Claws up, Little Monsters: Lady Gaga is going to need help holding all of these Moon People.
The 2020 VMAs have blasted off with a one-way ticket to Chromatica, leaving viewers soaking wet with not only the first live performance of Gaga and Ariana Grande’s joyful jam, “Rain on Me,” but Gaga performing a Chromatica medley featuring tracks from the album: “Chromatica II,” “911” and the album’s lead single, “Stupid Love.”
In addition to their instantly iconic live performance, Gaga and Grande’s collaboration also won the VMAs for Song of the Year and Best Collaboration, and Gaga snatched the Moon Person for Artist of the Year.
“This is so exciting, thank you so much,” she told the crowd, sporting one of her many masks throughout the evening. “Being an artist is the only thing I ever wanted to be in my whole life. I never wanted to be anything else.”
“Everyone always knew if they were hanging out with me that I was on a mission to spread joy through culture, through dance, through music. I’ve written music my whole life, and I feel so honored I get to do this every day,” she added.
This is Gaga’s 16th VMA in total, making her the annual awards show’s third most-decorated artist after Beyoncé and Madonna.
Gaga and Grande lead the nominations at this year’s VMAs with nine nominations each, including Video of the Year and Song of the Year for “Rain on Me.” From her legendary “Paparazzi” performance to her iconic meat dress, Gaga has always brought it to the VMAs, and this year’s socially distant version was no different.
The 2020 VMAs have kicked off across MTV’s linear and digital platforms, as well as with several outdoor performances around New York City. Find the complete winners list here and everything else you need to know at vma.mtv.com.
