By: Agustina Kohen Mangas
Every year between August and September, MTV’s Video Music Awards take place, allowing thousands of people to try their luck at attending. This year, after trying for the past three years, I was finally lucky enough to score tickets. This all started one night when my friend and I were debating not sleeping to see Olivia Rodrigo perform on The TODAY Show. After deciding to prioritize sleep and not go, I got an email from 1iota that I had gotten two tickets to see Renee Rapp perform the following night. When my friend and I looked at the event details, we realized that the concert was free because it was a recording for the VMAs performance and that all attendees would also receive tickets to the VMAs. Not much later that day, our other friend told us she had gotten tickets too and invited another friend to join. So, it was a plan! That rainy Friday, the four of us headed to New Jersey to watch Renee Rapp perform.
As soon as we arrived, they made us put our phones in black pouches that prevented us from using them until the event ended. We walked to a tent next to the Prudential Center and met a stage and dozens of cameras. Renee came onto the scene with her band and performed her popular songs “Pretty Girls” and “Too Well” a few times. We also saw Kaliii and “The Warning” perform. Staff members were telling us when to start cheering and when to stop. After a few hours of standing, they let us go and get our phones back. We walked away from the venue while the staff members told us, “See you on Tuesday.”
On Tuesday, September 12th, we got ready and left for New Jersey. We arrived at the venue as soon as check-in opened to get the best seats. After calling two full lines of people, the organizers finally called us to get our tickets and took us to line up next to the venue. However, as soon as we started lining up next to the forum, the organizer got a message on her walkie-talkie and took our line to the side. My friends and I were already thinking the worst: “Maybe they are overbooked and will send us home,” we thought. We kept walking next to the venue until the organizer stopped us and told us that she had taken us out of the line because they needed people to participate in the red carpet.
Before entering the tent where the red carpet was held, they told us we could only use our phones once exiting the tent. So, we all put away our phones in our purses and followed the organizer inside the tent. The first artists to get interviewed were the K-pop band Stray Kids. However, I did not pay much attention to the interview as I was mesmerized by Karol G getting interviewed on the stage next to us. Later on, came Annita, who was also extremely friendly to us and had a sweet and short interview. After Annita left, we saw rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie walk by us after finishing some interviews, and not long after that, they told us it was time to head to the venue.
There was a main stage with a big spaceman head in the middle for presenters to come in and out from. On each side of that stage, there was another large stage for performances, and the setup changed continuously to accommodate the different interpretations. We got seated in the lower bowl right next to one of the side stages. Because it was almost set up as a circle, we could see the back of the stage we were sitting next to while also seeing the very beginning of it and the corner closer to us.
One of the first artists to perform was Olivia Rodrigo, who started singing her single “Vampire” and continued with her new song “Get Him Back.” The stage that Rodrigo performed at was the one we had a limited view of, so we watched most of her performance through the screens at the top of the arena. Halfway through the performance, the lights started sparkling and falling, resembling the “Vampire” music video. For us sitting at the back, it looked like a real lighting issue that might ruin the performance. But when she continued singing and the setting changed, we realized it was all part of the performance.
A performance the entire crowd was enthusiastic about was Demi Lovato’s rock take on her old songs “Heart Attack,” “Sorry Not Sorry,” and “Cool for the Summer.” Even though this performance was far more straightforward than the others, it made the crowd move the most, and it was the most surprising performance of the night, bringing moments of nostalgia to old Demi listeners and a good mood to the show. Other artists performing included Megan Thee Stallion, Nicky Minaj, Maneskin, Annita, Karol G, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Stray Kids, Lil Wayne, and more.
The last performance I want to highlight is Shakira’s. Shakira took home the Video Vanguard Award this year and gave a 10-minute performance of all her greatest hits. The performance started with her song “She Wolf” and ended with her latest sensation, “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” which had the entire crowd dancing, including Taylor Swift.
Overall, it was an enjoyable experience to attend and dance and sing along with the artists for the night. Being able to go also makes you aware of how everything works on the other side of your TV, how silent it can be between commercial breaks, how most artists have an idea of who’s getting the award (some of the nominees weren’t even on the stage), and many other things that audiences can’t see. I would definitely attend again if I get the chance, and I would encourage other Fordham students to go as it is a unique opportunity we get from attending school in New York.
