Influencer Editorial Team
In response to the ageless query posed by returning VMAs host Nicki Minaj, “What’s good?” – the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards had plenty to offer, starting with the impressive lineup of nominees. Taylor Swift emerged as the frontrunner with a staggering 9 wins, largely attributed to her self-directed masterpiece, “Anti-Hero.” Notably, she secured a repeat victory for Video of the Year, following her triumph last year with “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”. With this, she now stands second only to Beyoncé in terms of overall VMAs wins.
The list of top nominees also included notable artists such as SZA, Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Blackpink, and Olivia Rodrigo. Many of these talented individuals graced the stage with their performances. This year marked a groundbreaking moment for women and nonbinary artists at the awards, as they constituted the entire slate of nominees for Video of the Year and Artist of the Year for the very first time.
In a year of firsts, the VMAs introduced the Best Afrobeats category, highlighting the global reach of music. Additionally, the ceremony featured the presentation of two prestigious lifetime achievement awards: the Video Vanguard Award bestowed upon Shakira and the Global Icon Award presented to Diddy.
The celestial celebration known as the Moon People Awards kicked off with the preshow at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the main event at 8 p.m. Below, we provide a comprehensive list of winners for the 2023 MTV VMAs:
Video of the Year
Doja Cat – “Attention”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
SZA – “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Artist of the Year
Beyoncé
Doja Cat
KAROL G
Nicki Minaj
Shakira
Taylor Swift
Song of the Year
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit”
SZA – “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best New Artist
GloRilla
Ice Spice
Kaliii
Peso Pluma
PinkPantheress
Reneé Rapp
Push Performance of the Year
Saucy Santana – “Booty”
Stephen Sanchez – “Until I Found You”
JVKE – “golden hour”
Flo Milli – “Conceited”
Reneé Rapp – “Colorado”
Sam Ryder – “All the Way Over”
Armani White – “GOATED”
FLETCHER – “Becky’s So Hot”
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride”
Ice Spice – “Princess Diana”
FLO – “Losing You”
Lauren Spencer Smith – “That Part”
Best Collaboration
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – “I’m Good (Blue)”
Post Malone, Doja Cat – “I Like You (A Happier Song)”
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
KAROL G, Shakira – “TQG”
Metro Boomin with the Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Best Pop
Demi Lovato – “Swine”
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night (From Barbie The Album)”
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
P!NK – “TRUSTFALL”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”
Best Hip-Hop
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
DJ Khaled ft. Drake & Lil Baby – “STAYING ALIVE”
GloRilla & Cardi B – “Tomorrow 2”
Lil Uzi Vert – “Just Wanna Rock”
Lil Wayne ft. Swizz Beatz & DMX – “Kant Nobody”
Metro Boomin ft. Future – “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”
Best R&B
Alicia Keys ft. Lucky Daye – “Stay”
Chlöe ft. Chris Brown – “How Does It Feel”
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
SZA – “Shirt”
Toosii – “Favorite Song”
Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj – “Love In The Way”
Best Alternative
blink-182 – “EDGING”
boygenius – “the film”
Fall Out Boy – “Hold Me Like A Grudge”
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace”
Paramore – “This Is Why”
Thirty Seconds To Mars – “Stuck”
Best Rock
Foo Fighters – “The Teacher”
Linkin Park – “Lost (Original Version)”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Tippa My Tongue”
Måneskin – “THE LONELIEST”
Metallica – “Lux Æterna”
Muse – “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”
Best Latin
Anitta – “Funk Rave”
Bad Bunny – “WHERE SHE GOES”
Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma – “Ella Baila Sola”
Grupo Frontera Bad Bunny – “un x100to”
KAROL G, Shakira – “TQG”
ROSALÍA – “DESPECHÁ”
Shakira – “Acróstico”
Best K-Pop
aespa – “Girls”
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom”
FIFTY FIFTY – “Cupid”
SEVENTEEN – “Super”
Stray Kids – “S-Class”
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride”
Best Afrobeats
Ayra Starr – “Rush”
Burna Boy – “It’s Plenty”
Davido ft. Musa Keys – “UNAVAILABLE”
Fireboy DML & Asake – ”Bandana”
Libianca – “People”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Wizkid ft. Ayra Starr– “2 Sugar”
Video for Good
Alicia Keys – “If I Ain’t Got You (Orchestral)”
Bad Bunny – “El Apagón – Aquí Vive Gente”
Demi Lovato – “Swine”
Dove Cameron – “Breakfast”
Imagine Dragons – “Crushed”
Maluma – “La Reina”
Show of the Summer
Beyoncé
BLACKPINK
Drake
Ed Sheeran
KAROL G
Taylor Swift
Group of the Year
BLACKPINK
FIFTY FIFTY
FLO
Jonas Brothers
Måneskin
NewJeans
SEVENTEEN
TOMORROW X TOGETHER
Album of the Year
Beyoncé – Renaissance
Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
SZA – SOS
Taylor Swift – Midnights
Song of the Summer
Beyoncé – “Cuff It”
Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For? (From Barbie The Album)”
Doechii ft. Kodak Black – “What It Is (Block Boy)”
Doja Cat – “Paint the Town Red”
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night (From Barbie The Album)”
FIFTY FIFTY – “Cupid (Twin Ver.)”
Gunna – “fukumean”
Jung Kook ft. Latto – “Seven”
Luke Combs – “Fast Car”
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice – “Barbie World (with Aqua) [From Barbie The Album]”
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
SZA – “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice – “Karma”
Tomorrow X Together and Jonas Brothers – “Do It Like That”
Troye Sivan – “Rush”
Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma – “La Bebe (Remix)”
Best Direction
Doja Cat – “Attention” (Directed by Tanu Muiño)
Drake – “Falling Back” (Directed by Director X (Julien Christian Lutz))
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” (Directed by Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar)
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” (Directed by Colin Tilley)
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” (Directed by Floria Sigismondi)
SZA – “Kill Bill” (Directed by Christian Breslauer)
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” (Directed by Taylor Swift)
Best Cinematography
Adele – “I Drink Wine” (Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra)
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed” (Cinematography by Natasha Baier)
Janelle Monae – “Lipstick Lover” (Cinematography by Allison Anderson)
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” (Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra)
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers” (Cinematography by Marcell Rev)
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” (Cinematography by Russ Fraser)
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” (Cinematography by Rina Yang)
Best Visual Effects
Fall Out Boy – “Love From The Other Side” (Visual Effects by Thomas Bailey and Josh Shaffner)
Harry Styles – “Music For A Sushi Restaurant” (Visual Effects by Chelsea Delfino and Black Kite Studios)
Melanie Martinez – “VOID” (Visual Effects by Carbon)
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl” (Visual Effects by CameoFX)
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” (Visual Effects by Max Colt / FRENDER)
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” (Visual Effects by Parliament)
Best Choreography
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” (Choreography by Kiel Tutin, Sienna Lalau, Lee Jung (YGX), Taryn Cheng (YGX))
Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)” (Choreography by Charm LaDonna)
Jonas Brothers – “Waffle House” (Choreography by Jerry Reece)
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” (Choreography by Sean Bankhead)
Panic! At The Disco – “Middle Of A Breakup” (Choreography by Monika Felice Smith)
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” (Choreography by (LA)HORDE – Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, Arthur Harel)
Best Art Direction
boygenius – “the film” (Art Direction by Jen Dunlap)
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” (Art Direction by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT))
Doja Cat – “Attention” (Art Direction by Spencer Graves)
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace” (Art Direction by Brandon Mendez)
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” (Art Direction by Wes Dogan)
SZA – “Shirt” (Art Direction by Kate Bunch)
Best Editing
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” (Editing by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT))
Kendrick Lamar – “Rich Spirit” (Edited by Grason Caldwell)
Miley Cyrus – “River” (Edited by Brandan Walter)
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” (Edited by Sofia Kerpan and David Checel)
SZA – “Kill Bill” (Edited by Luis Caraza Peimbert)
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” (Edited by Chancler Haynes)
Video Vanguard Award
Shakira
Global Icon Award
Diddy
