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Swift honors Parton at MTV VMAs
Taylor Swift dedicated her video of the year win to Dolly Parton after setting a new VMA record.
What happened
Taylor Swift won video of the year for “The Fate of Ophelia” at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles and dedicated the prize to Dolly Parton, who died in August. Swift also received the inaugural Artist Director Honors, moving past Beyoncé as the ceremony’s most-awarded artist.
Numbers
- 33 VMAsSwift’s career awards total — A new ceremony record
- 7 awardsMadonna’s total trophy haul — Including artist of the year
- 23 yearsSince Madonna’s previous VMA performance — She returned to the stage
Questions
- What is Artist Director Honors?
- The inaugural award recognizes artists whose behind-the-camera work expands music-video possibilities and advances visual storytelling, according to MTV’s description.
- Why was Swift eligible?
- She has been involved in roughly 60 music videos and wrote and directed 18, a body of work recognized by the new award.
- How did Madonna feature?
- Madonna performed at the VMAs for the first time in 23 years and finished with seven trophies, including artist of the year.
- Who else won a major category?
- BTS won song of the year and best K-pop for “Swim”; Sienna Spiro won best new artist through fan voting.
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The catch
The coverage describes a Dolly Parton homage but does not identify Kacey Musgraves as its performer.