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MTV VMAs 2019: Taylor Swift, Lil Nas X win big, but Missy Elliott is the star

Ceremony looks backward with its host but forward in its music, with Spanish performances, space gear, and a crowd-rousing tribute to Elliott

The 2019 VMAs often didn’t seem to know what year it was – a mix of dad jokes, Latin music, double-denim outfits and one performance set in 2079, in a ceremony that mostly lacked the typical controversy. With awards split between longtime pop dominator Taylor Swift and the very 2019 star Lil Nas X, it was perhaps fitting that the night’s top honor celebrated the genre- and era-defying musical work of Missy Elliott.

Swift opened the show with two singles from her new album Lover: the technicolor trailer park-themed You Need To Calm Down, and return-to-form acoustic track Lover. The colorful performance kicked off a big night for Swift, who took home Video of the Year for You Need To Calm Down: a song pitched as an LGBTQ anthem for Pride Month. In her acceptance speech, she pointed to the Equality Act, for which the video solicited petitions. “By voting for this video, you showed that you want a world where everyone is treated equally,” she said. Swift also took home the trophy for the “Video for Good” category.

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2KXSTag
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