Okay, sure. The VMAs are low stakes – no one remembers who won Best Female Pop 1999, but little old MTV’s annual celebration of pop culture is truly the industry’s Super Bowl. The Oscars hand out little gold men to award movies nobody watched, but the VMAs? That’s where the magic happens.
Launched in 1984 to celebrate the music video era, the VMAs quickly became less about trophies and more about shock, spectacle, and career-defining moments. If the Academy Awards reward prestige, the VMAs reward culture impact.
Join me on a stroll through VMA’s past!
1980s: The Birth of the VMA Moment
Madonna, “Like a Virgin” (1984)
At the very first VMAs held at Radio City Music Hall in 1984, Madonna debuted her iconic track, “Like a Virgin,” emerging from a towering wedding cake in a bridal bustier with a rhinestoned belt that read “Boy Toy.”
The provocative performance immediately positioned the VMAs as a stage for unforgettable spectacle, with MTV touting it as the place “where water cooler moments happen.” Behind the scenes, her manager feared the stunt would end her career, but by the 1990s and 2000s it was widely hailed as “genius” by outlets like Rolling Stone. It set the precedent for the VMAs as a showcase of rawness, risk and artistic spectacle.
Guns N’ Roses, “Welcome to the Jungle” (1988)
The early years of the VMAs were dominated by pop, but in 1988, Guns N’ Roses crashed the party with a sweaty, hard rock performance that shocked the MTV system. It signaled that rock was alive and dangerous, and capable command a TV audience. While pop stars gave choreographed, polished performances, GNR was raw, volatile and messy. It felt unscripted and an evolution past the glossy haze of the 80s pop acts and signaled where MTV could go next.
1990s: Legacy on the Line
Nirvana, “Lithium” (1992)
MTV hired Nirvana to play the 1992 their smash “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” but the band insisted on the unreleased and controversial “Rape Me.” MTV refused, forcing them into a compromise: “Lithium.” When the time came, Kurt Cobain strummed the opening chords of “Rape Me” before swerving into “Lithium,” faking out the network. Prior to the performance, a fight nearly broke out after Courtney Love heckled Axl Rose and a screaming match broke out between Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana.
On stage, the performance dissolved into chaos: Krist Novoselic launched his bass in the air only to be knocked out by his instrument, Dave Grohl taunted Rose on the mic and Cobain smashed his guitar, culminating in pure grunge anarchy.
Michael Jackson, “Thriller” medley (1995)
At the 1995 VMAs, Michael Jackson delivered a 15-minute medley of his greatest hits, a spectacle that reaffirmed his legacy as the King of Pop. He’d become a global sensation, capable of selling out the largest venues, and the VMAs gave him a stage of that size. With elaborate choreography, multiple costume changes and even a surprise appearance by Slash during “Black or White,” MJ transformed the broadcast into a cultural event. It cemented the VMAs not just as a platform for rising stars but as a stage where legends demonstrate their supremacy.
2000s: Shock Becomes Pop Currency
Britney Spears, “I’m a Slave 4 U” (2001)
In a performance that made me who I am today, Britney Jean Spears took the VMA stage in 2001, debuting her “Britney” era complete with a live python draped around her shoulders in one of the most boundary-pushing, image-sculpting performances in pop culture history. Britney has since written in her memoir that this performance had her paralyzed with fear, but she delivered a legacy-cementing performance regardless.
Madonna, Britney & Christina, “Like a Virgin” remix (2003)
Madonna reprised her legendary performance alongside her two heirs apparent, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, each dressed as brides, each angling for the pop crown. The performance itself would have been iconic enough, but the moment seared into history was Madonna kissing both women on the lips. For Madonna, it was proof she could embrace a younger generation rather than competing. For Britney and Christina, it was a coronation. For MTV, it was a reminder that the VMAs were where pop history got written in real time. By not tuning in, you're already behind.
Beyoncé, “Crazy in Love” (2003)
That same year, Beyonce, uninhibited by the need for stunts, gave her breakout VMA performance alongside Jay Z. She descended from the ceiling upside down and went on to bring the house down with a fierce display of vocal chops, stage presence and sex appeal, launching the solo superstar we know and worship today.
2010s: Narrative & Era-Defining Stunts
Lady Gaga, “Paparazzi” (2009)
In a high camp performance, Lady Gaga made her VMAs debut in which she coined her signature theatrics with a wild performance that ended with her bleeding. She proved her vocal ability and showed that while she is highly skilled at delivering a spectacle, she’s more than that. The full range of her talent was put on full display, challenging a trend of female artists being either talented or interesting, but rarely both.
Beyoncé, “Love on Top” (2011)
Beyoncé revealed her pregnancy with Blue Ivy during her 2011 “Love on Top” performance which led to our current culture of celebrity pregnancy as public performance. It turned what was once private or exclusively media-managed into a cultural moment and, critics argue, paved the way for how we learn celebrity baby news today. The reveal produced a then-record 8,868 tweets per second, making it the most tweeted-about moment in history at that time, signaling the VMAs staying power in the age of virality. The broadcast drew 12.4 million viewers, MTV’s most-watched broadcast ever
2020s: Viral Myth-Making
Lil Nas X, “Industry Baby” (2021)
A trailblazer as an openly gay rapper, Lil Nas X followed up his “Old Town Road” success with a saucy, prison-themed spectacle that stands as one of the most theatrical VMA performances in recent memory. He recreated the Montero State Prison set from the video — pink uniforms, shirtless choreography, a full marching band — and turned it into stadium pop scaled down for the small screen. Clips racked up millions of views, dominating timelines and proving that VMA moments now have to be engineered for virality, not just live TV shock and awe. His performance wasn’t confined to the broadcast; it was built to live forever online — shared, remixed, and memed into cultural permanence.
Doja Cat, “Attention / Paint the Town Red / Demons” (2023)
Doja staged a dark-sided trilogy with demon dancers drenched in fake blood, pushing the awards show’s aesthetic into horror-glam territory while debuting her Scarlet era. The medley stitched together something almost Rocky Horror-esque — a blend of camp, gore, and high fashion, pulled into one unsettlingly cohesive display. It wasn’t cheap shock for its own sake; it was a masterclass in provocation, cementing Doja as pop’s reigning provocateur, the one most willing to make menace and glamour dance together on live TV.
Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Babe!” (2024)
Chappell’s breakout VMA moment was a true arrival complete with campiness and charisma. Dressed in Joan of Arc drag, she twirled among men in knight’s armor, belted the song’s gut-punching high note, all while the set literally caught fire around her. While other acts that year cosplayed queerness, Chappell embodied it — flipping it into a symbolic, subversive display of affection and staking her claim as pop’s next great torchbearer… literally.
The VMAs may never carry the prestige of a Grammy, but that is not the show’s intent. MTV has orchestrated a stage where artists can turn risk into reward and spectacle into cultural history. Every generation gets its defining VMA moment — and every year, we tune in wondering what could possibly top the last.
Tune into this year’s VMAs tomorrow at 7PM Central.