16 Very Important Things That Happened At The 2016 VMAs
It was all about Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Teyana Taylor.
1. Beyoncé showed up with her family and some important guests.
Beyoncé arrived on the red carpet with her daughter Blue Ivy and some distinguished guests, including the mothers of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Oscar Grant.
3. Rihanna opened the show with a melody of her dance hits.
It was just part one of her career retrospective performances. Watch all of them here.
4. Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande worked it out.
5. Future showed up and performed Michael Phelps's favorite song.
Future performed "Fuck Up Some Commas" and Meechie and Toosi came through with the dance moves.
6. Kanye West's speech was a feel good moment.
Kanye graced the stage and introduced his video for "Fade" with a great speech about ambition and dreams. You can read the full text of his remarks here.
7. The premiere of "Fade" was insane.
Kanye's video for "Fade" featured Teyana Taylor dancing around a gym and then taking a shower with her husband Iman Shumpert. The internet completely lost its mind over the intense visual.
8. Rihanna's second performance was pretty much the greatest party ever.
Her du-rag was perfect, read a recap of her style here.
9. Beyoncé showed the world that she is in a category of her own.
After being introduced by Serena Williams, Beyoncé took the stage and ripped through highlights from Lemonade. You can watch the whole thing here and read what people said about it here.
10. Kim Kardashian West introduced Britney Spears to the stage.
11. Joanne The Scammer popped up everywhere.
12. Rihanna served an all black look for the ages.
No one can rock the Vetements x Manolo Blahnik boots like Rih. She stomped in them for her performance of "Pour It Up," "Needed Me," and "Bitch Better Have My Money."
13. Beyoncé met the Final Five.
The U.S. Olympics gymnastics team gave Beyoncé her award for Best Female Video. It was proof that America is still very great.
14. Beyoncé set an incredible record.
Beyoncé won eight awards on Sunday night, making her the most awarded VMA artist of all time with 24 total awards to her name.
15. Rihanna slowed things down for a gorgeous ending.
For her fourth and final performance, Rihanna showed off the power of her voice by belting out “Stay,” “Diamonds,” and “Love on the Brain.” Read why Rihanna had the best night ever.
16. And Drake left us with an amazing memory.
Drake took the stage in a tuxedo after Rihanna's final performance to present the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award to her. His speech to her was incredibly sweet and included the unforgettable line "She's someone I've been in love with since I was 22 years old." Watch the speech here.