Bieber wins artist of the year at star-packed MTV VMAs

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.

The MTV VMAs person embraced “Bieber fever.”

Justin Bieber won creator of the twelvemonth and kicked disconnected Sunday’s ceremonial with an energetic show that featured him rappelling from the ceiling of Barclays Center” and launching into “Stay” with Kid LAROI and his azygous “Ghost.”

The starring nominee heading into Sunday’s show, Bieber besides took location the champion popular opus grant with Giveon for “Peaches.”

The VMAs celebrated MTV’s 40th anniversary, mixing moments betwixt aboriginal web stars similar Cyndia Lauper and amusement opener Madonna with high-octane performances by newer stars similar Olivia Rodrigo, Camila Cabello and Chloe.

But overmuch of the evening, truthful far, belonged to Bieber. Sunday was his archetypal VMAs show successful six years, and helium is besides competing for different apical honors similar video of the twelvemonth for “POPSTAR.”

Sporting baggy apparel and a hoodie, Bieber showed his appreciation for the awards being in-person and thanked his wife, Hailey, for supporting him.

“As we know, there’s truthful overmuch going connected successful the world,” Bieber said during his acceptance code aft winning creator of the year. “We are successful unprecedented times with COVID. Music is an astonishing outlet to scope radical together. We’re each present together.”

Opening the show, Madonna told the screaming crowd: “They said we wouldn’t last. But we’re inactive here.”

Moments aft Olivia Rodrigo performed her deed “good 4 u,” she collected the night’s archetypal grant for her monolithic deed opus “Drivers License.”

“This is the astir magical twelvemonth of my life,” said Rodrigo, a first-time nominee.

Jennifer Lopez, who 3 days earlier made her re-kindled romance with Ben Affleck authoritative connected the reddish carpet of his caller movie ““The Last Duel” astatine the Venice International Film Festival, presented Rodrigo her trophy.

Billie Elish won the fan-voted video for bully for her opus “Your Power.” In her acceptance speech, she said Alicia Keys kissed her connected the feature earlier she spoke astir the restitution of penning the opus and women empowerment.

“We request to support our ain women astatine each costs,” said Elish, portion her brother-producer Finneas applauded his sister from his seat. “We request to retrieve that we each person power. We person to retrieve not to maltreatment it.”

Lauper, who presented Bieber with his archetypal award, advocated for adjacent rights for women.

“Girls inactive privation to person fun,” said Lauper, known for classical melody “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” “But we besides privation to person funds, adjacent pay, power implicit our bodies, you know, cardinal rights.”

Lil Nas X deed the signifier with Jack Harlow, past helium performed his arguable opus “Montero (Call Me by Your Name).” Kacey Musgraves and Shawn Mendes besides deed the stage.

Olympic gymnastic champion Simone Biles introduced Doja Cat — the show’s big — who went aerial during her performance. With wires holding her up, Doja Cat glided implicit the assemblage and landed connected signifier arsenic she performed “Been Like This” and “You Right.”

Megan Thee Stallion enters the amusement arsenic the second-leading nominee with six nominations. BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, Giveon, Lil Nas X and Rodrigo each person 5 nods.

The Foo Fighters performed and past accepted the Global Icon Award, an grant handed retired for the archetypal clip astatine the VMAs. The grant recognizes an creator oregon set “whose unparalleled vocation and continued interaction and power has maintained a unsocial level of planetary occurrence successful euphony and beyond.”

The prestigious grant was antecedently presented astatine the yearly MTV Europe Music Awards. Past recipients see Queen, Eminem and Whitney Houston.

The stone set – comprised of Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee – performed respective of their hits including “Learn to Fly” and “Shame Shame.” It was their archetypal show astatine the VMAs since 2007.

Eilish presented the Global Icon Award to the group, who thanked MTV veterans from Kurt Loder to Tabitha Soren.

“Thank you precise overmuch for this award,” Grohl said. “We’ll spot you successful different 26 years.”

The amusement is being simulcast crossed CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land, VH1 and The CW Network.