2017 MTV Video Music Awards

The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 27, 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California,^[1] honoring music videos released between June 25, 2016 and June 23, 2017. It was hosted by Katy Perry.^[2][3] The 34th annual award show aired live from the venue for the second time in its history. The music video for Taylor Swift's song "Look What You Made Me Do" premiered during the broadcast. Lil Yachty co-hosted the pre-show with Terrence J, Charlamagne Tha God, and MTV News' Gaby Wilson, while Gabbie Hanna hosted backstage for the show.^[4] It was broadcast across various Viacom networks and their related apps.

2017 MTV Video Music Awards
Date	Sunday, August 27, 2017 (2017-08-27)
Venue	The Forum (Inglewood, California)
Country	United States
Hosted by	Katy Perry
Most awards	Kendrick Lamar (6)
Most nominations	Kendrick Lamar (8)
Website	www.mtv.com/vma
Television/radio coverage
Network	MTV MTV2 VH1 MTV Classic BET CMT Comedy Central Logo TV Spike TV Land
Runtime	185 minutes
Produced by	Bruce Gillmer Garrett English Jesse Ignjatovic
Directed by	Alex Rudzinski
← 2016 · MTV Video Music Awards · 2018 →

Compared to the previous year, viewership was down from 6.5 million to 5.68 million viewers, making it the lowest viewed show since 1994. A combination of having to compete with the season finale of HBO's Game of Thrones, which drew over 12.07 million viewers, and the ability to now stream the award show online is said to account for the drop in viewership.^[5][6]

Performances

List of musical performances

Artist(s)	Song(s)
Pre-show
Cardi B	"Bodak Yellow"
Bleachers	"Don't Take the Money"
Khalid	"Location" "Young Dumb & Broke"
Main show
Kendrick Lamar	"DNA" "Humble"
Ed Sheeran Lil Uzi Vert	"Shape of You" "XO Tour Llif3"
Julia Michaels	"Issues"
Shawn Mendes	"There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back"
Lorde	"Homemade Dynamite"
Fifth Harmony Gucci Mane	"Angel" "Down"
Miley Cyrus	"Younger Now"
Demi Lovato	"Sorry Not Sorry" (Pre-Taped from the Palms Casino in Las Vegas)
Pink	Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Medley "Get the Party Started" "Raise Your Glass" "So What" "Fuckin' Perfect" "Just Give Me a Reason" "Don't Let Me Get Me" "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" "What About Us"
Kyle	"iSpy"
James Arthur	"Say You Won't Let Go" (Part of a Commercial)
Alessia Cara	"Scars to Your Beautiful"
Logic Khalid Alessia Cara	"1-800-273-8255"
Thirty Seconds to Mars Travis Scott	"Walk on Water" "Butterfly Effect"
Rod Stewart DNCE	"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (Pre-Taped from the Palms Casino in Las Vegas)
Katy Perry Nicki Minaj	"Swish Swish"
After-show (only web)
Demi Lovato	"Cool for the Summer"

Source:^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Appearances

Pre-show

• Gaby Wilson — announced the winners of Best Choreography and Song of the Summer

Main show

• Jack McBrayer, Buzz Aldrin, Peggy Whitson, Abbi Jacobson, Kathryn Hahn and Kevin Bacon — appeared in a skit with host Katy Perry
• Paris Jackson — presented Best Pop Video
• Hailee Steinfeld — introduced Julia Michaels
• Yara Shahidi — introduced Shawn Mendes
• Jack Antonoff and Alessandra Ambrosio — introduced Lorde
• Teyana Taylor and Pete Wentz — presented Best Dance Video
• Fred Armisen — appeared in a skit with host Katy Perry
• DJ Khaled — introduced Fifth Harmony
• Ludacris and Olivia Munn — presented Best Collaboration
• Jared Leto — paid tribute to Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell and introduced a clip of Linkin Park's 2010 VMA performance
• Billy Eichner — appeared in a skit with host Katy Perry
• Pete Davidson and Tiffany Haddish — presented Best Hip Hop Video
• Cardi B — introduced Demi Lovato
• Ellen DeGeneres — presented the Video Vanguard Award
• Millie Bobby Brown — presented Artist of the Year
• Vanessa Hudgens — introduced Alessia Cara
• Kesha — introduced Logic, Khalid and Alessia Cara
• Bebe Rexha and The Chainsmokers — presented Best New Artist
• Lil Yachty — introduced Thirty Seconds to Mars
• Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV — gave a speech denouncing racism and introduced Susan Bro
• Susan Bro — spoke about the Heather Heyer Foundation and presented Best Fight Against the System
• Hailey Baldwin — introduced Rod Stewart and DNCE
• Gal Gadot — presented Video of the Year
• Noah Cyrus — introduced Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj

Source:^[13]

Winners and nominees

The list of nominations was revealed on July 25, 2017. For the nominations, MTV continued to eliminate gender-specific awards categories, as they did at the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards. MTV also announced the "Moonman" statue would be renamed a "Moon Person".^[14] The Best Female and Best Male Video awards were replaced with one category, Artist of the Year. Kendrick Lamar leads the list of nominees with eight categories, while Katy Perry, The Weeknd, and DJ Khaled received the second most nods with five.^[15] Nominees for Song of the Summer category were announced on August 22, 2017.^[16] Winners are listed in bold.^[17]

Video of the Year

Kendrick Lamar — "Humble"

• Alessia Cara — "Scars to Your Beautiful"
• DJ Khaled (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) — "Wild Thoughts"
• Bruno Mars — "24K Magic"
• The Weeknd — "Reminder"

Artist of the Year

Ed Sheeran

• Ariana Grande
• Kendrick Lamar
• Lorde
• Bruno Mars
• The Weeknd

Best New Artist

Khalid

• Noah Cyrus
• Kodak Black
• Julia Michaels
• SZA
• Young M.A

Best Collaboration

Zayn and Taylor Swift — "I Don't Wanna Live Forever"

• The Chainsmokers (featuring Halsey) — "Closer"
• DJ Khaled (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) — "Wild Thoughts"
• DRAM (featuring Lil Yachty) — "Broccoli"
• Calvin Harris (featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean) — "Feels"
• Charlie Puth (featuring Selena Gomez) — "We Don't Talk Anymore"

Best Pop

Fifth Harmony (featuring Gucci Mane) — "Down"

• Miley Cyrus — "Malibu"
• Shawn Mendes — "Treat You Better"
• Katy Perry (featuring Skip Marley) – "Chained to the Rhythm"
• Ed Sheeran — "Shape of You"
• Harry Styles — "Sign of the Times"

Best Hip Hop

Kendrick Lamar — "Humble"

• Big Sean — "Bounce Back"
• Chance the Rapper — "Same Drugs"
• DJ Khaled (featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne) — "I'm the One"
• DRAM (featuring Lil Yachty) — "Broccoli"
• Migos (featuring Lil Uzi Vert) — "Bad and Boujee"

Best Dance

Zedd and Alessia Cara — "Stay"

• Afrojack (featuring Ty Dolla $ign) — "Gone"
• Calvin Harris — "My Way"
• Kygo and Selena Gomez — "It Ain't Me"
• Major Lazer (featuring Justin Bieber and MØ) — "Cold Water"

Best Rock

Twenty One Pilots — "Heavydirtysoul"

• Coldplay — "A Head Full of Dreams"
• Fall Out Boy — "Young and Menace"
• Foo Fighters — "Run"
• Green Day — "Bang Bang"

Best Fight Against the System

• Big Sean — "Light"
• Alessia Cara — "Scars to Your Beautiful"
• The Hamilton Mixtape (K'naan, Snow Tha Product, Riz MC and Residente) – "Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)"
• John Legend — "Surefire"
• Logic (featuring Damian Lemar Hudson) – "Black Spiderman"
• Taboo (featuring Shailene Woodley) – "Stand Up / Stand N Rock #NoDAPL "

Best Cinematography

Kendrick Lamar — "Humble." (Director of Photography: Scott Cunningham)

• DJ Shadow (featuring Run the Jewels) — "Nobody Speak" (Director of Photography: David Proctor)
• Halsey — "Now or Never" (Director of Photography: Kristof Brandl)
• Imagine Dragons — "Thunder" (Director of Photography: Matthew Wise)
• Ed Sheeran — "Castle on the Hill" (Director of Photography: Steve Annis)

Best Direction

Kendrick Lamar — "Humble." (Directors: Dave Meyers and The Little Homies)

• Alessia Cara — "Scars to Your Beautiful" (Director: Aaron A)
• Bruno Mars — "24K Magic" (Directors: Cameron Duddy and Bruno Mars)
• Katy Perry (featuring Skip Marley) — "Chained to the Rhythm" (Director: Mathew Cullen)
• The Weeknd — "Reminder" (Director: Glenn Michael)

Best Art Direction

Kendrick Lamar — "Humble." (Art Director: Spencer Graves)

• DJ Khaled (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) — "Wild Thoughts" (Art Director: Damian Fyffe)
• Bruno Mars — "24K Magic" (Art Director: Alex Delgado)
• Katy Perry (featuring Migos) — "Bon Appétit" (Art Director: Natalie Groce)
• The Weeknd — "Reminder" (Art Directors: Lamar C Taylor and KID. STUDIO)

Best Visual Effects

Kendrick Lamar — "Humble." (Visual Effects: Jonah Hall of Timber)

• Kyle (featuring Lil Yachty) — "iSpy" (Visual Effects: Max Colt and Tomash Kuzmytskyi of GloriaFX)
• Katy Perry (featuring Skip Marley) — "Chained to the Rhythm" (Visual Effects: MIRADA)
• Harry Styles — "Sign of the Times" (Visual Effects: Cédric Nivoliez of ONE MORE)
• A Tribe Called Quest — "Dis Generation" (Visual Effects: Brandon Hirzel of Bemo)

Best Choreography

Kanye West — "Fade" (Choreographers: Teyana Taylor, Guapo, Matthew Pasterisa, Jae Blaze and Derek Watkins)

• Fifth Harmony (featuring Gucci Mane) — "Down" (Choreographer: Sean Bankhead)
• Ariana Grande (featuring Nicki Minaj) — "Side to Side" (Choreographers: Brian and Scott Nicholson)
• Kendrick Lamar — "Humble." (Choreographer: Dave Meyers)
• Sia — "The Greatest" (Choreographer: Ryan Heffington)

Best Editing

Young Thug — "Wyclef Jean" (Editors: Ryan Staake and Eric Degliomini)

• The Chainsmokers (featuring Halsey) — "Closer" (Editor: Jennifer Kennedy)
• Future — "Mask Off" (Editor: Vinnie Hobbs of VHPost)
• Lorde — "Green Light" (Editor: Nate Gross of Exile Edit)
• The Weeknd — "Reminder" (Editor: Red Barbaza)

Song of the Summer

Lil Uzi Vert — "XO Tour Llif3"

• Camila Cabello (featuring Quavo) — "OMG"
• DJ Khaled (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) — "Wild Thoughts"
• Fifth Harmony (featuring Gucci Mane) — "Down"
• Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (featuring Justin Bieber) — "Despacito (Remix)"
• Demi Lovato — "Sorry Not Sorry"
• Shawn Mendes — "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back"
• Ed Sheeran — "Shape of You"

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award

• Pink

See also

• 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards

References

1. Geffen, Sasha (April 20, 2017). "Here's When You Can Watch The 2017 VMAs This Summer". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
2. Fekadu, Mesfin (July 25, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar is leader of MTV VMAs with 8 nominations". Associated Press. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
3. "Katy Perry Is Ready To Be Your 'Moonwoman' As Host Of The 2017 VMAs". MTV News. July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
4. "Everything You Need to Know About the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards". MTV. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017.
5. "Viewership down for MTV's Video Music Awards". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
6. "The 2017 VMAs Drew Lowest Ratings in MTV History". Complex. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
7. "VMAs: Kendrick Lamar, Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran to Perform". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
8. "Video Music Awards Performers". MTV. Retrieved August 17, 2017.^{[dead link‍]}
9. Twitter message ^{[dead link‍]}
10. Video Music Awards [@vmas] (August 23, 2017). "🔥 🚀 @ddlovato will perform at the 2017 #VMAs! 🔥 🚀 https://t.co/wFrSSJQL9t" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021 – via Twitter.
11. "Demi Lovato, DNCE, and Rod Stewart Will Perform at the VMAs — with a Very Sexy Twist". MTV.^{[dead link‍]}
12. "Ready for More? Alessia Cara and Kyle Will Perform at the 2017 VMAs". MTV.^{[dead link‍]}
13. "VMAs Presenters List 2017: Stars Presenting At MTV Video Music Awards". Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
14. Kreps, Daniel. "MTV Changing VMA Moonman to Gender-Neutral Award". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
15. "VMAs: Kendrick Lamar Tops Nominations as MTV Continues to Eliminate Gendered Categories". The Hollywood Reporter. July 25, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
16. Roth, Madeline (August 22, 2017). "Demi, Camila, 5H, and More Will Battle It Out for the VMA Song of the Summer Award". MTV. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
17. MTV Press (August 27, 2017). "2017 "VMA" Winners and Performances". Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links

• Official website