The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards Are Back—Here's What to Know
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The MTV Video Music Awards are officially back—in person—and fast approaching.
The show comes after a particularly monumental remote 2020 viewing, during which Lady Gaga won the first Tricon Award, host Keke Palmer shared substantive remarks on music's healing power amid the year's heavy sociopolitical climate, and celebrity attendees stunned the carpet in a slew of unforgettable looks—from Miley Cyrus's shimmering Mugler moment to Gaga's out-of-this-world futuristic silver ensemble.
This year's VMAs are set to take place on Sunday, September 12, at Barclays Center in New York City, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Artists such as Lorde, Camila Cabello, Olivia Rodrigo, and Machine Gun Kelly are waiting to take the stage. For more information on what's to come, read on for everything else we know about the highly anticipated awards show.
Doja Cat is this year's host.
It's been a big year for Doja Cat—following her first MTV VMA live performance of her Billboard-topping single, "Say So," just last year, the Planet Her artist is now also officially hosting the upcoming awards show. She took to Instagram to share the news with a post featuring MTV's video promo of the announcement.
"I'm hosting the 2021 #VMAs this year Wowowowowowow 🤯," the singer wrote in the caption.
The artist is in the running for five awards this year, including Artist of the Year—alongside Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion, and Taylor Swift—in addition to Best Art Direction for "Best Friend," Best Visual Effects for "You Right," as well as Best Collaboration and Video of the Year for hit single "Kiss Me More" featuring SZA.
Olivia Rodrigo and Kacey Musgraves will make their MTV performance debuts.
Per MTV, fast-rising pop icon Olivia Rodrigo, who is also up for five nominations that evening, will make her MTV VMAs debut with a performance of her number one, Billboard-topping single, "Good 4 U."
Kacey Musgraves will also make her debut on the MTV stage for a world-premiere performance of her new song, "Star-Crossed," as part of her highly anticipated fourth studio album.
Lil Nas X, Lorde, and others will return to the MTV stage.
Ahead of the September 17 release of his debut album, Montero, Lil Nas X will be performing live on the network for the first time since his initial breakthrough "Panini" performance in 2019, per MTV.
Lorde will additionally return to the MTV stage for a world-premiere performance of select songs from her newly released third album, Solar Power—following her surprise resurgence with the drop of the titular "Solar Power" in June. Her live show on the network will also be her first since the unforgettable, very-visual performance she gave back in 2017.
Other artists to return to the stage include Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Machine Gun Kelly, and Chloe Bailey (Chloe x Halle), per Pitchfork. Cabello will reportedly share songs from her upcoming LP, Familia, while Kelly is set to premiere his new single, "Papercuts," as part of his forthcoming sixth studio album, Born with Horns.
The VMAs will be available to stream on MTV.
If you haven't booked your in-person VIP Access tickets, you can stream the event on the MTV cable channel on September 12 at 8 p.m. ET. Streaming is available to those with a Paramount+ subscription, which costs $5 a month.
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