Madonna’s appearance at the VMAs surprised many attendees, making an already crazy event even more exciting. Many prominent artists joined together on Sept. 12 for the Video Music Awards (VMAs) led by rapper, singer and songwriter Doja Cat.

The VMAs are an annual award show hosted by MTV that concentrates on popular music in the industry. Artists receive nominations for their various projects while also competing with each other for the awards.

Lil Nas X won the Video of the Year award for his song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” and the 18-year-old superstar Olivia Rodrigo took home both the Best New Artist award and Song of the Year for “Drivers License.” The award for Best Collaboration went to Doja Cat and SZA for their popular song, “Kiss Me More.”

In conjunction with receiving Best Pop Song, Justin Bieber won Artist of the Year chosen over competition such as Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and Olivia Rodrigo. Freshman Savannah Bennett of Keyport and freshman Ava Luu of Allentown both agreed that Ariana Grande deserved to win Artist of the Year more than Justin Bieber.

They supported their argument by saying that Justin Bieber only won due to his loyal fans that have been with him since his young age.

Many performances went on through the night. Lil Nas X sang two songs from his debut album “Montero” alongside Jack Harlow, with Lil Nas singing in a bright pink cage and the backup dancers all in pink ski masks.

“I really liked Doja Cat’s performance when she was in the red outfit and in the big ring and floating,” said freshman Leigh Batzar of Middletown. “She also had a bunch of wacky outfits. Her performances are always interesting to watch.”

As always, there were many talked-about outfits lining the red carpet this year. Actress Megan Fox wore an entirely sheer Mugler dress with jewels by Lorraine Schwartz accompanied by her partner, Machine Gun Kelly, who wore an all-red sparkly suit.

This extravagant night ended with many awards given out, stellar performances, and unforgettable outfits.