The 2016 VMAs Most Shocking Moments

In the year of feuds, this years VMAs was teaming up to be a blood bath and it didn’t disappoint.

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The VMAs are legendary for their ability to wow their audiences. From Britney making out with Madonna to Lady Gaga’s bloody Paparazzi, this year had a lot to live up to (and had a Kim/Kanye/Taylor feud to top it off). With everything that had been happening in the entertainment world for the last year, it was clear that this might be the craziest award ceremony yet.

The Red Carpet started off with a bang by having the RuPaul All Stars recreating their favorite VMA looks from past years. Each paid tribute to their favorite ladies while putting their best looks forward. However, their moment was cut short when Beyonce made her entrance.

In the first most shocking moment of the VMAs, Beyonce walked in, at 7pm, hours before the show started, and before most of the A list celebs even began to think of arriving, dressed with wings and walking hand in hand with Blue Ivy. It was clear that the paparazzi were not happy when she did not take many pictures alone. Instead she stood in solidarity with a beautiful assortment of women (including the mothers of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Oscar Grant, known as “The Mothers of the Movement”) taking her crown as the queen of the white carpet.

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 28: Beyonce and Blue Ivy attend the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for MTV)

The ceremony that took over the world.

With red carpet coverage that took over 3 hours, most of us were ready for some drama and jaw-dropping performances by the time the actual ceremony started. And did it start off with the next most shocking moment of them all: Rihanna’s first performance. Delivering some of her best work, she proved why she was winning the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

But the moments didn’t end there. Alicia Keys made everyone stop as she presented, singing along to a poem about her hope of what our nation could become. The moment proved powerful as Keys showed her prowess as a musician but also as an activist.

And then, there was Kayne.

The Four Minutes Of West

For four unadulterated minutes, Kayne West was allowed to speak. What came next was incoherent and a tirade against what is believed to be his feud with Taylor Swift while also comparing himself to Truman, Hughes, Ford, Disney and Jobs. Kanye is known for his antics and confusing audiences at the VMAs but his tirade took viewers on a new path that we were not sure was ever going to end. But it did end. And when it did, we got Teyana Taylor killing it in Kayne’s video for ‘FADE’.

"Kanye West’s ‘FADE’ starring @TeyanaTaylor.EVERYTHING.https://t.co/8gATBjdQ9g— Karen Civil (@KarenCivil) August 29, 2016"

Beyonce Stops The World

If her red carpet performance wasn’t enough to stop us all, her performance broke the internet. The abridged version of Lemonade left us all without words. It is something that just needs to be seen.

That final image of the women lying in formation….as the symbol for women. Chills. And here we were, asking what formation we should get in all this time. Silly us. Beyonce then went on to break the record for all time VMA wins, with 22, by the time the night was over. Ok, maybe that part isn’t so shocking.

It’s Britney’s Comeback….. or is it?

Sadly, it was only lack luster. Maybe because it was directly after Beyonce’s performance. Whatever it was, it hit our most shocking moments list for the fact that it may mean the end to the pop queen’s reign on the VMAs.

From her out of date pop-star microphone to the just somewhat decent song, Britney’s crown was stolen by the Beyonce/Rihanna concert that the VMAs had become.

That is, before the biggest shade of them all: Jimmy Fallon taking on Ryan Lochte.

He came out singing “Sorry” by Justin Bieber and continued to throw Lochte’s debacle back into his face (much to the enjoyment of Michael Phelps).

Leading us to the last shocking moment of the night, Rihanna’s final performance. RiRi showed her ability to sing and proved, once again, why she was being honored and why we all love Rihanna. (But Drake loves her most of all even if he didn’t propose like we all thought he was going to).

The Full List of Winners

Video of the Year
Beyoncé — “Formation”

Best Male Video
Calvin Harris (featuring Rihanna) — “This Is What You Came For”

Best Female Video
Beyoncé — “Hold Up”

Best New Artist
DNCE

Best Pop Video
Adele — “Hello”

Best Rock Video
All Time Low — “Missing You”

Best Hip-Hop Video
Drake — “Hotline Bling”

Best Electronic Video
99 Souls (featuring Destiny’s Child and Brandy) — “The Girl Is Mine”

Best Collaboration Video
Fifth Harmony (featuring Ty Dolla Sign) — “Work from Home”

Breakthrough Long Form Video
Beyoncé — Lemonade

Best Direction
Beyoncé — “Formation” (Director: Melina Matsoukas)

Best Choreography
Beyoncé — “Formation” (Choreographers: Chris Grant, JaQuel Knight and Dana Foglia)

Best Visual Effects
Coldplay — “Up&Up” (Visual Effects: Vania Heymann and GloriaFX)

Best Art Direction
David Bowie — “Blackstar” (Art Director: Jan Houllevigue)

Best Editing
Beyoncé — “Formation” (Editor: Jeff Selis)

Best Cinematography
Beyoncé — “Formation” (Director of Photography: Malik Sayeed)

Song of Summer
Fifth Harmony (featuring Fetty Wap) — “All in My Head (Flex)”

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
Rihanna

Best Looks Of The VMAs

And now, some of the best looks of the VMAs. For the full rundown, head here.

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