We already knew that the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards were going to be epic, with Rihanna, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, and many more stars slated to perform. But the award show, celebrating an incredibly strong year in music, more than delivered. Here are some of the best moments.
1. Rihanna's super short, candy-pink DGAF medley
RiRi opened the 2016 VMAs show with a short medley of some older cuts. Wearing head-to-toe candy pink, she cruised through snippets of songs like "Please Don't Stop the Music," "Only Girl (In the World)," "We Found Love," and "Where Have You Been." Sometimes she sang along to her own vocal track. Sometimes she didn't. She is Rihanna. She doesn't care about you.
2. When Drake was stuck in traffic and couldn't pick up his first award
Drake scored the Best Hip-Hop Video Award but couldn't collect it because he was stuck in traffic. Or was he too busy practising his speech for Rihanna...?
3. Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's Soulcycle x Hotline Bling tribute
Ariana and Nicki, who collaborated at their second VMAs this year (#tbt), took to a stage festooned with women on exercise bikes and mankini-wearing muscleheads. Their performance of "Side to Side," backlit in neon pink, resembled nothing so much as a Soulcycle class performed in the "Hotline Bling" video.
4. Alicia Keys' moving poem
Alicia Keys, makeup-free and radiant, noted that it was the 53rd anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's vital "I Have a Dream" speech. Then, she delivered an incredible poem, both in speech and in song.
5. When Michael Phelps told us what he was listening to when he made his #grumpyface
Given the opportunity to introduce Future's performance, Michael Phelps admitted he had been listening to the rapper's "Stick Talk" when he made the face that memed around the world.
6. "I SEE YOU AMBER"
Before he premiered the video for "Fade," Kanye treated us all to four minutes of...something. But undoubtedly one of the most direct, funny, and meme-destined moments was when he spied his ex Amber Rose in the audience and decided to say hello.
7. Nick Jonas's All-Star Meme Diner Experience
At first, when the Jonas brother turned up in a kitchen, we thought he was making us cheese fries. But instead, he was serving up "Bacon" with Ty Dolla $ign at New York's Tick Tock Diner. As he traveled through the restaurant, a bunch of internet favorites made cameos, including The Fat Jew, Joanne the Scammer, and Ashley Graham.
8. Beyoncé. Just Beyoncé
Proving exactly why she's the most important pop star in the world right now (she also won seven awards during the evening), Beyoncé presented a searing medley of Lemonade cuts, beginning with "Pray You Catch Me," here transformed into a heartbreaking tribute. The impeccable outfits, multi-dancer choreography, and use of large-scale visuals echoed her epic live show.
9. IT'S BRITNEY BITCH
Britney, that glorious, shining banana, blessed the VMAs stage with G-Eazy for "Make Me." It was sparkly, sexy, and so much fun. Thank you for bringing Vegas to NYC, Brit.
Don't try this at home, kids.
Yesssssssssss.
10. When the Final Five met Beyoncé
The Final Five were tasked with announcing Best Female Video. The young Olympians were already being adorable: While introducing the segment, Simone Biles let out a tiny giggle. But when the gymnasts announced that Beyoncé had won, they basically exploded with excitement. Especially Laurie Hernandez. We see you, Laurie!
11. When Drake said he's in love with Rihanna
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