The superstar, who won the top award for “Fortnight,” also shouted out her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during her acceptance speech: “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic.”
Taylor Swift took home the most coveted award of the night at the MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday, breaking several records with the win. The superstar won video of the year for her song “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone.
Swift won seven VMAs this year, bringing her all-time total to 30, tying her with Beyoncé for most VMA wins of all time.
After being presented the trophy by VMA host Megan Thee Stallion, Swift took to the stage to share her appreciation for her fans and everyone who helped bring the music video to life, including Post Malone, Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles (who made cameos in the video), cinematographer/DP Rodrigo Prieto and production designer Ethan Tobman.
“Directing this video and putting it together and writing it was the most wonderful experience. And that is because of all the people that I got to make it with,” she said in her acceptance speech. “The thing is that this video seems very sad when you watch it, but it actually was like the most fun video to make.”
Swift also praised a special person in her life who was always on set while filming the music video, cheering her on between takes.
“Something that I’ll always remember is that when I would finish a take and I’d say, ‘cut,’ and we’d be done with that take, I would always just hear someone cheering from across the studio where we were shooting it. And that one person was my boyfriend Travis [Kelce],” the singer added, leading to screams from the audience. “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic, so I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot.”
Swift concluded, “To the fans, I’m always trying to figure out a way to say thank you to you for making my life what it is, for making the Eras Tour what it has become, for making The Tortured Poets Department what it has become. That’s all you guys for doing that and for voting for this award…. I appreciate it so much.”
Swift broke several records with her video of the year win, including extending her record for the most-awarded artist in the category, as she previously won for “Bad Blood,” “You Need to Calm Down,” “All Too Well: The Short Film” and “Anti-hero.”
She also became the first artist to win the VMA for video of the year three years in a row. She took home the award last year for “Anti-hero” and in 2022 for “All Too Well: The Short Film.”
The “Cruel Summer” artist is also known for directing several of her music videos over the years. As a result, her video of the year win for “Fortnight” also extended her record as the artist with the most wins in the category for videos that she directed or co-directed. Her past videos for “You Need to Calm Down,” “All Too Well: The Short Film” and “Anti-hero” were all directed/co-directed by Swift.
Swift beat out Ariana Grande with “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love),” Billie Eilish with “Lunch,” Doja Cat with “Paint the Town Red,” Eminem with “Houdini” and SZA with “Snooze.”
Earlier in the night, while accepting her best collaboration award with “Fortnight” collaborator Post Malone, the singer also took a moment to remember the tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the 23rd anniversary: “Everything that happens tonight falls behind that.”
It’s been a triumphant year overall for Swift, who not only won the Grammy for album of the year for Midnights earlier this year, but also released her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department, which sat at the top of the Billboard 200 chart for 15 non-consecutive weeks. She’s also been busy performing for fans around the globe on her Eras tour, which wraps up in North America later this year.
The 2024 VMAs, hosted by Megan Thee Stallion, were held at Long Island’s UBS Arena Wednesday night. Find the complete list of winners here and all the red carpet looks here.
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