Taylor Swift wins Video of the Year at 2024 MTV Video Music Awards

Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for “Fortnight,” her collaboration with Post Malone, at Wednesday’s MTV Video Music Awards ceremony at Elmont's UBS Arena and used her acceptance speech to thank her fans, her production team and her boyfriend, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, who was present during filming sessions.

“Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic,” Swift said, “so I wanted to thank him for adding to our shoot.”

Swift asked her fans who are over 18 to register to vote. On Tuesday night, Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris shortly after the debate with former President Donald Trump ended.

BIG NIGHT FOR SWIFT

Swift also won the first award of the night, taking home Best Collaboration for “Fortnight.” her hit single with Post Malone. She also made the evening’s first mention of the show taking place on Sept. 11, noting that she woke up in New York City that morning thinking about the 2001 terror attacks.

“Everyone who lost a loved one and everyone that we lost, that is the most important thing about today,” Swift said.

Swift's awards haul brings her to a career total of 30, tying her and Beyoncé for the title of most-awarded musician in VMA history. 

This year’s VMAs — bumped from Tuesday to avoid clashing with the presidential debate — took place for the first time at UBS Arena, putting Long Island in the company of past VMA locations like Manhattan, Los Angeles and Miami. For the ceremony’s 40th anniversary edition, organizers developed an eye-catching stage that featured an inflatable, 62-foot tall sculpture of MTV’s iconic Moon Person — no longer the gendered Moon Man — along with five stages and 1,700 video tiles.

WHO OPENED THE SHOW?

Eminem kicked off the show with “Houdini,” the single from his 12th album, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).” Eminem entered the arena followed by an army of look-alikes in matching bleach-blond hair and black shirts. (Swift, in the audience, could be seen boogieing to the rhythm, which builds on a sample of Steve Miller Band’s 1982 pop nugget “Abracadabra.”) Eminem also performed “Somebody to Save Me,” which included a sample of Jelly Roll’s “Save Me.”

Soon after, Roosevelt-born and Freeport-raised Flavor Flav appeared onstage with Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles and lamented her recent loss of a bronze medal. “But you know what? I got you something that they can’t take away from you,” Flav said, then draped a giant purple-bejeweled clock around her neck. Chiles’ response: “Wow. I don’t know what to say here.”

HOW WAS MEGAN THEE STALLION?

Megan Thee Stallion played a dual role: host and performer. She changed outfits frequently — one was a star-spangled one-piece bathing suit, another, inspired by Britney Spears’ 2001 VMAs performance of “I’m a Slave 4 U,” included a snake — and settled on a bikini made of yellow ribbons while running through her hit singles “Boa” and “Mamushi” (joined by Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba). Meantime, soul-crooner Teddy Swims played snippets of his songs (including “Lose Control”) backed by a small combo before commercial breaks.

GLOBAL REACH

In a sign of pop music’s increasingly global reach, the show was simulcast live on Univision, the most-watched network among U.S. Hispanic audiences. One performance featured a nearly entirely Latino ensemble, including Brazilian singer Anitta (singing her hit “Paradise”), rapper Fat Joe (whose parents are Cuban and Puerto Rican) and Mexico’s Peso Pluma, who joined her for their collaboration “BELLAKEO.”

Later, South African singer Tyla won the Afrobeats award — a new category introduced last year — and pleaded with the audience not to group all African artists under the same label. “African music is so diverse,” she said. “It’s more than just Afrobeats.”

KATY PERRY HONORED

Actor Orlando Bloom introduced his fiancee as “Katheryn Hudson” — better known as Katy Perry, winner of the year’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Perry ran through an elaborately staged medley of hits past and recent — from “Dark Horse” to “Firework” to “Lifetimes” — then accepted the award from her fiance. Perry, 39, credited her longevity to an ability to “block out all the noise” and encouraged the audience to “turn off social media, safeguard your mental health.”

CHAPPELL ROAN'S AMAZING PERFORMANCE

The night’s most incendiary performance — almost literally — came from Chappell Roan, who performed her single “Good Luck, Babe!” wearing medieval armor and dancing in front of a burning castle. It was one of four nominated songs that were either co-written or produced by Dan Nigro, the Massapequa rocker turned hitmaker. (His others were Olivia Rodrigo’s “obsessed,” “get him back!” and “bad idea right?”) Roan also won the Best New Artist trophy.

LONG ISLAND IN THE HOUSE

Uniondale-raised Busta Rhymes introduced a tribute performance to the seminal hip-hop label Def Jam, itself founded by Long Beach native Rick Rubin. Bay Shore's LL Cool J was the star of that show, running through snippets of hits such as “Headsprung,” “Mama Said Knock You Out” and “Doin’ It.” But the lineup also included Flavor Flav and Chuck D, of Roosevelt rap group Public Enemy, who ran through a version of their aggressive 1988 hit “Bring the Noise.”

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman