Katy Perry to Get Video Vanguard Award & Perform at 2024 MTV VMAs

Katy Perry will receive MTV’s prestigious Video Vanguard Award and deliver a medley of her greatest hits live at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Wednesday, September 11. The event will be held at New York’s UBS Arena and is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

In 2011, Perry won the VMA’s top honor, Video of the Year, for her song “Firework.” This upcoming award will make her the 10th artist in history to receive both the Video of the Year and the Vanguard Award. She joins an illustrious group that includes Madonna, Peter Gabriel, R.E.M., Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Rihanna, P!nk, and Missy Elliott. Notably, Perry will also be the first person to host the VMAs and receive both of the show’s marquee awards during her career, earning her the title of a VMAs MVP.

Perry and the MTV VMAs are practically the same age. She was born just six weeks after the first-ever VMAs, which aired on September 14, 1984, co-hosted by Bette Midler and Dan Aykroyd. This award also continues a trend of recognizing female artists with the Vanguard Award in recent years, following recipients like Rihanna (2016), P!nk (2017), Jennifer Lopez (2018), Missy Elliott (2019), Nicki Minaj (2022), and Shakira (2023). There were no recipients in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

Perry made her VMAs performance debut in 2009 with a rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” alongside Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. In 2013, she closed out the VMAs with a sensational performance of her chart-topping hit “Roar” near the Brooklyn Bridge. Her 2017 appearance saw her pulling double duty as both the host and a performer, delivering a grand finale of “Swish Swish” with Nicki Minaj, complete with elaborate props and her flying over the crowd to land atop a giant basketball hoop.

This Vanguard Award will be Perry’s sixth Moonperson trophy from the VMAs. She previously won three awards in 2011: Video of the Year for “Firework” and both Best Collaboration and Best Special Effects for “E.T.” featuring Kanye West. In 2012, she won Best Art Direction for “Wide Awake” and in 2014, she nabbed Best Female Video for “Dark Horse” featuring Juicy J.

“Katy is a musical powerhouse and true pop culture icon,” stated Bruce Gillmer, President of Music, Music Talent, Programming & Events at Paramount and Chief Content Officer, Music at Paramount+. “With her game-changing creative vision, she has become a global phenomenon, taking over the world’s biggest stages. Katy’s prowess will be on full display at the VMAs with a can’t-miss, career-encompassing performance celebrating her biggest moments and chart-topping hits.”

MTV’s press release announcing Perry as the recipient predominantly referred to the honor as the Video Vanguard Award, though it mentioned the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award once. The award was renamed in Jackson’s honor in 1991, but its association has been downplayed since the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland,” which raised serious allegations about Jackson.

Perry has achieved nine No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. She recently unveiled her new single, “Lifetimes,” on August 8, which is part of her upcoming sixth major-label studio album titled “143,” set to be released on September 20 via Capitol Records.

MTV’s announcement came just two days after Billboard published an article in which they predicted Perry as the most likely recipient of this year’s Video Vanguard Award. Other predicted contenders included Eminem, Usher, Miley Cyrus, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Post Malone, and Drake. The article emphasized Perry’s significant return to the pop music scene, noting, “There could be no better stage for her to remind pop fans why they’re still rooting for her comeback than the VMAs, with a performance spanning from breakthrough hit ‘I Kissed a Girl’ to this year’s ‘Woman’s World’ return.”

This year’s VMAs promise to be a memorable occasion as Katy Perry takes the stage to look back on her storied career and celebrate her significant contributions to the music industry.

Source: MTV, Billboard