Taylor Swift won big at Sunday’s MTV EMAs. Swift, who led the nominations along with Harry Styles with seven a piece, walked away with four wins, including for best artist, best video and best long-form video.
Currently topping the charts with “Anti-Hero” from her record-breaking new album “Midnights,” Swift made a surprise appearance at the awards in Dusseldorf to collect her haul, the latest in a long line of accolades for the singer-songwriter. Accepting her first award of the night, she said, “the fans are the only reason any of this happens for me.”
David Guetta and Bebe Rexha opened the show with their hit collaboration “I’m Good (Blue),” a track that nearly didn’t get released.
Rexha explained on the carpet, “we had no idea that it would blow up and be so viral on TikTok. And here we are performing it and nominated for ‘Best Collab.’”
Hot on their toes were Muse, who returned to the EMAs for a fiery performance of “Will of the People,” later winning best rock act. They dedicated their award to the people of Ukraine and the women of Iran
This year’s show was hosted by newlyweds Rita Ora and Taika Waititi. Ora didn’t disappoint with a host of outfit changes, and Waititi joked he was channelling his inner pop star.
An absent Nicki Minaj also came out on top with a trio of prizes for best song, best hip-hop, and a category called a super freaky girl. Styles, currently touring in the U.S., won for best live performance.
Following their Eurovision win in May, Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra gave one of the night’s most powerful and moving performances, turning the auditorium blue and yellow in support of Ukraine. Talking on the red carpet, frontman Oleg Psyuk explained that with their newfound fame, they could support and spread awareness of the plight of the Ukrainian people
“It’s important for us to be a voice of Ukraine, to have the opportunity to be all over the world, to perform and to say about Ukraine, to say about war, to say about our culture, culture that fights against war.”
British rapper Stormzy performed the ballad “Fire Babe,” released this week from his highly anticipated third album “This is What I Mean.”
OneRepublic performed their “Top Gun: Maverick” tune “I Ain’t Worried” with a special video intro from the man himself, Tom Cruise, which they said wasn’t easy to get.
Other performers on the night included Ava Max who sparkled in a giant diamond singing “Million Dollar Baby,” and Tate McRae, who performed a medley of her hits, “she’s all I wanna be’ and ’uh oh.”
Voted for by the fans, 17 gender-neutral categories were announced during the evening. The show, broadcast from the PSD Bank Dome, will be in more than 170 countries.