The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Tuesday and featured all kinds of strange, shocking and downright weird moments.
Fans criticized some stars for lip syncing. Other celebs wore questionable outfits. But no matter how you dice it, the awards show was a very long concert with some awards handed out intermittently. There seems to be a lack of new talent in the industry. The focus was put on some of music’s most OG alums, which played out like a trip down music memory lane.
Lil Wayne Was Heavily Censored
Lil Wayne was the opening act for the awards show and performed some of his greatest hits, including Tha Carter V’s “Uproar” and his hot new single, “Kat Food.” He rocked a hoodie on stage and kept his eyes covered with sunglasses while dancers performed their choreographed routines next to him. His set was largely bleeped out due to the overuse of profanity. Much of the show consisted of annoying sounds rather than actual music.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Stage Collapse Moment
A stagehand directs Olivia Rodrigo off stage during her MTV #VMAs performance. https://t.co/mLNbmLXyoC pic.twitter.com/QBklzJTry0
— Variety (@Variety) September 13, 2023
Olivia Rodrigo was in the middle of her hit song “Vampire” when her stage props suddenly began falling all around her. The pyrotechnics were going off during her performance and things seemed to be going to plan until bushes and trees began dropping around her. The star hunched over to duck out of the way of the falling objects and was swiftly ushered off-stage by a crew member. A blue curtain dropped in front of the fallen backdrop, and Rodrigo reappeared and sang in front of it. Fans rushed to social media stressing this was done on purpose and part of the show. Regardless, the crowd seemed shocked and confused, especially Selena Gomez. Overall, this was a pointless prank that just made her set designer look silly.
Taylor Swift Fangirled for NSYNC
Taylor Swift was called to accept the award for best pop music but couldn’t get past the fact the presenters were the members of NSYNC. The group reunited for this particular moment, and Swift couldn’t get over it.
“I’m not doing well pivoting from this [the NSYNC reunion] to this [accepting the award],” Swift said.
She fangirled pretty hard and said, “Like, I had your dolls!” Their reunion stunned her, and she began asking them questions while on stage.
“Are you doing something? What’s gonna happen now?” she said. “There’s something they’re going to do — they’re going to do something and I need to know what it is!” Swift said excitedly. “You guys — you’re pop personified, so to receive this from your golden pop hands, really it’s too much,” Swift said. (RELATED: Cardi B’s Dress Made Out Of Hair Clips Is Ugly As Hell)
The Lip Syncing Continues
Shakira gave an energy-popping 10-minute performance before accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, but many fans were questioning whether she was really singing at all. The star’s lips were moving at a noticeably different pace, and fans questioned how she would be able to put on a show like the one she did without being out of breath or panting into the microphone. It took away from the performance to see her fake-singing skills on clear display at the beginning and left fans wondering about the authenticity of the performances of other stars.