2017 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 27, 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, honoring music videos released between June 25, 2016 and June 23, 2017. It was hosted by Katy Perry. The 34th annual award show aired live from the venue for the second time in its history. The music video for Taylor Swift's song "Look What You Made Me Do" premiered during the broadcast. Lil Yachty co-hosted the pre-show with Terrence J, Charlamagne Tha God, and MTV News' Gaby Wilson, while Gabbie Hanna hosted backstage for the show. It was broadcast across various Viacom networks and their related apps.
Compared to the previous year, viewership was down from 6.5 million to 5.68 million viewers, making it the lowest viewed show since 1994. A combination of having to compete with the season finale of HBO's Game of Thrones, which drew over 12.07 million viewers, and the ability to now stream the award show online is said to account for the drop in viewership.
Performances
Source:Appearances
Pre-show
- Gaby Wilson — announced the winners of Best Choreography and Song of the Summer
Main show
- Jack McBrayer, Buzz Aldrin, Peggy Whitson, Abbi Jacobson, Kathryn Hahn and Kevin Bacon — appeared in a skit with host Katy Perry
- Paris Jackson — presented Best Pop Video
- Hailee Steinfeld — introduced Julia Michaels
- Yara Shahidi — introduced Shawn Mendes
- Jack Antonoff and Alessandra Ambrosio — introduced Lorde
- Teyana Taylor and Pete Wentz — presented Best Dance Video
- Fred Armisen — appeared in a skit with host Katy Perry
- DJ Khaled — introduced Fifth Harmony
- Ludacris and Olivia Munn — presented Best Collaboration
- Jared Leto — paid tribute to Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell and introduced a clip of Linkin Park's 2010 VMA performance
- Billy Eichner — appeared in a skit with host Katy Perry
- Pete Davidson and Tiffany Haddish — presented Best Hip Hop Video
- Cardi B — introduced Demi Lovato
- Ellen DeGeneres — presented the Video Vanguard Award
- Millie Bobby Brown — presented Artist of the Year
- Vanessa Hudgens — introduced Alessia Cara
- Kesha — introduced Logic, Khalid and Alessia Cara
- Bebe Rexha and The Chainsmokers — presented Best New Artist
- Lil Yachty — introduced Thirty Seconds to Mars
- Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV — gave a speech denouncing racism and introduced Susan Bro
- Susan Bro — spoke about the Heather Heyer Foundation and presented Best Fight Against the System
- Hailey Baldwin — introduced Rod Stewart and DNCE
- Gal Gadot — presented Video of the Year
- Noah Cyrus — introduced Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj
Winners and nominees
The list of nominations was revealed on July 25, 2017. For the nominations, MTV continued to eliminate gender-specific awards categories, as they did at the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards. MTV also announced the "Moonman" statue would be renamed a "Moon Person". The Best Female and Best Male Video awards were replaced with one category, Artist of the Year. Kendrick Lamar leads the list of nominees with eight categories, while Katy Perry, The Weeknd, and DJ Khaled received the second most nods with five. Nominees for Song of the Summer category were announced on August 22, 2017. Winners are listed in bold.Video of the Year
Kendrick Lamar — "Humble"- Alessia Cara — "Scars to Your Beautiful"
- DJ Khaled — "Wild Thoughts"
- Bruno Mars — "24K Magic"
- The Weeknd — "Reminder"
Artist of the Year
- Ariana Grande
- Kendrick Lamar
- Lorde
- Bruno Mars
- The Weeknd
Best New Artist
- Noah Cyrus
- Kodak Black
- Julia Michaels
- SZA
- Young M.A
Best Collaboration
- The Chainsmokers — "Closer"
- DJ Khaled — "Wild Thoughts"
- DRAM — "Broccoli"
- Calvin Harris — "Feels"
- Charlie Puth — "We Don't Talk Anymore"
Best Pop
- Miley Cyrus — "Malibu"
- Shawn Mendes — "Treat You Better"
- Katy Perry – "Chained to the Rhythm"
- Ed Sheeran — "Shape of You"
- Harry Styles — "Sign of the Times"
Best Hip Hop
- Big Sean — "Bounce Back"
- Chance the Rapper — "Same Drugs"
- DJ Khaled — "I'm the One"
- DRAM — "Broccoli"
- Migos — "Bad and Boujee"
Best Dance
- Afrojack — "Gone"
- Calvin Harris — "My Way"
- Kygo and Selena Gomez — "It Ain't Me"
- Major Lazer — "Cold Water"
Best Rock
- Coldplay — "A Head Full of Dreams"
- Fall Out Boy — "Young and Menace"
- Foo Fighters — "Run"
- Green Day — "Bang Bang"
Best Fight Against the System
- Big Sean — "Light"
- Alessia Cara — "Scars to Your Beautiful"
- The Hamilton Mixtape – "Immigrants "
- John Legend — "Surefire"
- Logic – "Black Spiderman"
- Taboo – "Stand Up / Stand N Rock #NoDAPL "
Best Cinematography
- DJ Shadow — "Nobody Speak"
- Halsey — "Now or Never"
- Imagine Dragons — "Thunder"
- Ed Sheeran — "Castle on the Hill"
Best Direction
- Alessia Cara — "Scars to Your Beautiful"
- Bruno Mars — "24K Magic"
- Katy Perry — "Chained to the Rhythm"
- The Weeknd — "Reminder"
Best Art Direction
- DJ Khaled — "Wild Thoughts"
- Bruno Mars — "24K Magic"
- Katy Perry — "Bon Appétit"
- The Weeknd — "Reminder"
Best Visual Effects
- Kyle — "iSpy"
- Katy Perry — "Chained to the Rhythm"
- Harry Styles — "Sign of the Times"
- A Tribe Called Quest — "Dis Generation"
Best Choreography
- Fifth Harmony — "Down"
- Ariana Grande — "Side to Side"
- Kendrick Lamar — "Humble."
- Sia — "The Greatest"
Best Editing
- The Chainsmokers — "Closer"
- Future — "Mask Off"
- Lorde — "Green Light"
- The Weeknd — "Reminder"
Song of the Summer
- Camila Cabello — "OMG"
- DJ Khaled — "Wild Thoughts"
- Fifth Harmony — "Down"
- Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee — "Despacito "
- Demi Lovato — "Sorry Not Sorry"
- Shawn Mendes — "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back"
- Ed Sheeran — "Shape of You"
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
- Pink