While it’s no longer the must-attend affair that it once was, the 2024 VMAs still had the almighty Taylor Swift, who won her fifth Video of the Year award for “Fortnight.”
After two years at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, the 2024 Video Music Awards moved back to New York — but not Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan or Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Instead, the VMAs were held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, NY.
Party train on the Long Island Rail Road!
But while New York has always brought out the best in the awards show — which began 40 years ago on Sept. 14, 1984 — the location probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference this year anyway with its decreasing relevance.
But while it’s no longer the must-attend affair that it once was — as MTV’s disconnect from music widens — the VMAs are not dead yet. Although there was nothing on Wednesday night that approached the iconic moments of years past — and the awards themselves have become even more of an afterthought to the performances — they still had the almighty Taylor Swift, who won her fifth Video of the Year award for “Fortnight.”
Here are the best and worst moments from the 2024 VMAs.Worst: Eminem
It made sense for Eminem to open the show: After all, he’s VMAs royalty — and he had six nominations coming into the night on the strength of his “Houdini” video from his album “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace).” But his lookalike-laden throwback to his 2000 performance — which segued from “Houdini” to “Somebody Save Me” (with prerecorded footage of Jelly Roll) — was a reminder that, 24 years later, the VMAs aren’t the same anymore.Best: Taylor Swift
First off, props to Tay for showing up at the VMAs, again adding much-needed relevance and star power to the proceedings.
