The MTV Video Music Awards is known for being the stage for innovative fashion, dramatic award acceptances, and fabulous performances. This year, the carpet struck up more fashion statements and crowd-pleasing performances than ever before. From backless dresses to sheer ensembles, outfits worn by some of the music industry’s biggest celebrities were “the best ever,” according to junior fashion fanatic, Carrington Eley. She especially loved Sofia Vergara’s white dress, but thought that Taylor Swift’s short romper ensemble “just wasn’t her.” Some of junior Hayley Benedict’s favorite performers of the night were Beyonce and Taylor Swift.


Wearing more clothes than usual, Miley Cyrus rocked a black leather pant-bandeau combination designed by Alexandre Vauthier. Though she did not perform this year, Miley stole the show when she sent a homeless man from Oregon to accept her award for “Wrecking Ball” as video of the year. “My name is Jesse. I am accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are starving, lost and scared for their lives right now. I know, because I am one of those people,” his speech read. Inspiring the audience, Jesse continued, saying “The music industry will make over $7 billion this year, and outside these doors are 54,000 human beings who have no place to call home.”

Though Miley Cyrus was not the star of the VMAs this year, other singers stood out almost as much as Cyrus has in the past. Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, and Jessie J opened the show with a performance of their smash hit titled “Bang Bang.” Later in the show were performances by Usher, Zedd, Taylor Swift, 5 Seconds of Summer, DJ Mustard, and Adam Levine. Also, Rita Ora and Iggy Azalea performed “Black Widow” for the first time live. However, according to MTV’s website, despite the efforts of many successful artists, “one particular name stood out above the rest –global entertainer, singer-songwriter, and philanthropist Beyonce.” Accepting the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award, Beyonce Knowles once again beat out other artists for the spotlight.

Though they are not famous for their music, Kim Kardashian, Nina Dobrev, and Taylor Schilling were among many of the famous faces presenting the VMAs this year. Tweets by celebrities praised their hilarious presentations and the suspenseful reveals of this year’s winners.