5. Fergie and Jack Harlow in “First Class”
Jack Harlow sang “First Class,” his Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, in a set constructed to resemble the cabin of such a jet, featuring Saucy Santana, Lil Nas X, and Avril Lavigne serving as his fellow passengers. This gave the VMAs an elegant start. When he moved to a larger stage, he shocked and delighted the audience by inviting Fergie to perform “First Class” with her The Dutchess single “Glamorous,” the 2007 Hot 100 number-one his hit song samples, together.
4. Måneskin, “Supermodel”
The 2022 VMAs didn’t feature a lot of rock, but Italian glam musicians and Eurovision winners Mneskin demonstrated that a rock n’ roll band can still appear like a crucial, even perilous, component of an awards presentation in the 2020s. Damiano David growled each phrase with pleasure as they tore through their gritty, sexy-sleazy “Supermodel.” The producers of the performance appeared to have found his assless chaps and/or bassist Victoria De Angelis’ exposing moment — she rocked the song topless for a while, save for some silver pasties — to be a little too much, as they once cut away from the stage for an unusually extended period of time.
3. Envolver by Anitta
“VMAs! Did you really believe I wouldn’t jiggle my ass tonight? Anitta prowled the VMAs platform like an alley cat searching for its next victim while wearing a skin-tight sparkly red suit. She rubbed up against her dancers before breaking out some incredibly fierce choreography and fulfilling her ass-shaking promise.
2 Pink Venom by BLACKPINK
BLACKPINK broke out her new single “Pink Venom” with rapid-fire singing and furious dancing as pink mist spilled so over stage and onto the VMAs audience. Not only was it their inaugural performance on a major American awards show, but it was also their VMAs debut. It won’t be their last, depending on what we witnessed at the VMAs.
1. Medley of Nicki Minaj and video vanguard
Nicki Minaj completely dominated the Prudential Centre point with such a career-spanning medley during the 2022 VMAs broadcast. It encompassed everything from her lyric verse on Kanye West’s “Monster” to her Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded gem “Beez in the Trap” to her Hot 100 top 5 hit “Super Bass,” the latter of which featured Taylor Swift rapping along vigorously to each and every word from the audience. When Minaj finished her set with “Super Freaky Girl,” which recently reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, she particularly turned up the heat. Long live her dynasty.