Aside from Beyoncé’s stellar performance, one of the most-talked-about moments at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards was when Drake presented Rihanna with the Video Vanguard Award and got very publicly friend-zoned once again.
Advertisement
The singer was the biggest victor, taking home eight awards including “Video of the Year” and “Best Pop Video” for “Formation”.
She was presented with the prestigious Moonman, previously awarded to big names like Madonna, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson, by Canadian rapper Drake with whom she has collaborated on several chart toppers.
If you tuned into MTV’s Video Music Awards on last night, you probably heard Drake profess his love for Rihanna. Beyonce dominated in not only her killer performance, but also in her win of eight Moonmen.
Drake’s loving speech about Rihanna at the VMAs on August 28 was by far the highlight of the night, so many fans wondered why the “Umbrella” singer dodged his kiss at the end.
Any artist would have a hard time trying to match a Beyonce performance of this magnitude, but the multifaceted R&B singer Rihanna proved she could hold her own over the course of four separate performances throughout the show.
Among all the performers at the 2016 VMAs, Britney Spears is by far the most experienced.
“When I think about the Video Vanguard Award and receiving this tonight, all I can think of is my country”, the 29-year-old singer-turned-actress and entrepreneur said.
G-Eazy then makes his intentions well-known here. “All of my adult life I’ve looked up to her even though she’s younger than me”.
Nevertheless, both Drake and Rihanna were big winners at the VMAs, and possibly winning in the game of love. Her dozens of dancers formed a Venus symbol at the end of the performance. I was introduced to her as a kid who played background music at the restaurant as people ate their dinner. “She’s a living, breathing legend in our industry”.
And sure – all four Rihanna performances were great, and Nick Jonas made us all want a BLT, but the show was pretty much carried by women who’ve carried life.
Advertisement
She started off by performing a medley of “Don’t Stop The Music”, “Only Girl (In The World)”, “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been”. It’s a chocolate sampler box of beats and styles, many of them EDM-related: There’s wistful, wind-down electro pop (the excellent “Man on the Moon”), stuttery and ambitious club pop (“Better”), vintage R&B (“What You Need”). It’s an award show that features all the hottest celebrities.
