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In addition to her hosting duties for the 2021 MTV VMAs, Planet Her popstar Doja Cat also performed her song “Been Like This.” Suspended above the stage in the center of an LED halo, Doja defied gravity before dropping down to the Earth to perform “You Right” with elaborate choreography and string accompaniment from an orchestra surrounding her dance floor.

Doja’s hosting gig was announced after she was revealed as a performer, but it’s likely that she earned both with her appearance last year. In 2020, Doja performed her hits “Like That” and “Say So” with a sci-fi-inspired staging, albeit without fans in attendance. This year, she got to show her stuff in front of an adoring audience, and the energy reflected the improved environment. This year’s performance comes in the wake of the release of Doja’s third album, Planet Her, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, spending four weeks at that position led by the singles “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA and “You Right” featuring The Weeknd. A deluxe version of the album added Atlanta trap rapper Gunna and legendary female rapper Eve.

Not only did Doja Cat perform and host, but she was also nominated for five Moon Men, including Video Of The Year and Best Collaboration for “Kiss Me More,” Best Visual Effects for “You Right,” and Artist Of The Year. She’s co-nominated with Saweetie for Best Art Direction for their collaboration “Best Friend.”

Watch Doja Cat’s VMA performance of “Been Like This” above.

Not only did Lil Nas X’s MTV VMA performance receive a huge introduction from Billy Porter, but he also brought a marching band out to play the triumphant brass section of his hit song “Industry Baby.” Recreating part of the music video, the stage reproduced the “Montero Prison,” where Nas performed alongside pink-jumpsuit-clad dancers, flouncing through his cheeky choreography before being joined by a latex-covered Jack Harlow. After Harlow’s bridge, Nas hit more choreo modeled after the video’s infamous shower scene (he wore a pink Speedo for modesty’s sake), finishing out with a flourish of his other mega-hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”

The timing of Nas’ VMAs appearance couldn’t be better. His debut album, Montero, is due for release in just six days. His performance caps a months-long rollout that included the releases of the controversial videos for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Industry Baby,” a pregnancy announcement complete with a maternity shoot, and a slew of attention-grabbing performances on shows such as the BET Awards and Saturday Night Live.

Nas’ performance also accompanies five nominations, including Video Of The Year, Best Direction, Video For Good, Best Visual Effects, and Best Art Direction for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” The video, which drew the ire of conservative commentators and old-school hip-hop heads, featured a fantasy setting in which Nas descended from paradise to a hellish underworld via stripper pole, where he offered a lapdance to a devilish ruler before killing and supplanting him on the throne.

Watch Lil Nas X’s VMA performance of “Industry Baby” with Jack Harlow above.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After the kind of breakout year most artists dream of, Olivia Rodrigo capped off all the success of Sour by performing its third single, “Good 4 U” at the 2021 VMAs. Though the song was one of many that Rodrigo recently added additional artist songwriting credit too, prompting industry discussion on the subject from the likes of Adam Levine, the similarities the song shares with Paramore’s “Misery Business” are only part of what makes it beloved.

Going full throttle pop-punk sonically, Olivia kept her performance more girly with a short, cotton candy dress, but that didn’t hold her back from belting the song’s addictive chorus — oh, and smashing a camera lens for good measure. And right after she finished performing, another big moment hit for Olivia — she picked up the award for Song of the Year for her original breakout track, “Drivers License.” Considering that song dominated the charts and streaming services for the entire first half of 2021, it feels like a well-deserved victory. In true teenage fashion, Olivia dedicated her award to all the other girls “writing songs on their bedroom floor” and seemed overwhelmed that she won the category. This will likely be only the first of many awards that this young pop star picks up tonight, so keep an eye on the full winners list here.

Fresh off the release of her brand new album, Star Crossed – which is another classic following up her massive breakout Golden Hour — Kacey Musgraves graced the VMAs stage for the first time tonight. For a cinematic performance in front of a blazing, flaming heart, Kacey wore a simple white dress to deliver her first live rendition of the album’s woozy title track. Though it’s the first time Kacey has graced MTV’s stage for this award show, it’s not surprising that she was selected to perform this year.

Though Musgraves started out firmly in the country genre, which is generally relegated to the sister network CMT instead of crossing over onto MTV itself, she’s since managed to become a full-fledged pop phenomenon. Even if there are traces of folk and country on her new record, it leans more in the direction of pop songwriting and psych-rock, which lands it firmly in the MTV camp. Plus, she accompanied the record release with a short film of the same name, making the visual components of this roll out a bigger factor than ever before. If that doesn’t qualify her for the Video Music Awards, then I don’t know what else could. Check out her performance above.

The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber delivered one of the year’s biggest hit songs with their second overall collaboration, “Stay.” The track is one that appeared on a recent deluxe reissue of Laroi’s F*ck Love project, one that recently topped the Billboard album charts. As for “Stay,” the track itself as also found success on the charts as it spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. With these achievements, it’s only right that the singers brought the song to the 2021 MTV VMAs stage and that’s exactly what they did on Sunday night.

Laroi and Bieber delivered what appeared to be a space-themed performance for their No. 1 song as they stood atop a larger makeshift boulder that stood in front of a bright backdrop filled with neon colors. In addition to “Stay,” Bieber would take control of the stage to perform “Ghost” from his sixth album Justice. The project spent two non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the albums chart and “Ghost” is looking to be the singer’s next popular cut from the album.

When Laroi’s “Stay” reached No. 1 on the singles chart, it became the first song by an Australian-born solo male artist to top the Hot 100 in 40 years, following Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl.” He’s also the first Australian-born artist to reach No. 1 with a song since Sia did it with her and Sean Paul’s “Cheap Thrills” back in 2016. As for Bieber, he recently announced his Our World documentary which will recount his “intense and exciting” return to music.

You can watch Bieber and Laroi’s performance in the video above.

The wait for Saweetie’s debut album may be drawing to a close soon. The burgeoning Bay Area rapper-mogul was at the Barclay Center in New York for the 2021 MTV VMAs, where she gave a red carpet interview hinting that her new music could be dropping over the holiday season. When she was asked about meeting Cher — an experience to which she attributes the most recent delay — she played coy but did offer up the potential timing for their collaboration’s release.

“Everything will unwind and unfold during the holidays,” she said, “So stay tuned.”

While waiting for the album to come out, Saweetie gave her fans no shortage of content and projects to consume. In August, she launched the second season of her Icy University web series, interviewing Chloe Bailey ahead of the sister act’s first solo release. Saweetie also collaborated with McDonald’s on her own meal, complete with “Saweetie N Sour” sauce. And though the album has been pushed back a few times — including so Saweetie could polish her performance skills — she did confirm earlier this summer that it’s finally finished, which means a solid release date could be coming soon.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Donald Trump still has an iron grip on the GOP, but his hold on his everyday followers may be slipping. The same weekend the former president did color commentary at a boxing match and addressed a gathering of the Moonies, a two-day rally was held in Kentucky. It featured conspiracy theorists like My Pillow Guy Mike Lindell, Michael Flynn, and Lin Wood. It expected attendance to be around 10,000. Instead, they got less than 300.

As per Newsweek, the rally was called “We the People Reunion,” and while most such gatherings, usually featuring some combination of Lindell, Flynn, and Wood, have been free, this one was not. Tickets started at $125, and went as high as $500 for VIPs.

Journalists were turned away at the event, but gatherings like it have featured the now de rigueur litany of baseless claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election. Trump himself has claimed that current president Joe Biden “cheated” as recently as Friday.

For Lindell, this is yet another major fail. Last month he held a “cyber symposium,” in which he yet again claimed to offer incontrovertible proof that Trump won re-election. He didn’t, and the fiasco ended with one of its top speakers admitted that he had no proof. It was in the middle of this event that Lindell was informed that the $1.6 billion lawsuit filed against him by Dominion Voting Systems could proceed.

(Via Newsweek)

Live music and music festivals have been back in full force this year, albeit with caveats due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, but the music industry has been thriving despite masking and distancing protocols. Fans and artists alike are eager to welcome back award shows, and the VMAs returns as an in-person event tonight to the delight of many. With a full calendar year of pandemic releases behind us, and a summer that came and went with lots of high-profile records, early September is the perfect time to take stock of everything that’s unfolded in pop and hip-hop lately.

With massive nomination showings for musicians like Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, The Weeknd and Ariana Grande — to name a few — the field tonight is triple stacked with talent. Kicking off with a full red carpet and pre-show, tonight’s VMAs in Brooklyn will also include performances from many of the artists nominated for awards. Stay tuned for our coverage of those, and check out the list below for updated news of winners, marked in bold, throughout the night. Congrats to all the artists involved, this field is packed with talent and most of the fields could be anyone’s game.

Video of the Year

Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion: “WAP” – Atlantic Records
DJ Khaled ft. Drake: “Popstar” (Starring Justin Bieber) – OVO / We The Best / Epic Records
Doja Cat ft. SZA: “Kiss Me More” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Ed Sheeran: “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records
Lil Nas X: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records
The Weeknd: “Save Your Tears” – XO / Republic Records

Artist of the Year
Ariana Grande – Republic Records
Doja Cat – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Justin Bieber – Def Jam
Megan Thee Stallion – 300 Entertainment
Olivia Rodrigo – Geffen Records
Taylor Swift – Republic Records

Group of the Year
BTS
Blackpink
CNCO
Foo Fighters
Jonas Brothers
Maroon 5
Silk Sonic
Twenty One Pilots

Song of the Year
24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior: “Mood” – Records LLC / Columbia Records
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: “Leave the Door Open” – Aftermath Entertainment / Atlantic Records
BTS: “Dynamite” – Bighit Music
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion: “WAP” – Atlantic Records
Dua Lipa: “Levitating” – Warner Records
Olivia Rodrigo: “Drivers License” – Geffen Records

Best New Artist
24kGoldn – Records LLC / Columbia Records
Giveon – Epic Records / Not So Fast
The Kid Laroi – Columbia Records
Olivia Rodrigo – Geffen Records
Polo G – Columbia Records
Saweetie – Warner Records

Push Performance of the Year
Olivia Rodrigo: “Drivers License” – Geffen Records
Wallows: “Are You Bored Yet?” – Atlantic Records
Ashnikko: “Daisy” – Warner Records
Saint Jhn: “Gorgeous” – Godd Complexx / HITCO
24kGoldn: “Coco” – Records LLC / Columbia Records
JC Stewart: “Break My Heart” – Elektra Music Group
Latto: “Sex Lies” – RCA Records
Madison Beer: “Selfish” – Epic Records / Sing It Loud
The Kid Laroi: “Without You” – Columbia Records
Girl in Red: “Serotonin” – World in Red / AWAL
Fousheé: “My Slime” – RCA Records
Jxdn: “Think About Me” – DTA Records / Elektra Music Group

Best Breakthrough Song
Claire Rosinkranz: “Backyard Boy”
Masked Wolf: “Astronaut In The Ocean”
Bella Poarch: “Build a B*tch”
Young Baby Tate ft. Flo Milli: “I Am”
Whoheem: “Let’s Link”

Best Collaboration
24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior: “Mood” – Records LLC / Columbia Records
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion: “WAP” – Atlantic Records
Doja Cat ft. SZA: “Kiss Me More” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Drake ft. Lil Durk: “Laugh Now Cry Later” – OVO / Republic Records
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon: “Peaches” – Def Jam
Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa: “Prisoner” – RCA Records

Best Pop
Ariana Grande: “Positions” – Republic Records
Billie Eilish: “Therefore I Am” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
BTS: “Butter” – Bighit Music
Harry Styles: “Treat People With Kindness” – Columbia Records
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon: “Peaches” – Def Jam
Olivia Rodrigo: “Good 4 U” – Geffen Records
Shawn Mendes: “Wonder” – Island Records
Taylor Swift: “Willow” – Republic Records

Best Hip-Hop
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion: “WAP” – Atlantic Records
Drake ft. Lil Durk: “Laugh Now Cry Later” – OVO / Republic Records
Lil Baby ft. Megan Thee Stallion: “On Me (remix)” – Quality Control / Motown
Moneybagg Yo – “Said Sum” – N-Less Entertainment / Interscope Records
Polo G: “Rapstar” – Columbia Records
Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A.: “Franchise” – Cactus Jack / Epic Records

Best Rock
Evanescence: “Use My Voice” – BMG
Foo Fighters: “Shame Shame” – Roswell Records / RCA Records
John Mayer: “Last Train Home” – Columbia Records
The Killers: “My Own Soul’s Warning” – Island
Kings Of Leon: “The Bandit” – RCA Records
Lenny Kravitz: “Raise Vibration” – Roxie Records / BMG

Best Alternative
Bleachers: “Stop Making This Hurt” – RCA Records
Glass Animals: “Heat Waves” – Republic Records
Imagine Dragons: “Follow You” – Kidinakorner / Interscope Records
Machine Gun Kelly ft. Blackbear: “My Ex’s Best Friend” – Bad Boy / Interscope Records
Twenty One Pilots: “Shy Away” – Fueled By Ramen
Willow ft. Travis Barker: “Transparent Soul” – MSFTSMusic / Roc Nation

Best Latin
Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez: “Dákiti” – The Orchard
Billie Eilish & Rosalía: “Lo Vas A Olvidar” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
Black Eyed Peas and Shakira: “Girl Like Me” – Epic Records
Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy: “Un Die (One Day)” – Universal Music Latino / Neon16
Karol G: “Bichota” – Universal Music Latino
Maluma: “Hawái” – Sony Music US Latin

Best R&B
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Saint Jhn, WizKid: “Brown Skin Girl” – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: “Leave the Door Open” – Aftermath Entertainment / Atlantic Records
Chris Brown and Young Thug: “Go Crazy” – Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA Records
Giveon: “Heartbreak Anniversary” – Epic Records / Not So Fast
H.E.R. ft. Chris Brown: “Come Through” – MBK Entertainment / RCA Records
SZA: “Good Days” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records

Best K-pop
BTS – “Butter” – Bighit Music
(G)I-DLE: “Dumdi Dumdi” – Republic Records
Blackpink and Selena Gomez: “Ice Cream” – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records
Monsta X: “Gambler” – Starship Entertainment
Seventeen: “Ready to love” – Pledis Entertainment
Twice: “Alcohol-Free” – JYP Entertainment Company

Video For Good
Billie Eilish: “Your Power” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
Demi Lovato: “Dancing With the Devil” – Island
H.E.R.: “Fight For You” – MBK Entertainment / RCA Records
Kane Brown: “Worldwide Beautiful” – Sony Music Nashville / RCA Records
Lil Nas X: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records
Pharrell Williams ft. Jay-Z: “Entrepreneur” – Columbia Records

Best Direction
Billie Eilish: “Your Power” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – Directed by: Billie Eilish
DJ Khaled ft. Drake: “Popstar (Starring Justin Bieber)” – OVO / We The Best / Epic Records – Directed by: Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X
Lil Nas X: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records – Directed by: Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino
Taylor Swift: “Willow” – Republic Records – Directed by: Taylor Swift
Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A: “Franchise” – Cactus Jack / Epic Records – Directed by: Travis Scott
Tyler, The Creator: “Lumberjack” – Columbia Records – Directed by: Wolf Haley

Best Cinematography
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid: “Brown Skin Girl” – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records – Cinematography by: Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, Mohammaed Atta Ahmed, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant
Billie Eilish: “Therefore I Am” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – Cinematography by: Rob Witt
Foo Fighters: “Shame Shame” – Roswell Records / RCA Records – Cinematography by: Santiago Gonzalez
Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper: “Holy” – RBMG / Def Jam – Cinematography by: Elias Talbot
Lady Gaga: “911” – Interscope Records – Cinematography by: Jeff Cronenweth
Lorde: “Solar Power” – Republic Records – Cinematography by: Andrew Stroud

Best Art Direction
Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer: “Already” – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records – Art Direction by: Susan Linns, Gerard Santos
Ed Sheeran: “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records – Art Direction by: Alison Dominitz
Lady Gaga: “911” – Interscope Records – Art Direction by: Tom Foden, Peter Andrus
Lil Nas X: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records – Art Direction by: John Richoux
Saweetie ft. Doja Cat: “Best Friend” – Warner Records – Art Direction by: Alec Contestabile
Taylor Swift – “Willow” – Republic Records – Art Direction by: Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez

Best Visual Effects
Bella Poarch: “Build a Bitch” – Warner Records – Visual Effects by: Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova
Coldplay: “Higher Power” – Atlantic Records – Visual Effects by: Mathematic
Doja Cat & The Weeknd – “You Right” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records – Visual Effects by: La Pac, Anthony Lestremau, Julien Missaire, Petr Shkolniy, Alexi Bailla, Micha Sher, Antoine Hache, Mikros MPC, Nicolas Huget, Guillaume Ho Tsong Fang, Benjamin Lenfant, Stephane Pivron, MPC Bangalore, Chanakya Chander, Raju Ganesh, David Rouxel
Glass Animals: “Tangerine” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by: YSF Studio Paris
Lil Nas X: “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records – Visual Effects by: Mathematic
P!nk: “All I Know So Far” – RCA Records – Visual Effects by: BUF, VFX Supervisors: Dominique Vidal & Geoffrey Niquet, VFX Producers: Annabelle Zoellin & Camille Gibrat

Best Choreography
Ariana Grande – “34+35” – Republic Records – Choreography by: Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson
BTS – “Butter” – Bighit Music – Choreography by: Son Sung with BHM Performance Directing Team
Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records – Choreography by: Natricia Bernard
Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame” – Roswell Records / RCA Records – Choreography by: Nina McNeely
Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness” – Columbia Records
Marshmello & Halsey – “Be Kind” – Astralwerks / Capitol Records – Choreography by: Dani Vitale

Best Editing
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: “Leave the Door Open” – Aftermath Entertainment/Atlantic Records – Editing by: Troy Charbonnet
BTS: “Butter” – Bighit Music – Editing by: Yong Seok Choi from Lumpens
Drake: “What’s Next” – OVO / Republic Records – Editing by: Noah Kendal
Harry Styles: “Treat People With Kindness” – Columbia Records
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon: “Peaches” – Def Jam
Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa: “Prisoner” – RCA Records

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

While Britney Spears’ conservatorship battle has long been stressful, the singer does have something amazing to celebrate: Spears and Sam Asghari recently announced that they are engaged. This comes after four years of dating, having met on the set of her music video for “Slumber Party” in 2016. They shared the news on their respective Instagram pages. In her post, Spears stands beside Asghari and happily says “Yes!” when he asks if she likes the new diamond ring.

In a statement to People, Asghari’s manager, Brandon Cohen, said that he’s “proud to celebrate and confirm the engagement,” adding, “The couple made their long-standing relationship official today and are deeply touched by the support, dedication and love expressed to them.” Cohen also revealed that Spears’ ring was designed by New York City jeweler Roman Malayev. Cohen added, “He couldn’t be happier to be involved and make this one-of-a-kind ring.”

The news comes after Britney Spears’ father filed a petition to end her long-standing conservatorship. In the documents filed to Los Angeles’ Superior Court, Jamie Spears said his daughter is “entitled to have this Court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required.” He added that her circumstances have changed to the point that “grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist.”

You can view the posts from Spears and Asghari above.

Earlier this year, Lana Del Rey shared Chemtrails Over The Country Club, which arrived a little under two years after her sixth album Norman F*cking Rockwell. While her seventh album might have been enough to keep her fans satisfied, she’ll be back with her follow-up soon, when Blue Bannisters is released next month. But when it drops, she may no longer be around on social media.

“Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow we are going to be deactivating our social media accounts, my social media accounts,” she said in a video she posted to social media, according to NME. “That is simply because I have so many interests, and other jobs I’m doing that require privacy and transparency.” Del Rey promised that she would continue working on her music, spoken albums, poetry, and more. “I’m still very present and love what I do. I am absolutely here for the music,” she said, adding, that she would be “going on some different endeavours.”

Her latest announcement comes after she thanked fans for their support. “I wanna say a heartfelt, just, thank you for, you know, continuing to kind of see me through the music,” she said. “It’s always important to be witnessed and it’s also really important just to be witnessed by the people close to you that you know and who you trust.”

Blue Bannisters is out 10/22 via Polydor/Interscope. Pre-order it here.