INSIDE MTV’S VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS
All of your favourite stars brought their fashion A-game to the 2019 VMAs
Walking the red carpet at the Video Music Awards on August 26 for the first time since 2015, Taylor Swift, decked out in a Versace beaded rainbow blazer dress teamed with thigh-high Christian Louboutin boots, made more than just a fashion statement.
Exactly a decade since Kanye West infamously crashed Swift’s acceptance speech for female video of the year, she slyly brought it up during an interview ahead of the show. Nominated in 12 categories, “You never know what can happen on this show, as I’ve learned,” she said as part of her response to possibly walking away with multiple trophies. Kicking off the
night with the first-ever performance of her songs ‘You Need to Calm Down’ and ‘Lover’ she transformed the stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, into the colourful music video set of ‘You Need to Calm Down’ with Todrick Hall and RuPaul’s Drag Race stars joining the stage. Accepting her prize for video of the year from presenters John Travolta and Queen Latifah: “This is a fan-voted award,” Swift said. “You voting for this means you want a world where we’re all treated equally.”
In contrast to Swift’s technicolour act, Miley Cyrus, clad in a simple black minidress with chunky jewellery, delivered an emotional first ever performance of her new track, ‘Slide Away’, the break-up anthem that many believe is about her estranged husband, Liam Hemsworth. Moments before her performance, MTV cameras captured Kaitlynn Carter, who Cyrus has been spending time with since her split, lovingly grab the singer’s head before she hit the stage. In what appeared to be an emotional moment for the star, she subtly changed several lyrics to the song, released days before
Hemsworth officially filed for divorce on August 21, adding the line, “You’re right, I’m grown now” after singing the original line, “You’re right, we’re grown now.” She finished off the tune by adding, “Slide to what you know” as her parents Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus were seen giving their daughter a round of applause.
With one relationship ending, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes seemed to cement their rumoured romance, steaming up the stage while singing their summer jam ‘Señorita’. The ex Fifth Harmony member and the ‘Stitches’ singer nearly kissed several times during the sexy production and at the end of the song, held hands as they headed backstage.
Also feeling the love was Missy Elliott who received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and performed a jaw-dropping medley. “I promised I wouldn’t cry because I cry,” she said. “But the Video Vanguard Award means so much to me. I have worked diligently for over two decades. I never thought I’d be standing up here … it don’t go unnoticed, the support and love you’ve shown me over the years.”