Millennials, did we time travel? That seems to be the only explanation for what is happening tonight at the VMAs. Starting with NSYNC appearing to present Taylor Swift her award for Best Pop Song for “Anti-Hero,” we just continued on the 2000s trend with presenters, relationships and more. It would may seem as if we have taken over the show tonight. In the absolute best possible way.
A lot of this comes down to the fact that very important figures in the music industry when we were growing up were being honored with achievement awards this ceremony but still. With a furry of presenters and news to come out of the ceremony as a whole, there was so much happening that made it feel like it was a small gift to millennials and our continued taste in music. After all, we did have hit after hit constantly coloring our days.
Looking at specific moments (outside of just NSYNC showing up together), let’s go back down memory lane and remember what it was like being a kid, enjoying music and losing ourselves into the best songs.
Nelly Furtado and Timbaland
For quite a few years (and songs) Nelly Furtado and Timbaland worked together, the famous being their song “Promiscuous” released in 2006. The two came out to give Swift Song of the Year for her hit “Anti-Hero” and Swift commented again how she was living a millennial’s dream with the people she had giving her awards throughout the night. NSYNC and then Nelly Furtado and Timbaland?! While the duo worked together a lot, there is one song in particular with Furtado that does live in our minds rent free.
Where were you the first time you heard “I’m Like a Bird”? I bet I just unlocked a memory. For me, I used to drive around with my mom scream singing this song over and over again because we both loved it. Seeing her back, especially with Timbaland at her side was really another call out to all the millennials out there.
Ashanti is back with Nelly?!
Not only did Ashanti present with French Montana but she also confirmed that she’s back with her former partner Nelly. Yes, you read that right. Nelly and Ashanti are back together. Ashanti, famous for songs like “Foolish” and “Only U,” was a staple of the early 00s in music and her relationship with Nelly was something that made headlines for months. The two broke up 2013 and for the last decade we were without their love.
So seeing the two back together is a bit wild because it was such a staple of the 00s. Starting in 2003 and staying together for a decade, to see the two back at each other’s side in the midst of a lot of other millennia fever dreams feels like we figured out time travel for real.
Shakira’s entire performance
Presented with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, Shakira gave a performance that incorporated her newer music with staples that we’ve come to instantly connect with her. Even if Wyclef Jean didn’t instantly say “Shakira Shakira” when he was announcing her. A masterclass in what makes Shakira such an enthralling performer, she didn’t stop moving the entire time she was performing her array of songs and it really showcased just how vast her career is and why we’re drawn to her work as a whole.
My personal favorite of her songs is “Underneath Your Clothes” which she didn’t perform but it was still so beautiful to see her pull out classics like “Wherever, Whenever” as well as “Hips Don’t Lie” to bring us back into our love of her catalog.
We love Mary J. Blige announcing Diddy’s performance
One of the things about is that I love “I’ll Be Missing You” by Diddy and Faith Evans. The song, written after the death of Biggie Smalls, has engrained itself in my mind because of my love that I have for Biggie and the minute I knew we were getting a Diddy performance, I knew that if that was part of it I would end up crying and sure enough that’s exactly what happened.
Mary J. Blige came out to announce Diddy for his VMA for being a Global Icon and the performance proved just how good Diddy is. Starting in the late 90s and rising to fame through the 00s, Diddy has become one of the most recognizable voices out there and to see him celebrated while promoting new music for us to love was incredible.
Fall Out Boy brought out their “We Didn’t Start the Fire”
When I was in the 7th grade, my ringtone was “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down” and I used to sing along to it constantly to the point where our music teacher said to me I should audition for choir (I didn’t, I’m a musical theatre girlie). Point is, most millennials can tell you when they fell in love with Fall Out Boy and for many of us, that love still runs deep. Whether it was back with Take This To Your Grave or if you played DDR to “Dance Dance” over and over again, their music is iconic and they performed their new take on the Billy Joel song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” updated with lyrics to fit our modern times.
Fall Out Boy is a special millennial marker. You were either young enough on the millennial spectrum to make your entire personality based on their music or you were slightly too old to get too into them but still liked their songs fine enough. I was young enough but still, I think we can all agree that seeing Fall Out Boy is always a treat.
LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run DMC, and more bring the house down with a tribute to hip hop
It is the 50th anniversary of hip hop so decidedly not a millennial thing (we’re 42 at our oldest) but that means we grew up in the golden age of hip hop music. I know for me, I grew up in a household where my mother loved LL Cool J most of all and my oldest brother could easily name every man on stage and their entire discography without missing a beat. Hip hop was always around and has stayed these last 50 years for the power it holds. So this was a great moment for millennials because we were one of the first generations to grow up when hip hop music was engrained into the music scene.
This performance brought out Run D.M.C. star Darryl McDaniels who sang the iconic “Walk This Way” (which they famously did with Aerosmith and helped change the music scene) and seeing all of them come together to celebrate hip hop to end the VMAs was beautiful.
What was your favorite moment of the night? Let us know in the comments below!
(featured image: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV)
