featuring musicians playing instruments and singing, to a "short film" with a storyline.
A conflict between Poison's Bret Michaels and C.C. DeVille culminated in a fistfight at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. DeVille was fired and replaced by Pennsylvanian guitarist Richie Kotzen. Paul Reubens had his first public appearance, during the opening montage, following an arrest for lewd-conduct earlier that year. Taking the stage in costume as Pee-wee Herman, he received a standing ovation, after which he asked the audience, "Heard any good jokes lately?". After his appearance, Van Halen made their television debut, performing "Poundcake". Metallica was another highlight of the performances with "Enter Sandman".
Prince and The New Power Generation performed their song "Gett Off" on a Caligula-esque set, with Prince dressed in a yellow mesh outfit which exposed his buttocks. His trousers were parodied numerous times throughout the following year, on the sketch comedy TV series In Living Color, and even at the following year's VMAs by radio shock jock Howard Stern. It also marked the final TV appearance of Kiss with Eric Carr prior to Carr's death in November 1991.
1992: in the 1992 show, MTV requested Nirvana perform "Smells Like Teen Spirit", while the band itself had indicated it preferred to play new songs "Rape Me" and "". Network executives continued to push for "Teen Spirit" but finally offered the band a choice to play either "Teen Spirit" or "Lithium", which the band appeared to accept. At the performance, Nirvana began to play, and Kurt Cobain played the first few chords of the song, "Rape Me", much to the horror of MTV execs, before continuing their regular performance of "Lithium". Near the end of the song, frustrated that his amplifier had stopped functioning, bassist Krist Novoselic decided to toss his bass into the air for dramatic effect. He misjudged the landing, and the bass ended up bouncing off of his forehead, forcing him to stumble off the stage in a daze.
Backstage and before the show, Guns N' Roses vocalist Axl Rose challenged Cobain to a fight after he, his wife, Hole lead singer Courtney Love, and Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl egged him on. At the end of Nirvana's performance, while Cobain was trashing the band's equipment, Dave Grohl ran to the microphone and shouted "Hi, Axl! Where's Axl?" repeatedly. Guns N' Roses' video for the ballad "November Rain" won the MTV Video Music Award for best cinematography. During the show, the band performed "November Rain" with singer Elton John. Because of the dispute Rose had with Cobain, moments before the "November Rain" performance, Cobain spat on the keys of what he thought was Axl's piano. Cobain later revealed that he was shocked to see Elton John play on the piano he had spat on. During the commercial break, the Alien 3 Pepsi commercial was shown.
Radio host Howard Stern appeared as Fartman, Stern's radio superhero, wearing a buttocks-exposing costume obviously inspired by Prince's outfit from the previous year. Stern was a presenter for best hard rock/metal performance with actor Luke Perry (after several other celebrities turned him down).
1993: at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna opened the show in a gender-bending performance of her song "Bye Bye Baby", in which Madonna and her two backup singers, dressed in tuxedos and top hats, danced with women in corsets in a choreographed, highly sexual routine.
RuPaul and Milton Berle, who had conflicts backstage, presented an award together. When Berle touched RuPaul's breasts, RuPaul ad-libbed the line "So you used to wear gowns, but now you're wearing diapers."
Rapper Snoop Dogg presented the Best R&B Video award with Dr. Dre and George Clinton. At the time, Snoop was wanted in connection with the week-old drive-by murder of an L.A. gang member.
Janet Jackson closed the show with her performance of "That's the Way Love Goes" & "If".
1994: at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards on September 8, months after a profanity-laced appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Madonna was announced to present the award for Best Video of the Year. She came out, arm-in-arm with an unannounced David Letterman, to a wild ovation. At the microphone, Letterman told her "I'll be in the car. Watch your language", and left.
Recently betrothed couple Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley received a standing ovation as they walked on stage hand-in-hand. After turning to the audience and proclaiming, "And just think, nobody thought this would last", Jackson grabbed Presley and kissed her.
1995: at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, Hole perform the song "Violet" from their major-label debut album Live Through This. This was one of the first major televised performances given by frontwoman Courtney Love following the death of her husband Kurt Cobain and the death of her band's bassist Kristen Pfaff in 1994. Before beginning the song, Love dedicated the performance to her husband and different people in the entertainment industry who had recently died: "This is for Kurt, and Kristen, and River, and Joe, and today Joni Abbott, this is for you." Abbott worked in the Talent Relations department at MTV and had recently committed suicide."Throwing the Book at Viacom." New York Magazine (March 17, 1997). New York City, New York. p. 13 The song ended with Love throwing her guitar, knocking the microphone stand into the crowd and pushing over speaker-boxes with bandmate Eric Erlandson before exiting the stage. Love also caused a stir when she interrupted a post-ceremony interview with Kurt Loder and Madonna by throwing her make-up compacts at the singer as they broadcast outside the awards venue.