This year’s MTV Video Music Awards took place live at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, boasting a performance lineup that included Nicki Minaj, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, BLACKPINK, J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Lizzo, Jack Harlow, Panic! at the Disco and many more.
Minaj’s set coincided with MTV awarding her this year’s Video Vanguard honour. She performed a medley of her hits, featuring segments of ‘Roman’s Revenge’, ‘Super Bass’, ‘Anaconda’, ‘Beez in the Trap’, her verse from Kanye West’s ‘Monster’ and more. Watch that below.
Watch Nicki Minaj at the 2022 MTV VMAs
Before that, Jack Harlow – who performed at last year’s VMAs alongside Lil Nas X – kicked off the VMAs main show with a performance of his Fergie-sampling hit ‘First Class’. He even brought out Fergie herself to perform ‘Glamorous’, the very track he samples on his Come Home the Kids Miss You cut. Lizzo, meanwhile, performed a pair of tracks from her new album Special: the disco-tinged ‘About Damn Time’ and ‘2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)’.
K-pop megastars BLACKPINK performed their recent comeback single ‘Pink Venom’. It arrived earlier this month, marking their first new song in nearly two years and serving as the lead single from the group’s forthcoming second album Born Pink, which is slated for release in September. Watch those performances below.
After BLACKPINK’s performance, J Balvin teamed up with Ryan Castro to perform their collaboration ‘Nivel de Perreo’. The pair were joined onstage by a slew of metallic, robot-like dancers, while an enormous 3D dancer twerked along to the track.
Eminem and Snoop Dogg also performed at the event, bringing their recent collaboration ‘From the D 2 the LBC’ to the stage. Their metaverse-inspired performance bridged the gap between real life and the virtual world, with the duo both performing on stage as well as their NFT avatars inside of the Yuga Labs game Otherside. The video for the song, which arrived in June, prominently features Em and Snoop as Bored Ape-style characters.
Shortly after that, Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were honoured with the Global Icon Award at this year’s ceremony, took to the stage to play ‘Black Summer’, the first single from latest album Unlimited Love. They then performed By the Way favourite ‘Can’t Stop’. Watch below.
Performances from Bad Bunny and Panic! At the Disco closed out the show. First up, the Puerto Rican superstar performed his Un Verano Sin Ti track ‘Tití Me Preguntó’ from Yankee Stadium in New York, where he was performing one of two concerts as part of his World’s Hottest Tour. Immediately after the performance, he received the Artist of the Year trophy onstage and gave an acceptance speech in Spanish.
Panic! At the Disco brought the night to a close with ‘Don’t Let the Lights Go Out’, lifted from new album Viva Las Vengeance, which arrived earlier this month. Watch those below – and see more performances on the MTV YouTube channel.
Further Reading
Red Hot Chili Peppers Preview New Album With ‘Tippa My Tongue’
Red Hot Chili Peppers Are Touring Australia Next Year With Post Malone
Watch Harry Styles And Lizzo Cover ‘I Will Survive’ At Coachella 2022
