From Madonna’s infamous performance of Like a Virgin in 1984, to Britney Spears’ memorable performance with a python snake in 2001, the MTV Video Music Awards have become a global phenomenon that people wait all summer for, and the 2016 award ceremony was no different. On Sunday, August 28, celebrities, singers, songwriters, and more gathered in Madison Square Garden to set off the year’s greatest hits. This year’s show was quiet arbitrary – to say the least – filled with many memorable performances. The show opened with Nicki Minaj singing alongside newest pop-sensation, Ariana Grande, who sang her most recent hit, Make Me, while reenacting what appeared to be a cycling class on stage. Rihanna, winner the Video Vanguard Award, performed four dispersed times throughout the three hour showing, while Beyoncé hit the stage for a 15 minute performance of songs pulled from her newest album, Lemonade. Aside from these unforgettable performances, Alicia Keys did something extremely unexpected. Rather than singing one of her own songs, she sang a poem honoring Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech that touched many people in the audience and ones watching at home.
