Aug 21

Aug 21 The 5 Biggest Moments From The 2018 VMAs

ICYMI: This year's VMAs was all about powerful women. From Camila Cabello's big wins to Ariana Grande's empowering performance to Jennifer Lopez's well-deserved Vanguard Award, we've recapped how pop's most powerful girls ruled the 2018 MTV VMAs.

Nicki Minaj Shut Down The Stage With A Powerful Queen Medley

The queen of the VMAs literally returned to her throne last night with a five-minute medley of songs from her latest album, Queen. Dressed in gold, the hip-hop icon mashed up her biggest hits including "Barbie Dreams," "Majesty," "FEFE," and "Ganja Burn". Later that night, Nicki picked up the award for Best Hip Hop Video for "Chun-Li," and was adorably helped to the stage by friend and collaborator Ariana Grande.

Name a better friend... I'll wait. 😩💕 @ArianaGrande #VMAs pic.twitter.com/kSx9OFD2Fa
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) August 21, 2018

Ariana Grande Proves "God is a Woman" With Empowering Performance

Less than a week after debuting her successful new album Sweetener, pop princess Ariana Grande had a well-deserved, incredible VMAs night. After accepting her Best Pop Video award for "No Tears Left to Cry" and shouting out her fiancé, Ariana pulled off a stunning Last Supper-inspired "God is a Woman" performance. Surrounded by a diverse group of women, the pop star commanded the stage as she sang her hit female empowerment anthem.

Jennifer Lopez Accepts Her Well-Deserved Vanguard Award

Pop icon Jennifer Lopez rightfully received the highest honor of the VMAs last night, the Video Vanguard Award, making herself the first ever Latin artist to win the award. Before she took to the stage for her acceptance speech, the superstar killed a medley performance of her biggest songs over the past 20 years, including “On The Floor”, “Jenny From the Block”, “Dinero,” and “I’m Real".

JLo recounted her successful two-decade career in her acceptance speech, owing her icon status to her hard work.

“It’s been an incredible journey of dreaming my wildest dreams and then kind of watching them come true,” she said. “When people said, ‘You know, you’re doing too much. You can only do one thing,’ I was always a person who was like, ‘Why not?’ So I kind of had to forge my own path and make my own rules.”

Later that night, JLo also walked away with the award for best collaboration with DJ Khaled and Cardi B for “Dinero.”

Cardi B Snatches Best New Artist Award

After successfully tricking the audience into believing she brought baby Kulture to the VMAs (she was only cradling a Moon Person) during the night's opening speech, Cardi B scooped up the award for Best New Artist. After her unstoppable year, the award came as no surprise to both the rapper and fans. Cardi also scored the Best Collaboration award for "Dinero" along with JLo and DJ Khaled, marking the perfect ending to her successful night.

Camila Cabello Wins Artist Of The Year And Song Of The Year

Out of all the stars, Camila Cabello shone the brightest last night, as the young breakout won awards in the night's two biggest categories. Up against established artists like Drake, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Childish Gambino, and The Carters', pop's newest superstar won both Artist of the Year and Video of the Year. The young songstress earned these coveted awards due in part to the worldwide success of her hit single "Havana". In true Camila fashion, she accepted her award from Madonna with grace and poise, thanking her family and fans, and dedicating the Moon Person to Madonna herself.