Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan Stun and Steal the MTV VMAs

It’s tempting, especially as an Old Person, to question the relevance—let alone the existence—of the MTV Video Music Awards in a world that has long left the industry that allowed the once-rabble-rousing ceremony to thrive in the rearview mirror.

But then you see a new generation of performers announce themselves as major stars to watch, and the show seems to cannonball right back into the water cooler. (Though, let’s be real: It’s a much smaller splash these days.)

Thanks to Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, two young stars who became pop supernovas this summer, Wednesday night’s VMAs proved to be buzzy once again. And one thing’s for sure: The music industry has two new icons in its midst.

Both artists had the internet buzzing before the telecast even began with their respective red carpet appearances.

Carpenter stunned in a sample of the iconic Bob Mackie gown that Madonna wore during her Academy Awards performance of that year’s winning Best Original Song, “Sooner or Later.” It was a shrewd, classy homage to an icon while staying true to the glamorous, pin-up style—which social media lovingly dubbed “yoo-hoo boys!” outfits.

Roan’s red carpet began meticulously planned. She arrived in a dress evoking Joan of Arc, brought her own carpet to stand on, and marched stoically while carrying a sword to pose.

Then a photographer seemed to shout at her to “shut the f--- up” after she turned away from the cameras. She quickly called him out: “You shut the f--- up! Don’t! Not me, b----!”

The contentious moment followed a summer during which Roan has been vocal about her desire for more boundaries, privacy, and respect by fans and the media, igniting a fiery discourse about what a celebrity is entitled to—or forced to endure—in exchange for their success.

Once the show started, Carpenter was the first of the pair to perform. She kicked off a medley of her hits from the rafters, singing “Please Please Please” from a swing next to a massive replica of the MTV Moonman while star lights twinkled behind her. Once again, she paid homage to a MTV icon, playing the monologue from Britney Spears’ Mars-themed “Oops!...I Did It Again” video before singing and dancing to “Taste” and “Espresso” amidst a cavalry of astronaut background dancers.

In the most viral moment, she made out with an alien, kicking off a social media race to be the first to make a meme comparing the scene to Donald Trump’s “transgender illegal aliens” comment from Tuesday night’s presidential debate.

Carpenter later won Song of the Year for “Espresso.”

During the surprisingly front-loaded telecast, Roan’s performance wasn’t far behind—and, as a testament to how quickly the Midwest Princess’s career has skyrocketed, received the kind of promotion during commercial breaks that, in the show’s heyday, was reserved for a Madonna or Britney Spears.

Her Joan of Arc theme continued—or, shall we say, “Roan of Arc.” She emerged from behind the gates of a medieval castle wielding a crossbow with a flaming arrow. As she marched between a phalanx of knights, she turned and fired the arrow at the castle, setting it ablaze before heading to a scorching—literally—rendition of “Good Luck, Babe.”

The Joan of Arc reference—and the gender politics, perseverance, and burn-it-all-down pursuit of agency that Arc’s story stands for—proved to be particularly poignant to Roan’s LGQT+ fans. With her flawless vocals and rousing staging, she torched her VMAs debut.

It was a packed first half of the ceremony. Taylor Swift won the first award, and used her speech to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11. (As self-care, we’ll not think about the fact that many of the performers and nominees were not even born when 9/11 happened.) Megan Thee Stallion and Anitta delivered powerhouse performances. Eminem opened the show with a surprisingly emotional medley. And Katy Perry took a career victory lap with a performance of her greatest hits before accepting her Video Vanguard Award (and sharing a very hot kiss with husband Orlando Bloom).

And while in this house, we don’t believe in playing the music of male singers, I am forced to emerge from beneath my rock at the geriatric millennial retirement home and say, “Hello there, Benson Boone!” His performance of “Beautiful Things” was, like Carpenter’s and Roan’s, a star-cementing triumph. Wearing a purple bedazzled vest and matching pants, his voice was amazing as literally jumped and flipped off of platforms and even his piano.

Are the VMAs…back?

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