It's The 40th Anniversary Of The MTV VMAs, So Here's An Iconic Picture From Each Year
In the 1980s, MTV executives created the Video Music Awards as an alternative to the Grammys with two goals in mind: "legitimize the video music form" and "have a party."
At the very first ceremony in September 1984, Madonna set the tone by leaping out of a cake in a lace wedding dress while performing "Like A Virgin." And quickly, the show proved to be unlike any other awards ceremony on the celebrity calendar, facilitating some of history's most iconic pop culture moments to date.
Now, as the media landscape has evolved, it's safe to say that the VMAs' overall relevance has somewhat lessened. However, what's certainly remained is the show's ability to cultivate memorable moments during its low-stakes but high-drama ceremony each and every year.
So, in honor of the 40th MTV VMAs this week, I had the pleasure of digging into the archives and selecting an iconic image from each ceremony since the very first one. Enjoy!
1984
As already mentioned, the inaugural VMAs ceremony brought us the first of many iconic Madonna performances. The wedding-themed performance was so raunchy that MTV execs feared the show would get "dropped by a bunch of cable ops" — which, luckily, it didn't.
1985
Bob Geldof made an appearance for the second annual ceremony — and by the looks of things, he was thrilled to be having his photograph taken on the red carpet.
1986
The VMAs never fail to provide iconic celebrity interactions — and 1986 was no different. Here's Grace Jones and Andy Warhol chatting over a bucket of champagne.
1987
Here they are: Fleetwood Mac all together, not fighting, and looking impossibly cool on the red carpet. (Stevie's dress?! Incredible.)
1988
Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper presented the award for Viewer's Choice in 1988 — and seemingly exchanged hairstyling tips, too.
1989
George Michael received the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, later renamed the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. While presenting him with the award, Madonna kissed George on the lips, which certainly got people talking at the time.
1990
Yet another iconic Madonna moment. In 1990, she went full Marie Antoinette and delivered a memorable 18th-century France-inspired performance of her hit song, "Vogue."
1991
Although it's not visible in this particular shot, Prince's yellow jumpsuit had full cutouts baring his ass-cheeks. You can watch the full performance here if you don't believe me.
1992
Nirvana during a very eventful performance of their song "Lithium." Shortly before this photograph was taken, Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses challenged Kurt Cobain to a fight backstage.
1993
A random linkup for the ages, courtesy of the VMAs. RuPaul hanging out backstage with Nirvana — as well as Courtney Love and baby Frances Bean Cobain.
1994
Four months after their wedding, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley opened the show and shared a long kiss in front of the audience. Talk about PDA.
1995
Michael Jackson midway through a 15-minute performance, which began with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and included hits such as "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Beat It," "Black or White," and "Billie Jean."
1996
Even though Oasis wasn't nominated for any awards in 1996, the British band still showed up to perform. In typical Gallagher fashion, Liam and Noel got into some kind of mid-performance dispute, which ended with Liam spitting out his beer and storming off stage — some things never change.
1997
From one British group to another. You'll notice here that the Spice Girls were all wearing black bands around their arms — this was in honor of Princess Diana, who died on Aug. 31, only four days before. The girls collected the award for best video for "Wannabe" and dedicated the win to Diana in their speech.
1998
Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston poked fun at their alleged "beef" by presenting the award for Best Male Video wearing the same Vera Wang gown. It became such an iconic pop culture moment that Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion recreated the skit at the Grammys in 2022, this time, wearing Versace.
1999
This is the first of many iconic Britney Spears moments at the VMAs. Making her debut, she performed her hit song, "...Baby One More Time."
2000
Nope, this wasn't some kind of awkward coincidence. Eminem actually brought a ton of Eminem clones for his performance of "The Real Slim Shady," which, as you can see here, began on the street before all the lookalikes followed him inside.
2001
Inspiring Halloween outfits for decades to come, Britney Spears performed "Slave 4 U" with a live python around her shoulders. The snake's name was Banana, and Britney revealed in her 2023 memoir that she feared it might kill her during the performance.
2002
An awkward run-in for the history books: Christina Aguilera presented an award to Eminem amid their long-running feud.
2003
The kiss that was seen around the world. Madonna closed out her infamous performance with Britney and Christina by kissing them both as the crowd cheered. Believe it or not, Jennifer Lopez had initially been set to participate in the number but was replaced by Christina after she had to drop out.
2004
Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, and Lenny Kravitz backstage, either right before or after the trio performed Stevie's "Higher Ground" together.
2005
Shakira performed "La Tortura," marking the first time an entirely Spanish song was sung at the VMAs.
2006
Justin Timberlake and Timbaland brought "SexyBack" while opening the show in 2006.
2007
Following a difficult year, Britney returned to the stage for a performance of her single, "Gimme More." In 2023, she revealed she was reluctant to perform and even had a panic attack backstage. However, her team wanted her to "show the world" she was "fine." "The only problem with this plan: I was not fine," she wrote.
2008
Rihanna, in her Good Girl Gone Bad era, performed "Disturbia" to kick off the 25th VMAs.
2009
If I tried to list all the ways this moment has impacted pop culture as we know it, I'd be on the verge of publishing my first book. Imagine what the world might be like today if Kanye West had never interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video. There'd have been no Snakegate, that's for sure.
2010
Four words: Lady Gaga Meat Dress — need I say more?
2011
Beyoncé delivered the ultimate mic-drop moment in 2011 when she unbuttoned her blazer at the end of a powerhouse performance of "Love On Top" to reveal her first pregnancy. Not to make you feel old or anything, but that little bump is now 12-year-old Grammy-award-winner Blue Ivy Carter.
2012
2012 was a true invasion of the Brits (and one Irishman) as One Direction were the night's biggest winners, taking home the awards for Best New Artist, Best Pop Video, and Most Share-Worthy Video.
2013
Foam fingers and striped suits were never the same. 2013's ceremony became infamous for Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke's joint performance of "We Can't Stop" and "Blurred Lines," which involved Miley twerking on Robin, much to viewers' shock.
2014
After performing a 16-minute medley of hits from her self-titled album, Beyoncé was presented with the Video Vanguard Award by her husband, Jay-Z, and their daughter — technically marking Blue's second time up on the VMAs stage.
2015
Six years after he interrupted her acceptance speech, Taylor Swift reunited with Kanye West to present him with the Video Vanguard Award. We thought this signified the official end of their feud, but things only wound up getting worse the following year when Kanye dropped his song "Famous." But that's another story.
2016
After Rihanna delivered four packed performances, Drake presented her with the Video Vanguard Award and used the moment to profess his love for her. Years later, Rihanna said she found the speech very "uncomfortable" and that she and Drake "don’t have a friendship" anymore. Eeek.
2017
Fifth Harmony seemingly shaded Camila Cabello's departure from the group during their performance. The number began with five silhouettes standing on stage before one dramatically fell backward, leaving only four remaining. Camila later said this hurt her feelings.
2018
Jennifer Lopez accepted the Video Vanguard Award onstage after performing a medley of her hits.
2019
17 years after she danced as a child in the original music video, Alyson Stoner joined Missy Elliott for a performance of "Work It" in honor of her receiving the Video Vanguard Award.
2020
As a true sign of the times, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande came together for a masked performance of their collab, "Rain On Me" — marking the first and only occasion they ever performed the song live together.
2021
Six years after he broke down in tears at the 2015 ceremony, Justin Bieber returned to the VMAs stage to perform "Stay" with the Kid Laroi, followed by his song "Ghost."
2022
In a tellingly bejeweled outfit, Taylor Swift announced the release of her tenth studio album, "Midnights."
2023
To the delight of millennials everywhere, *NSYNC reunited on stage at last year's VMAs. Notably, the last time they'd appeared together before this was at the 2013 VMAs.
And as for 2024? Megan Thee Stallion is hosting, Taylor Swift looks set to attend, and we've got a ton of exciting performances to look forward to from the likes of Eminem, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan. So, let's see what the night brings!
The 40th annual VMAs will be held in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 8 P.M. ET. You can watch on MTV and all Paramount channels, and stream it live on Paramount+ and Univision.
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