Let's be real for a second. We all remember where we were in the spring of 2020, and it usually wasn't somewhere fun. While the rest of the world was figuring out how to use Zoom without accidentally turning on a potato filter, Nickelodeon was staring down a massive problem: how do you pull off a massive, messy, slime-filled spectacle when everyone is legally required to stay six feet apart? The Kids Choice Awards 2020 shouldn't have worked. Honestly, on paper, it sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Usually, this show is defined by thousands of screaming kids, live performances, and celebrities getting absolutely drenched in green goo in front of a mosh pit. Instead, we got "Celebrate Together," a virtually produced makeshift ceremony that felt more like a very expensive FaceTime call than a Hollywood awards show.
Victoria Justice stepped up to host, and you could tell she was doing her best to keep the energy up while basically talking to a webcam in her living room. It was strange. It was awkward. But looking back, it was actually a pretty impressive feat of engineering.
The night the slime went virtual
When people search for the Kids Choice Awards 2020, they usually want to know how the slime worked. You can't have a KCA without slime. It’s the law. But without a stage, the producers had to get creative. They sent "Slime in a Box" kits to celebrities’ houses. This resulted in some of the most "Dad-shot" footage we've ever seen from A-list stars. David Dobrik got blasted in his backyard, and it looked like his friends were just hosing him down with a pressurized weed sprayer filled with green cornstarch. It lacked the theatricality of the Pauley Pavilion, but there was something oddly humanizing about seeing these massive stars standing on their patios in hoodies getting messy.
The show was originally supposed to happen in March with Chance the Rapper hosting. Then the world broke. Nick pushed it back to May 2, rebranded it as "Celebrate Together," and donated $1 million to No Kid Hungry. That’s the part people forget. Amidst the digital madness, there was a genuine effort to help kids who were missing school meals.
Who actually won the blimps?
The voting didn't change, even if the venue did. Avengers: Endgame cleaned up because, well, it’s Avengers. But the TV categories felt like a time capsule. Stranger Things won for Favorite Family TV Show, and Millie Bobby Brown took home a blimp for her role as Eleven. It’s wild to think about how much younger everyone looked then.
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Music-wise, it was the year of Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes. Ariana won for Favorite Female Artist, which surprised absolutely no one. What was a bit more interesting was seeing how these artists accepted their awards. Most of them were just sitting on their couches. Lil Nas X won Favorite Male Artist, and his energy was basically the only thing keeping the "party" vibe alive through the screen.
- Favorite Movie: Avengers: Endgame
- Favorite Animated Movie: Frozen 2
- Favorite Female Artist: Ariana Grande
- Favorite Male Artist: Lil Nas X
- Favorite Social Star: David Dobrik
- Favorite Global Music Star: Taylor Swift
Why the 2020 ceremony felt different
Usually, these shows are polished to a mirror shine. Not this one. The Kids Choice Awards 2020 was glitchy. The lighting was hit-or-miss. Some celebs clearly had better Wi-Fi than others. But that’s exactly why it resonates now. It was a shared moment of "we’re all just winging it."
JoJo Siwa showed off her massive collection of bows from her house. The cast of Avengers did a group video call that felt exactly like the ones you were having with your cousins at the time. Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, and Paul Rudd all hopped on to say thanks. It was arguably the biggest "get" of the night. Seeing the Earth's Mightiest Heroes compressed into little 480p squares was a vibe that only 2020 could produce. It was the ultimate "Stars, they're just like us" moment, provided your "just like us" involves having a multi-million dollar Marvel contract.
The tech behind the "Celebrate Together" broadcast
Nickelodeon basically had to invent a new way to broadcast a live-to-tape event in about six weeks. They used remote kits that were sent to homes, featuring high-end cameras but relying on domestic internet speeds for the "live" feel. It wasn't just about the video, though. The audio was a nightmare. Mixing the screams of virtual fans with a host who is essentially alone in a room is a recipe for an "uncanny valley" effect.
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They used an AR (Augmented Reality) slime filter for some segments, which... look, it wasn't great. It looked like a Snapchat filter from 2016. But when you compare that to the physical slime drops—like the one Josh Gad endured—you could see the contrast. Gad’s slime hit was particularly brutal because he was just sitting there in a chair, and it looked like someone dumped a five-gallon bucket of cold soup on his head. No lights, no screaming fans, just a man getting soaked in his yard for the sake of the kids. That’s commitment.
A shift in what kids cared about
If you look at the nominees from that year, you see the massive rise of TikTok influencers starting to eclipse traditional Hollywood stars in the eyes of the KCA demographic. While Will Smith was winning for Aladdin, kids were arguably more hyped to see what Charli D'Amelio was doing. This ceremony was the tipping point. The Kids Choice Awards 2020 proved that you didn't need a red carpet to have a "moment." You just needed a ring light and a decent personality.
Ranking the best (and worst) moments
- The Avengers Reunion: Honestly the highlight. Seeing the core six together, even digitally, felt like a proper send-off to the Infinity Saga that we didn't get because of the lockdowns.
- The Slime Lab: Seeing "Behind the scenes" of how the slime was "shipped" was a fun bit of lore for the younger viewers.
- The Musical Performances: These were... tough. Doing a musical number in a bedroom is hard. It usually feels like a high-quality TikTok, which is fine, but it lacked the "oomph" of a live stage.
- Asher Angel's Performance: He performed "Guilty," and it was one of the more polished segments, but you could still tell he was dancing in a confined space.
It’s easy to be cynical about these things. Critics at the time called it "awkward" and "clunky." But they missed the point. For a ten-year-old stuck at home for two months, seeing their favorite stars also stuck at home was a huge deal. It validated their experience. It made the world feel a little smaller and a little less scary.
The lasting legacy of the virtual blimp
When we look back at the Kids Choice Awards 2020, it serves as a historical marker. It was the first major awards show to go fully virtual. It set the blueprint for the Emmys and the Oscars that followed later that year. It proved that "the show must go on" isn't just a theater cliché; it's a logistical challenge that can be solved with enough Fed-Ex boxes and high-speed internet.
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The winners of the 2020 blimps probably have the most unique trophies in their collections. They aren't just awards for "Favorite Actor" or "Favorite Song." They are artifacts of a time when the entire entertainment industry had to stop, pivot, and figure out how to be funny in a vacuum.
If you're looking to revisit the show, most of the clips are still on Nickelodeon's YouTube channel. It’s a trip. You see the DIY spirit mixed with corporate branding. You see stars without their glam squads. You see a host trying to high-five a screen. It’s messy, it’s green, and it’s undeniably 2020.
Actionable takeaways from the 2020 era of entertainment:
- Adaptability is king: The brand didn't cancel; they evolved. In any creative field, being able to pivot your medium is more important than the original plan.
- Authenticity beats production value: Kids responded more to the raw, "at-home" footage than the high-end AR effects.
- Community focus: Using a platform for charity (No Kid Hungry) during a crisis creates a lasting positive brand association that outlives the actual content of the show.
- Archiving matters: Because this show was virtual, it exists in a weird digital-only space. If you're a creator, always ensure your "remote" work is captured in high fidelity, not just as a stream recording, to preserve the quality for the future.
If you want to understand the current state of kid's media, you have to understand this show. It was the moment the wall between "TV Star" and "Internet Star" finally crumbled for good. It wasn't perfect, but it was exactly what it needed to be.