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The MTV Video Music Awards have kicked off with a bang, delivering show-stopping performances and a surprise reunion of iconic 90s boyband NSYNC.
Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez rocked audiences members as they took to the stage to present the Best Pop award.
Unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift took out the title for Anti-Hero, with Bass presenting the pop star with a friendship bracelet as she joined the group onstage.
“I’m not doing well pivoting from this to this [from being an NSYNC fan to accepting an award],” gushed Swift. “Like, I had your [NSYNC] dolls!”
Swift has dominated nominations across 11 categories amid her widely successful Eras Tour.
She donned an asymmetrical black slit dress to the awards show and was filmed dancing side-by-side with Ice Spice for most of the night.
Selena Gomez stunned in a red floral lace dress, returning to the awards ceremony following an eight-year hiatus from the VMAs pink carpet.
Fellow Disney star turned singer Demi Lovato stepped out in an edgy all black mesh and leather ensemble before she took to the stage to perform a medley of rock renditions of some of her smash hits.
Meanwhile, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion delivered an unforgettable debut performance of their new single Bongos.
The WAP collaborators both wore blue bejewelled outfits with Cardi B descending onto the stage atop of a large glowing ball.
Shakira put on a stunning 10-minute medley of her greatest hits but some fans took to Twitter to suggest the Colombian singer may have been lip-syncing.
“I love Shakira’s commitment to the lip syncing too,” one person wrote.
“Like when most of the girls do it they forget halfway through the performance but miss hips was committed the whole time.”
“Shakira was lip-syncing for the life of her,” tweeted another.
Lip-syncing is not uncommon especially for performances that require high-intensity dance choreography. Regardless fans still thought she “ate” her performance.
“Shakira really is mother like. Hit after hit she never missed and ate that performance tonight,” said a fan.
The mega-performance is part of a tradition for the recipients of the MTV Michael Jackson Video Vanguard, which is sometimes handed out as a lifetime achievement award.
“Thank you, MTV, for being part of my career since I was 18 years old,” she said in her acceptance speech, as she thanked her production team and children.
The ceremony is set to close with a mammoth generation-spanning tribute performance to mark hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.
The star-studded line-up will include Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J, Lil Wayne and hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash.
