September 30, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26)
Another year means another round of the MTV Video and Music awards. Since 1984, MTV has been hosting their annual award ceremony. As a response to other mainstream award shows such as the Grammys, the MTV Video and Music awards were originally focused on the art of the music video. As their platform and popularity grew, a new type of award show that appealed to younger demographics developed.
The show soon became known for its iconic pop culture moments and elaborate stunts by artists- from Nirvana refusing to play “Smells like Teen Spirit” during their 1992 performance while simultaneously trolling Guns and Roses, to Madonna’s several iconic performances and controversial outfits. And-of course unforgettably- in more modern times, the infamous interruption of Taylor Swift by Kanye during the 2009 ceremony, casting a spotlight on both careers which proved to be turning points in each of their respective discographies.
As eye-catching as some of the performances or notable moments of these ceremonies have become, strangely what has not become memorable has been the awards themselves. The awards traditionally have favored the artists that have the largest legacies in the music industry, and this year to no surprise was par for the course.
Let’s begin the rundown with some positives. The choice of Chappel Roan for the best new artist was the only major category where I agree with the committee’s decision. Chappell has come under a lot of nasty controversy recently because of her encounters with rude fans, which are a part of a large parasocial fanbase. But, this fanbase has been built as a result of her creation of one of the most energetic, fun and instantly endearing pop albums in a while. A great record by a great artist, and an absolutely deserved award.
Now that my praise is out of the way, we need to talk about the large eras-tour- sized elephant in the room. Taylor Swift took home both Artist of the Year honors as well as the award shows’ flagship Video of the Year award. MTV undoubtedly had to honor her during this ceremony because of how much she contributes to the music industry’s income. With that being said, there were undoubtedly more interesting and better choices for both categories.
Starting with the top artist, artists like Sabrina Carpenter and SZA ruled the music landscape with their new music, while Swift’s new album milked the love for her previous records into getting people to purchase the new album. “The Tortured Poets Department”, while having large sales, did not rival the consistency and quality of SZA’s “SOS” album that should have won her this award. When it comes to the music video, I don’t think there’s much I can say that’s interesting about the “Fortnight” video. I do not think there was much to love about any of the videos nominated, but for their creativity, I think either Billie Eilish or Eminem would have been more interesting choices.
Finally, the song of the year was given to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”, the most inescapable song of the summer. The song delivers catchy hooks and Sabrina’s signature charm, so I am by no means upset by this decision. However, the nomination of Kenderick’s club diss track “Not Like Us” to me is the obvious, no brainer decision. The committee may have been nervous to nominate a song so explicit in its content and anger towards a music industry darling like Drake. However, if this award is meant to be solely based on the best song presented, Kenderick’s song was another song of the summer and deserves this award fully.