2022 MTV Video Music Awards: LL Cool J Recalls His First VMAs Performance in Opening Monologue

It looks college footballs fans don’t really know Jack Harlow.

From the moment Nicki Minaj released the Rick James-sampling “Super Freaky Girl,” it seemed destined for a blockbuster music video, and today, that visual treatment has finally arrived. Directed by Joseph Kahn, the new clip casts Nicki in the roles of both the author of the track’s 1981 inspiration and its namesake, alternately donning James’ famous perm and a hot pink Barbie wig.

Mark Sutherland As the touring business continues its uneven return after nearly two years of lockdown, one major bright spot has been the famed U.K. festival sector, which came back with a bang this summer. Reading & Leeds Festival, the traditional finale to the season, took place last weekend and was completely sold out well in advance, contributing to what Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn calls his “best year ever.” Festival Republic staged events including Wireless, Latitude, Gunnersbury Park and huge outdoor shows from the likes of Liam Gallagher, Sam Fender and George Ezra. But Reading & Leeds remains the jewel in the crown with another hugely successful year, despite one headliner, Rage Against the Machine, pulling out 10 days before the event, due to frontman Zack de la Rocha’s leg injury.

“Ratings, what’s good?”The preliminary Nielsen figures for the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, its pre-show and two on-air replays are in — and both TV and cross-platform consumption ratings are up. According to the numbers, 3.9 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday’s festivities across 12 Paramount Global cable channels and the broadcast network The CW — which is a 3% increase from 2021’s programming, which attracted 3.7 million viewers.Paramount says viewers watched 1.59 billion minutes of VMAs content across TV, streaming and social platforms.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer MTV’s 2022 VMAs increased ts key demo rating by 1% compared to last year, when counting adults 18-49 who tuned in for the awards show across all 13 networks that it was simulcast on Sunday. The VMAs simulcast got a 2.81 rating in the advertiser-coveted demographic, compared to 2.78 the prior year. Like last year, these channels included MTV, VH1, the CW, Comedy Central, Nick At Night, Pop, TV Land, MTV2, Logo, Paramount Network, BET, BET Her and CMT. Sunday’s VMAs drew 3.9 million total viewers across those 13 networks. That’s up 3% from 2021’s comparable number of 3.7 million sets of eyeballs. (Both of those figures exclude out-of-home viewing, which won’t be reported by Nielsen until Tuesday.)

Maybe it was Lizzo’s speech, or the lure of Nicki Minaj. Either way, the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards saw decent gains from last year’s telecast.

Nicki Minaj was honored for her successful career during the 2022 MTV Vmas, giving an incredible performance of her greatest hits and making the audience go crazy, including Taylor Swift who was spotted dancing and singing along to her songs.And while accepting her Video Vanguard Award, Nicki took a moment to pay tribute to some iconic musicians and her personal idols throughout her career in the music industry.“I wish that Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were here,” Nicki said, referring to the mental health and struggles of the two music legends. “I wish people understood what they were going through.

Michele Amabile Angermiller There was plenty of action on, around and above the MTV VMA stages at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday night: Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance and not only took home the prize for Video of the Year (for “All Too Well”), she also announced her forthcoming new album, “Midnights”; Nicki Minaj took home the Video Vanguard award and delivered a performance that ranged from pink pop to torture-porn; and Latin had a bigger look than ever before, with eye-popping performances from Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Anitta, the latter of whom became the first Brazilian artist to win Best Latin Artist for her song “Envolver.” Yet there was plenty of action off-camera as well. On the red carpet in the hours before the show, Jack Harlow arrived early, clad in a leather-ish dark grey suit (which would have been suffocatingly hot if the Tri-State area was in one of its crushing bouts of summer humidity; lucky for him it was a cool evening). Big cheers also erupted for BlackPink, who stopped for a few quick photos.

Bad Bunny is showing some love for a few of his backup dancers. The 28-year-old musician, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, let things get steamy when he performed his new single, «Tití Me Preguntó,» during the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. Bad Bunny's stage show aired live from his concert at Yankee Stadium in New York City, shortly after he won Artist of the Year.

Nicki Minaj had a big weekend, thanks mostly to a marquee appearance at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. She accepted the Video Vanguard Award and performed a medley of her hits including her most recent single "Super Freaky Girl," which is fresh off its No.

The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards took place on Sunday night live from Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center. Taylor Swift picked up the coveted Video of the Year and announced she's releasing a new album.

What a year it’s been for music!

Johnny Depp left fans stunned as he appearanced at the 2022 MTV VMAs as the channel’s famous mascot, the Moon Man.The moon person has been a regular feature of the MTV VMAs and started back in 1984.The 59 year old actor, who recently appeared to take aim at his ex in a song, was seen floating above the stage in a projection, and said: "Hey, you know what? I needed the work," as the music award ceremony opened. It was the latest appearance by the actor in a possible comeback into the public sphere, following his victory in the multi-million dollar lawsuit against former partner Amber Heard that was followed by so many around the world.

The MTV Video Music Awards are always a calendar highlight and this year’s ceremony certainly didn’t disappoint.This year’s was led by hosts Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J and Jack Harlow and kicked off with a trip down memory lane as Fergie made a surprise performance. It ended on a high note too when Taylor Swift announced her new album, with a sprinkling of surprises in between as Johnny Depp showed off a rather different side to himself as he tried a new gig.

supports HTML5 videoJohnny Depp joked that he was available for ‘birthdays, bar mitzvahs and wakes’ as he returned to the MTV VMAs 2022.The Pirates of the Caribbean actor – who recently won his defamation trial against Amber Heard – was rumored to be making a surprise appearance at the ceremony, held at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday night.However, the 59-year-old did not grace the red carpet, instead popping up in a series of virtual appearances as the MTV Moonman mascot.In one brief clip, airing only on TV, he could be heard saying: ‘I needed the work’.Meanwhile, in another, he jokingly offered up his services to viewers at home, in case they were of any interest.‘I just want you guys to know that I’m available for birthdays, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, wakes, any old thing you need…‘Oh, I’m also a dentist.’Depp recently returned to a film set following the end of his highly-publicized trial – with official pictures released of his upcoming stint as King Louis XV in French period drama, Jeanne Du Barry.As well as this, it was also announced that he will be directing a biopic about painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani, marking his comeback to filmmaking for the first time in 25 years.Elsewhere, the star-studded ceremony featured a string of surprises, including an appearance by Taylor Swift herself, who then proceeded to drop the news of her upcoming album, which will be released in October.Music icon Fergie also graced the stage with her presence for a bombshell performance of Glamorous and First Class, alongside Jack Harlow.As you do.Nicki Minaj, who was hosting the bash beside Harlow and LL Cool J took home the coveted video vanguard award, and blessed us all with an incredible

MTV VMAs brought some of the biggest names in music to the stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday. From exciting performances to powerful speeches, this year's VMAs were a celebration of joy.Featuring a trio of hosts that included LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow, the high-energy gala was pulsing with energy and enthusiasm as some of the biggest names in music took the stage — both to perform their massive hit singles and to accept some of the night's top honors.As usual the slew of musical artists delivering TV debuts of their latest hits provided most of the night's biggest highlights, alongside a few artists making their big returns to the VMAs stage for the first time in years.Here's a look at some of the biggest performances and most memorable moments from Sunday's big show.Harlow opened the show with a performance of «First Class,» delivered inside an airplane set. Dressed as a flight attendant, Harlow was flanked by seated celebrities on both sides, including Lil Nas X, Avril Lavigne, Chloe Bailey, Jimmy Fallon, Saucy Santana and Becky G. The 24-year-old singer then surprised the crowd when he brought out Fergie.

Michael Jackson during this year's MTV VMAs ceremony.The 39-year-old rapper was awarded the Video Vanguard award at the 38th edition of the ceremony on Sunday (August 28) at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, USA.During her acceptance speech, the Super Bass singer paid tribute to music icons Michael and Whitney Houston as she told millions of fans she wished they “were here.” READ MORE: MTV VMAs 2022 recap: List of winners as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles win bigAfter thanking an array of artists, including Kanye West, Madonna, and Rihanna, she said: “I wish that Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were here.“I wish people understood what they were going through. I wish people took mental health seriously, even for those who seem to have perfect lives.”The audience then erupted in applause for the late stars.Nicki hosted the award-do alongside First Class singer Jack Harlow and rapper LL Cool J.She received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, which is “presented to artists for their outstanding contributions and profound impact on music video and popular culture.”Michael Jackson died aged 50 after suffering from cardiac arrest caused by a fatal combination of drugs given to him by his personal doctor.For more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.While Whitney Houston died at the age 48 from accidental drowning, with heart disease and cocaine use mentioned as contributing factors.After hailing her idols, Nicki wrapped up her speech by saying: “Thank you for giving me a chance to show my skills.

Italian breakout band Maneskin.Before MTV goes back to forgetting about music for another year, we look back on the best and worst performances of the 2022 VMAs.Doing “Pink Venom” — from their upcoming second album “Born Pink,” due Sept. 16 — the K-pop girl group underwhelmed in their debut performance on a US awards show.

making a surprise appearance as the iconic Moonman — now Moonperson — trophy to kick off the show after winning his sordid, sensational defamation trial against ex Amber Heard.Then there was the performance by Global Icon Award winners Red Hot Chili Peppers, who picked up their first VMAs 30 years ago for “Give It Away.” Seeing the dynamic duo of frontman Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea rock the stage just like they were pushing 30 instead of 60 took you back to the golden era of MTV — when the network actually played videos and was a culture-changing force.Even having classic rapper LL Cool J — who has previously hosted the Grammys — as one of this year’s three co-hosts was a throwback.