Taylor Swift made a powerful impact at the 2024 VMAs, winning seven awards during the event held at UBS Arena in New York on Wednesday, September 11. These wins raise Swift’s career total to 30 Moonpersons, tying her with Beyoncé as the all-time top winner in the show’s history. Beyoncé has earned 26 awards solo, two with The Carters, and two with Destiny’s Child.
Swift’s success was highlighted by five awards shared with Post Malone, her collaborator on the hit track “Fortnight,” positioning him second in the night’s tally. “Fortnight” took home the video of the year award, marking the third consecutive year—and the fifth time overall—that Swift has won in this prestigious category. She previously won for “Bad Blood” (2015), “You Need to Calm Down” (2019), “All Too Well: The Short Film” (2022), and “Anti-Hero” (2023). This achievement extends Swift’s record for the most wins in the category and makes her the first to win it three years in a row.
In addition to winning video of the year, Swift directed the “Fortnight” video, which earned her the award for best direction. This makes it her fourth win in the category over the past five years for videos she personally directed, following victories for “The Man,” “All Too Well: The Short Film,” and “Anti-Hero.”
Swift also claimed the artist of the year award for the second consecutive year, making her the first to win the title twice since its introduction in 2017. “Fortnight” also secured best collaboration, marking Swift’s third win in this category after her victories for “Bad Blood” (featuring Kendrick Lamar) and “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” with Zayn. Swift further triumphed in the best pop category for the third time, tying her with Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake for the most wins in that category, with Timberlake’s total including two wins with *NSYNC.
While Swift had a dominant night, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” edged out “Fortnight” for song of the year. However, “Fortnight” managed to best Carpenter’s subsequent hit, “Please Please Please,” for song of the summer.
Eminem, Megan Thee Stallion, and Katy Perry each took home two awards. Eminem’s wins—best hip-hop and best visual effects for “Houdini”—brought his career VMA total to 15, the most for any male artist, breaking a tie with Peter Gabriel, who had 13 wins. This marked Eminem’s third win for best hip-hop, a category where only Nicki Minaj holds more victories with five. Megan Thee Stallion, who hosted the show, won best trending video for “Mamushi” (featuring Yuki Chiba) and best art direction for “BOA.”
Katy Perry received the prestigious Video Vanguard Award, and in a surprise twist, also won VMAs most iconic performance for her 2013 rendition of “Roar.” Her performance triumphed over other memorable VMA moments, including Madonna’s 1984 performance of “Like a Virgin” and Eminem’s 2000 performance of “The Real Slim Shady” and “The Way I Am” featuring over 100 Eminem lookalikes.
Women continued their dominance in key categories, marking the seventh consecutive year a female artist has won best new artist, the sixth consecutive year a woman has won video for good, the fifth consecutive year a woman has taken home song of the year, and the fourth consecutive year a woman has claimed best Latin. Kanye West remains the last male artist to win the Video Vanguard Award in 2015.
Chappell Roan claimed the best new artist award, extending the streak of female winners in the category. Cardi B initiated the trend in 2018, followed by Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Dove Cameron, Ice Spice, and now Roan. Both Eilish and Rodrigo went on to win Grammys for best new artist, positioning Roan as a strong contender for the same honor.
Tyla’s “Water” earned the best Afrobeats award in its second year as a VMA category, following last year’s win by Rema and Selena Gomez for “Calm Down.” In the best group video category, Seventeen continued the trend of K-pop dominance, winning for the sixth consecutive year after Blackpink’s win last year and BTS’s four-year reign before that.
SZA won best R&B for the second consecutive year with her hit “Snooze,” after winning with “Shirt” last year. She joins the ranks of En Vogue (1992-93), Destiny’s Child (2000-01), and Alicia Keys (2004-05) as one of the few artists to win this category back-to-back.
Anitta secured her third consecutive win for best Latin with “Mil Veces,” tying J Balvin’s three-year run from 2018 to 2020. Her previous wins were for “Envolver” in 2022 and “Funk Rave” in 2023.
LISA took home best K-pop for the second time in three years with “Rockstar,” while Billie Eilish won video for good with “What Was I Made For?” Eilish had previously won in this category three years ago for “Your Power.”
Lenny Kravitz won best rock for “Human,” his first win in the category, beating out legendary bands Bon Jovi, Coldplay, Green Day, Kings of Leon, and U2.
Despite receiving four nominations each, Charli XCX, GloRilla, Olivia Rodrigo, and Teddy Swims were all shut out from winning any awards.
