Live entertainment is back at the MTV Music Awards (VMAs) 2021 after the show had to be a pre-taped, studio-set format last year due to pandemic conditions. And the first chart-topping performers that have been announced are sure to add some spectacular musical firepower to the award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Camila Cabello, Lil Nas X, Lorde, Machine Gun Kelly and Olivia Rodrigo are set to light up the VMAs' this year while performing live from Barclays Center on September 12. However, stay tuned as more performers, who will help fill out the three-hour programme, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Three of the outstanding performers have also landed on the 2021 VMAs nominee list. One of them, Olivia Rodrigo, is a first-time nominee up for five awards, including two of the night’s biggest: Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. Rodrigo, a Filipina-American, has topped the American album and singles charts with “Sour” and several hit songs from it.
The 18-year-old critically-acclaimed and multi-platinum singer/songwriter, who made waves with her record-breaking, triple-platinum debut single “Drivers License,” will take to the VMAs stage to sing “good 4 U.”
Lil Nas X, who also has five nominations, will battle it out for the highly-coveted Video of the Year award. The 22-year-old international powerhouse is behind the Internet-breaking “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” which remained atop of the Spotify Global chart for over a month, and follow-up song, “Industry Baby.”
The award-winning rapper, singer and songwriter, who hails from Atlanta, Georgia, is sure to bring yet another genre-defying hit to the VMAs stage. Labelled “an internationally recognised phenomenon” by Billboard, Lil Nas X, working on his debut album called “Montero,” last graced the storied stage in 2019 for a ground-breaking performance of “Panini.”
Machine Gun Kelly, a 2020 MTV Video Music Award winner for Best Alternative for “Bloody Valentine,” is once again nominated for a VMA this year in the same category for “my ex’s best friend” featuring blackbear. Both songs hit the number one spot on the American Alternative charts and have been certified Platinum.
The multi-hyphenate talent, who is a globally known star in music and film, will be making his debut on the iconic VMAs stage. Kelly, who also took home his first-ever Moon Person in 2020, will bring a world premiere performance of new single “papercuts” to life. He recently released the song with an electric video from acclaimed director Cole Bennett. It is from his forthcoming album, “Born with Horns,” which doesn’t have a release date yet.
Known for spoiling us with headline-grabbing moments every time she steps onto an iconic MTV stage, Camila Cabello is set to make a must-see VMAs return. The multi-Grammy nominated Cuban-born singer/songwriter will be delighting audiences while belting out “Don’t Go Yet,” a single she recently released. It’s the first inkling of her third album, “Familia,” which hasn’t dropped yet. Her piece follows her steamy 2019 “Senorita” performance with Shawn Mendes.
Additionally, Lorde is making her highly-anticipated return to the VMAs stage for the first time since 2017. The 24-year-old singer, record producer and songwriter will deliver an explosive world premiere performance from her critically-acclaimed new single “Solar Power.” The song is from her third full-length studio album with the same name, which came out on August 20.
Lorde currently has over 12 million albums sold and over 10 billion streams worldwide. The songbird quietly, yet confidently asserted herself as the voice of a generation back in 2013, when she was just 16. Her full-length debut, “Pure Heroine,” went triple-platinum and won two GRAMMY® Awards, with “Royals” cementing her as the youngest solo artist and the only New Zealander to get to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1987. Lorde has been named by “Time” as one of the “Most Influential Teenagers in the World,” has landed on a “Forbes” “30 Under 30” list and graced the cover of “Rolling Stone.”
