Taylor Swift was the star of the night at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, securing nine awards. The celebrated pop artist, aged 33, was the highlight of the event held at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey. She clinched the evening’s most prestigious award – video of the year – for her track “Anti-Hero” from the “Midnights” album. Additionally, she was honoured with titles such as artist of the year, best pop video, and song of the year.

Swift’s triumphant return to the VMAs stage comes 14 years after the notorious episode where Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech for the best female video award, claiming Beyonce had one of the best videos ever.

On receiving the video of the year award, an elated Swift expressed her gratitude, emphasising the significance of it being a fan-voted accolade. She also bagged awards for best direction, cinematography, visual effects, and the show of the summer.

The event witnessed a nostalgic moment when Swift accepted the best pop video award from the reunited boyband NSYNC and engaged them in a conversation about their future musical endeavours.

Nicki Minaj, the host for the evening, not only entertained with her performance but also won the best hip-hop category for “Super Freaky Girl”. Diddy, the renowned US rapper, was presented the global icon award by his daughter, Chance Combs, and Mary J Blige. He also entertained the audience with some of his iconic tracks.

Shakira delivered a medley of her hits and was honoured with the video vanguard award. She expressed her gratitude in both English and Spanish, dedicating the award to her loyal fans. The Colombian sensation, along with Karol G, gave their acceptance speech in Spanish for the best collaboration award for “TQG”.

New artist Ice Spice expressed her gratitude to her “munchkins”, while Rema and Selena Gomez clinched the inaugural best Afrobeats award with “Calm Down”. The Korean music industry also had its moment of glory with Blackpink being named group of the year, Stray Kids winning the best K-pop award for “S-Class”, and boy band Tomorrow X Together performing with Brazilian sensation Anitta, who secured the best Latin award for the second consecutive year.

The awards also recognised Italy’s talent with former Eurovision victors Maneskin receiving the best rock award for “The Loneliest”. The event was opened by Lil Wayne and featured performances from stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion. The awards concluded with a tribute to 50 years of hip-hop, featuring performances from icons like Minaj, LL Cool J, DMC of Run DMC, and Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five.