The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on September 12, 2023.[2] The show was hosted by Nicki Minaj, marking her second consecutive year in the role.[3] This was the first time the ceremony was held on a Tuesday.[4] A new award category, "Show of the Summer", was awarded this year through fan votes.[5] Shakira was honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.[6] Diddy was honored with the Global Icon Award.[7] Taylor Swift was the most nominated and awarded artist of the night, winning nine out of her eleven nominations.
| 2023 MTV Video Music Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | Tuesday, September 12, 2023 8:00–11:51 p.m. EDT |
| Venue | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
| Hosted by | Nicki Minaj[a] |
| Most awards | Taylor Swift (9) |
| Most nominations | Taylor Swift (11) |
| Website | mtv |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | |
| Produced by | Bruce Gillmer Jesse Ignjatovic[1] |
| Directed by | Liz Clare |
The 2023 edition was the most watched MTV Video Music Awards show on the flagship linear network to air since 2020. It was the highest-rated edition of the show in three years among the 18–49 demographic with a 1.03 (compared to a 0.58 in 2020), as well as among adults 18–34, where the show saw its best rating since 2019, up 118% to a 1.14. Viewership across all networks was comparable to the prior year with 3.92 million viewers.[8]
Performances
Pre-show
The performers for the pre-show were announced on September 6, 2023.[9]
| Artist(s) | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| NLE Choppa | "Ain't Gonna Answer" "It's Getting Hot"/"Hot in Herre" (with Nelly) |
| Sabrina Carpenter | "Feather" "Nonsense" |
Main show
The first round of performers for the main show were announced on August 22, 2023.[10][11] The second round of performers for the main show were announced on August 31, 2023.[12][13] Olivia Rodrigo was announced as a main show performer on September 7, 2023.[14] The third round of performers for the main show were announced on September 8, 2023.[15][16] Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion were announced as main show performers on September 9, 2023.[17] Performers for the Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Medley were announced on September 11, 2023.[18] Due to the ceremony's diversity, the musical performances featured artists from every country: United States, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Italy, South Korea, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Extended Play stage
Extended play stage performers were announced on September 6, 2023.[9][21]
| Artist(s) | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Kaliii | "Area Codes" "K Toven" |
| Reneé Rapp | "Too Well" "Pretty Girls" |
| The Warning | "More" "Evolve" |
Rankings
Following the show, performances were ranked by various music and news outlets.
Billboard
| Performance[22] | Rank |
|---|---|
| Shakira, Video Vanguard Award Medley | 1 |
| Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J, Lil Wayne & Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, medley | 2 |
| Peso Pluma, "Lady Gaga" | 3 |
| Demi Lovato, medley | 4 |
| Anitta, "Used to Be" and "Funk Rave" | 5 |
| Stray Kids, "S-Class” | 6 |
| Doja Cat, medley | 7 |
| Karol G, "Oki Doki" & "Ta OK" | 8 |
| Olivia Rodrigo, "Vampire" & "Get Him Back!" | 9 |
| Metro Boomin, Future, Swae Lee, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and NAV, "Superhero (Heroes and Villains)" & "Calling" | 10 |
USA Today
| Performance[23] | Rank |
|---|---|
| Shakira | 1 |
| Demi Lovato | 2 |
| Olivia Rodrigo | 3 |
| Nicki Minaj | 4 |
| Tomorrow X Together and Anitta | 5 |
| Kelsea Ballerini | 6 |
| Sean 'Diddy' Combs | 7 |
| Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion | 8 |
| Måneskin | 9 |
| Karol G | 10 |
Presenters
The first round of presenters were announced on September 6, 2023. Saweetie hosted the 90-minute pre-show event with co-hosts Nessa, Dometi Pongo, and Kevan Kenney.[21][24] Nicki Minaj was announced as the main show host on September 8, 2023.[3]
Pre-show
- Kevan Kenney – presented Push Performance of the Year
- Saweetie and Dometi Pongo – presented Video for Good
Main show
- NSYNC – presented Best Pop
- Dove Cameron – announced the finalists for Best New Artist & later presented the award
- Charli D'Amelio & Dixie D'Amelio – presented Best K-Pop
- A Boogie wit da Hoodie – introduced Kaliii & the Extended Play Stage
- Nelly Furtado & Timbaland – presented Song of the Year
- Madelyn Cline – introduced Anitta
- Ashanti & French Montana – presented Best R&B
- Ice Spice – introduced Doja Cat
- Wyclef Jean – introduced Shakira & presented the Video Vanguard Award
- Billy Porter – introduced Nicki Minaj
- Fat Joe & Thalía – presented Best Latin
- Emily Ratajkowski – introduced Karol G
- Coco Jones – introduced Reneé Rapp
- Mary J. Blige – introduced Diddy & presented the Global Icon Award
- Shenseea – introduced Peso Pluma
- Tiffany Haddish – presented Best Afrobeats
- Saweetie – introduced Stray Kids
- Anuel AA – introduced The Warning
- Jared Leto & Shannon Leto – presented Best Hip-Hop
- GloRilla – introduced Metro Boomin, Swae Lee, Nav, Future & A Boogie wit da Hoodie
- Rita Ora – presented Best Collaboration
- Bebe Rexha – introduced Fall Out Boy
- Nicki Minaj (emcee) – presented Best Direction
- Sabrina Carpenter – introduced Tomorrow X Together & Anitta
- Chloe x Halle – introduced Måneskin
- Reneé Rapp – introduced Kelsea Ballerini
- Metro Boomin, Swae Lee, Nav & A Boogie wit da Hoodie – introduced the Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Medley
- LL Cool J – presented Video of the Year
Winners and nominees
The first round of nominees were announced on August 8.[25] The nominees for the Group of the Year, Show of the Summer, Album of the Year, and Song of Summer were announced on September 1.[5] Taylor Swift led the nominations with eleven, followed by SZA with eight nominations, and Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Blackpink, and Olivia Rodrigo each with six nominations.[26][27]
Voted categories
The winners of the following categories were chosen by fan votes.[28] The first round of voting known as the "General Voting Period" began on August 8 at 12 pm. ET, for the categories which nominees were announced on the same day[29] and concluded on September 1 at 6 pm. ET, except for Best New Artist, which concluded on September 12 at 10 p.m. ET.[30] "Instagram Story Voting" began on September 3 at 11 am. ET and concluded on September 12 at 11 am. ET.[30]
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
Professional categories
The winners of the following categories were chosen by industry professionals.
| Best Visual Effects | Best Editing |
|---|---|
|
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| Best Direction | Best Art Direction |
|
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| Best Choreography | Best Cinematography |
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Special awards
The following awards have special significance and are not necessarily awarded annually.[31] Shakira was announced as the recipient of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award on August 28,[6] becoming the first South American artist to receive the highest honor.[6] Diddy was announced as the recipient of the Global Icon Award on September 2.[b][7]
| Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award (Presented by Toyota) | Global Icon Award[c] |
|---|---|
| Shakira[6] | Diddy[7] |
Voting system
The Official Voting System for the 2023 Video Music Awards, according to MTV, was as follows:[30]
- Each voter must be at least 13 years or older to participate in the voting.
General voting period
- The first round of voting was known as the "General Voting Period" and included most of the voted categories (15 out of 19 categories).[32]
- It began on August 8 at 12 pm. ET, and concluded on September 1 at 6 pm. ET, except for Best New Artist, which concluded on September 12 at 10 pm. ET.
- Each voter can vote up to 10 times per category per day through Vote.MTV.com.
- Voters should have signed in to their MTV.com Account, as its necessary to limit their votes across devices.[32]
Double Days and Power Hours
- There were three "Double Days" with "Power Hours".
- August 8 from 12 p.m. to 11:59 pm. ET
- August 9 from 12 a.m. to 11:59 am. ET
- September 1 from 12 a.m. to 6 pm. ET
- During these periods, voting limits were doubled; each voter could vote up to 20 times per category per day.[29]
Instagram Story voting
- The second round of voting is known as the "Instagram Story Voting" and includes Group of the Year, Show of the Summer, Album of the Year, and Song of Summer.
- It was held through MTV's Instagram stories from September 3 at 11 am. ET to September 12 at 11 am. ET.[33]
- Voters can vote by clicking on their favorite nominees on Instagram polling stickers.
Single-round voting
- Show of the Summer was held as "single-round voting" from September 3 at 11 am. ET until September 4 at 11 am. ET.
- Album of the Year was held as "single-round voting" from September 11 at 11 am. ET until September 12 at 11 am. ET.
Triple-round voting
- Group of the Year was held as "triple-round voting" from September 4 at 11 am. ET to September 7 at 11 am. ET.
- In each round, nominees will proceed to the next round by bracket standings.
Four-round voting
- Song of Summer was held as "four-round voting" from September 7 at at 11 am. ET to September 11 at 11 am. ET.
- In each round, nominees will proceed to the next round by bracket standings.
Ratings
The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards received 3.9 million viewers across all networks, including 865,000 viewers on MTV, a 37% jump in comparison to the previous year for the flagship network and comparable total network viewers from 2022.[34] The show marked the event's highest MTV rating among the 18–49 demographic since 2019, with a 1.03.[35]
Related events
MTV VMA Fantasy
To celebrate the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, Meta Fantasy Games launched "MTV VMA Fantasy" on Facebook. It had four rounds of binary question groups. It began on August 31, 2023 and concluded on September 12, 2023.[36][37]
VMA Block Party
To celebrate the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, MTV hosted a free public event titled the "VMA Block Party" for the first time at Oculus Plaza in Lower Manhattan on September 9, 2023, from 12 p.m. to 4 pm. EDT.[38] MTV stated the event would be held annually for future shows.[39] Alexander Stewart, Amaarae, Jenna Raine, and DJ CherishTheLuv were announced as the performers for the event on September 8, 2023.[38]