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Gaga, who went into the show sharing a leading
nine nominations with Ariana Grande, stormed the ceremony with
multiple costume changes ranging from an exotic bird to a bright
green ball gown - all accompanied by exaggerated custom-made
face masks and muzzles.
Canadian artist The Weeknd won the top prize, taking video of
the year for "Blinding Lights." He also took the award for best
R&B video for the same song.
The VMAs marked the first major U.S. awards show to take place
during the coronavirus pandemic. It was filmed without a live
audience and with most of the performances recorded in advance
because of health guidelines.
Host Keke Palmer opened the ceremony by dedicating it to "Black
Panther" actor Chadwick Boseman, who died on Friday at the age
of 43.
In the fan-voted show, Gaga and Grande also won two awards for
their collaboration "Rain On Me," while Gaga was given a new
lifetime achievement trophy, called the Tricon Award.
"This has not been an easy year for a lot of people," Gaga said.
"Stay safe, speak your minds, and I might sound like a broken
record but wear a mask."
America's national reckoning over systemic racism was also on
the minds of performers and presenters after months of street
protests over the deaths of Black people at the hands of police.
"It's our time to be the change we want to see," said Palmer.
"We need to come together, and music has that power."
The Weeknd opened the show with a performance on a 1,000 feet
high (300 meter) deck overlooking Manhattan, but said he was not
in the mood for partying.
"It's really hard for me to celebrate right now and enjoy this
moment, so I'm just going to say justice for Jacob Blake and
justice for Breonna Taylor," he said, referring to the recent
police shootings of Blake and Taylor.
The VMAs also recognized essential workers at the frontlines of
the outbreak, and handed out trophies to Grande, Justin Bieber
and Latin American boy band CNCO for music recorded during
coronavirus lockdowns.
K-Pop sensation BTS made their debut performance at the VMAs,
singing their new single "Dynamite," and the seven member boy
band won all four of the awards they were nominated for - best
group, pop group, K-pop artist and choreography.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Ana
Nicolaci da Costa)
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