On Sunday night, the long-rumored relationship between Drake and Rihanna was all but confirmed when Drake presented Riri with the MTV VMAs Video Vanguard Award.
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The audience at Madison Square Garden watched intensely Sunday, at times recording the performance with their phones.
In the days leading up to the VMAs, it seemed odd that only a handful of performers had been announced.
“It was an expression of our now, our fame right now, us on the inside of the TV, you know, the audacity to put Anna Wintour right next to Donald Trump”, he said.
Beyoncé slayed even more than usual when she put on a live performance of “Lemonade”.
“Pray You Catch Me” launched the spectacle, which looked like a fever dream from which she emerged to shake for “Hold Up”. She grew angry and twerked while performing “Don’t Hurt Yourself” and ended with the anthemic “Formation”. You have to root for Spears considering all that she’s overcome.
But the biggest moment for Rihanna came when Drake – in a tuxedo – presented the award to his former girlfriend. Not only did she lip sync, in typical fashion, she did so badly.
“So I was speaking at the Art Institute a year ago and one kid came up to me and said ‘Three of my friends died and I don’t know if I’m going to be next.’ If you’re seeing people dying next to you you might think, what’s the point?”
He said: “Now later tonight “Famous” might lose to Beyoncé but I can’t be mad”. I’m always wishing for Beyoncé to win so.
He went on: “I know at times for me, I sit down and talk to older, rich people, AKA white, and they tell me don’t compare yourself to Steve Jobs and don’t compare yourself to Walt Disney”. “Thank you MTV. I had so much fun!” My wife is a G. Not a lot of peoples’ wives would let them say that right there.
Tell us what you think! Like people come to me like. “‘That’s right, take Taylor, ‘ and I’m like, ‘Bro, I love all y’all, that’s why I called her” … Evan and Carl, from SRP, you guys believed in me, you brought me straight to Jay Z’s office, where I met Jay, Tata, L.A. Reid, Jay Brown, my whole publicity team, my grandpeeps, so many people, man, they write with me from day to day.
West told the VMA crowd: “I love all y’all”.
“My role models are artists, merchants”.
“And then he premiered the “Fade” video”.
NEW YORK-Beyonce owned the MTV Video Music Awards – like she did in 2014 – with a 16-minute performance featuring her recent hits from Lemonade, working various stages with strong, layered vocals, skilled dance moves and even an outfit change – all as the audience watched in awe and cheered her on.
Round three included a painfully off-key “Needed Me” as well as “Pour it Up”.
Rihanna kicked off the show, performing a medley of her hit songs in a bright pink ensemble that matched her background dancers and the stage.
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The singer also made headlines for going to the show makeup-free. Get it? Ha ha.
