Miley Cyrus Straddles Disco Ball During 'Midnight Sky' Performance at 2020 VMAs
Miley Cyrus
The queen of the VMAs is back!
At the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Miley Cyrus performed her new song "Midnight Sky" live for the first time since its Aug. 14 release.
The singer released the empowering track on the same day PEOPLE confirmed she and Cody Simpson broke up after 10 months of dating.
At the end of her performance, Cyrus climbed onto a giant disco ball in a move that was reminiscent of her iconic "Wrecking Ball" music video.
Our girl @MileyCyrus has us all gazing at the #MidnightSky tonight! #VMAs 🔭✨ pic.twitter.com/7UVmPix1My
— MTV (@MTV) August 31, 2020
The star celebrated the song's seventh anniversary last week on Instagram, writing: "My concept of time is completely askew. Feels like a lifetime ago... but somehow only yesterday. Thank you for all the support you gave me then and of course the love you're continuing to show my art today. Forever grateful & inspired."
A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on Aug 25, 2020 at 9:14am PDT
Cyrus, who previously hosted the awards show in 2015, is nominated for best art direction and best editing for "Mother's Daughter." She stepped on to the red carpet wearing jewelry by Loree Rodkin.
The performance marked her fifth VMAs appearance and her second in a row. At last year's show, Cyrus debuted her song "Slide Away" for her first public appearance at the time after her split from ex-husband Liam Hemsworth.
@vmas red carpet moment yasssssss @muglerofficial 📸 @vijatm
A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on Aug 30, 2020 at 5:08pm PDT
RELATED: Miley Cyrus Drops Single 'Midnight Sky' & Self-Directed Video Hours After Cody Simpson Split News
"Midnight Sky," for which Cyrus self-directed the accompanying music video, is the first single off She Is Miley Cyrus, which she has yet to announce the release date for.
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande lead this year's nominations with nine nods each. Billie Eilish and The Weeknd follow closely behind with six nominations.
@vmas rehearsals 💙 TOMORROW I’M PERFORMING MIDNIGHT SKY LIVE FOR THE 1ST TIME EVERRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!
A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus) on Aug 29, 2020 at 7:06am PDT
Check out PEOPLE's full MTV VMAs coverage to get the latest news on one of music's biggest nights.
Along with the usual categories — including video of the year, artist of the year, song of the year, best collaboration and more — MTV has added two new categories aimed at honoring music created during the pandemic: best music video from home and best quarantine performance.
The socially distanced broadcast, hosted by Keke Palmer, will feature performances from Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga, BTS, The Black Eyed Peas, The Weeknd, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Maluma and CNCO.
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The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards are airing from New York City on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. ET.
