The name-drop heard around the world, remembered and revered for centuries to come. I couldn’t be talking about anything other than one adorable moment from the VMAs, which were presented on Wednesday, Sept. 11th, 2024. Keeping up with her current streak of wins this year, Taylor Swift received the MTV Video of the Year Award for “Fortnight” with Post Malone, which was, in my opinion, one of the most well-made videos this year. (I also would’ve loved to see Ariana Grande win for “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” but she got her flowers in Best Cinematography, so I was happy either way.)
During her acceptance speech, Taylor talked about how much fun she had making the “Fortnight” music video. And then, she did something we’ve all been waiting for. In thanking people for everything they contributed to the video, she mentioned one specific person who was in her corner the entire time. Yes, that’s right, She finally called Travis Kelce her boyfriend. Out loud. In front of everyone. On national television. So basically, true love exists and all is right in the world. Taylor said it best last night:
“I would always just hear someone cheering from across the studio where we were shooting, and that one person was my boyfriend, Travis. Everything this man touches turns into happiness and fun and magic, and I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot because I’ll always remember that.”
Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, 2024
Fans everywhere were so excited to hear Taylor finally refer to him as her boyfriend in public, with her history of secrecy in relationships, which caused some rough patches with former boyfriends. What the lovely people of Twitter called “the Tayvis zoomies” were rampant at that moment. There was some surprise in the fans’ reactions as well, knowing what putting her personal life in the spotlight has done to her and her loved ones in the past. I personally couldn’t be more happy for Taylor and Travis. Every picture of them that gets out onto the web just makes my heart so happy, and I love how loud he is about how much he loves and supports her.
The VMAs were full of other iconic moments, as usual- so here’s a (brief and incomplete) rundown of some of the best moments. Taylor’s outfits were unforgettable, wearing 2025 Dior on the red carpet and then changing into a “Down Bad” visuals-inspired minidress halfway through the show. Sabrina Carpenter channeled Madonna and Marilyn for her look and later gave an amazing performance of the three singles from Short ‘n Sweet that was definitely a crowd favorite of the night. Cyndi Lauper, who made history at the first-ever VMAs, introduced her performance. Chappell Roan won Best New Artist (which was SO deserved) in what the fans are calling a “Roan of Arc” chainmail look. Tate McRae’s outfit was one of my underappreciated favorites, as a nod to Britney Spears’ red carpet look in 2001, which was perfect for this year’s celebration of 40 years of the VMAs. Tyla looked absolutely stunning accepting her award for “Water” in the Best Afrobeats category and gave the sweetest, most grateful acceptance speech.
Flavor Flav *finally* got to present an award to Taylor Swift, and Sasha Colby introduced Chappell Roan’s performance, which was the sweetest moment to witness after keeping up with Chappell’s nods to Sasha in the past few months. (She IS your favorite drag queen’s favorite artist, FYI.) All of the mainstage performances were amazing, no notes. As a long-time Bleachers fan, nothing made my heart happier than Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley together on the red carpet, although I’ll never get over the way their single “Tiny Moves” was absolutely snubbed this year. Megan thee Stallion was the BEST host and her outfits were so on-point, and the guest appearances by Jordan Chiles were perfect. I think this year’s VMAs were an absolute smash hit, aside from the off-screen announcement of the majority of the awards (give the people what they want to see!). Award shows are always full of memorable (or meme-able) moments with our current favorite celebrities, but something about this year’s just hit different. I feel so grateful to live in the same universe as all my favorite artists and watch them climb to stardom in real time!