2022 MTV VMAs: WINNERS AND MOMENTS

The big winners at Sunday night's MTV VMAs were Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, each of whom took home a trio of trophies. Bad Bunny became the first non-English-language act to collect Artist of the Year honors.

The show kicked off with a bang at the Prudential Center in Newark last night as Harlow, who co-hosted with Nicki Minaj and LL COOL J—wearing enough diamond drip to blind everyone in the audience—performed "First Class." Within seconds, the Kentucky rapper introduced Fergie, who finished the chart-topping single before Lizzo took the stage for a live rendition of "About Damn Time."

The evening's first presenters were Offset and DJ Khaled, the latter fresh off the release of God Did (We the Best/Epic), who presented Lil Nas X and Harlow with the Best Collaboration award for "Industry Baby."

AND THIS ONE IS FOR THE CHAMPIONS 🏆 @LilNasX 🤝 @jackharlow!! #VMAs pic.twitter.com/5k4PT4vZPS

— Video Music Awards (@vmas) August 29, 2022

Styles claimed the prize for Best Album for Harry's House, though he couldn't accept the honor in person as he's currently on his global, 83-date Love on Tour.

Other highlights included the Red Hot Chili Peppers' receiving the Global Icon Award and Minaj's being honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. As VMAs honcho Bruce Gillmer, president of music, music talent, programming and events at Paramount+, noted, "Nicki has broken barriers for women in hip-hop with her versatility and creative artistry." Minaj certainly dished it out during her catalog-spanning medley, which concluded with the #1 single "Super Freaky Girl."

BARBZ!!!! IT'S THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

PRESENTING... YOUR 2022 #VMA VIDEO VANGUARD HONOREE... @NICKIMINAJ 👑 🦄🎀💕✨ #NICKIVANGUARD pic.twitter.com/n9X3ERACnI

— Video Music Awards (@vmas) August 29, 2022

The momentum continued with a metaverse appearance by Eminem and Snoop Dogg, who performed "From the D 2 the LBC."

From there, the Chili Peppers brought the heat with an animated rendition of "Black Summer," then delivered their acceptance speech, during which Anthony Kiedis and Flea offered a few colorful comments. It was drummer Chad Smith, however, who captivated the crowd with his tribute to a fellow skinsman, dearly departed Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, saying, "I want to dedicate this to Taylor and his family. I love him, and I miss him every day. Fly on, Hawk. Fly on, brother."

Hawkins died in March while on tour with the Foos. The rest of the band and his family have organized tribute concerts at London's Wembley Stadium on 9/3 and L.A.'s Kia Forum on 9/27 set to stream on Paramount+.

Red Hot @ChiliPeppers's Chad Smith pays tribute to the late Taylor Hawkins while accepting the Global Icon Award at the #VMAs: "Fly on, Hawk. Fly on, brother" pic.twitter.com/ehbT8EtTyS

— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) August 29, 2022

Bad Bunny, who was about to take the stage at Yankee Stadium and thus couldn't be on hand for the ceremony, still managed to surprise his fans with a performance of "Tití Me Preguntó." His Artist of the Year award was presented to him onstage at "The House That Ruth Built."

This is not a drill!!! @sanbenito just took over Yankee Stadium with a 🔥🔥🔥 performance of "Titi Me Pregunto"! #VMA pic.twitter.com/hLOX260xGD

— Video Music Awards (@vmas) August 29, 2022

The Peppers then collected the Best Rock award for "Black Summer" with a remembrance of late Warner Bros. chief Mo Ostin and a shout-out to producer Rick Rubin, who had a big hand in crafting Unlimited Love (Warner), the Peppers' 12th studio album.

The ceremony wrapped with LL and Minaj's handing out the coveted Video of the Year award. Nominees included Doja Cat's "Woman," Ed Sheeran's "Shivers," Drake ft. Future & Young Thug's "Way 2 Sexy," Olivia Rodrigo's "Brutal," Styles' "As It Was" and LNX & Harlow's "Industry Baby," but the Moon Person ultimately went to Swift's "All Too Well" (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version). During Tay's acceptance speech, she announced a new album would arrive on 10/21.

2022 MTV VMA WINNERS

Video of the Year: Taylor Swift, "All Too Well" (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)
Artist of the Year: Bad Bunny
Song of the Year: Billie Eilish, "Happier Than Ever"
Album of the Year: Harry Styles, Harry’s House
Best New Artist: Dove Cameron
Best Collaboration: Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, "Industry Baby"
Best Pop: Harry Styles, "As It Was"
Best Hip-Hop: Nicki Minaj f/Lil Baby, "Do We Have a Problem?"
Best Rock: Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Black Summer"
Best Alternative: Måneskin, "I Wanna Be Your Slave"
Best Latin: Anitta, "Envolver"
Best R&B: The Weeknd, "Out of Time"
Best K-Pop: Lisa, "Lalisa"
Video for Good: Lizzo, "About Damn Time"
Best Metaverse Performance: BLACKPINK the Virtual, PUBG
Best Longform Video: Taylor Swift, "All Too Well" (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)
Best Cinematography: Harry Styles, “As It Was”
Best Direction: Taylor Swift, "All Too Well" (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)
Best Art Direction: Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, "Industry Baby"
Best Visual Effects: Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, "Industry Baby"
Best Choreography: Doja Cat, "Woman"
Best Editing: Rosalía, "Saoko"