The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards was a lot. Honestly, looking back from where we are now, it feels like the last time the "Moon Person" ceremony really tried to be everything at once. It wasn't just a music show; it was this high-tension, slightly chaotic intersection of political statements, celebrity feuds, and the literal birth of a new era for Taylor Swift.
If you weren't glued to Twitter that August night, you missed a weird one.
The Forum in Inglewood was packed. Katy Perry was hosting, fresh off her Witness album cycle, and the vibe was... experimental? Perry’s hosting was divisive, let’s be real. Some people loved the "space cadet" energy, while others found the scripted jokes a bit clunky. But that’s the thing about the MTV Video Music Awards 2017—it didn’t care if it was "cringe." It just wanted your attention. And it got it, mostly through the sheer power of the music videos themselves.
Kendrick Lamar and the Night of Artistic Dominance
Kendrick Lamar didn't just show up; he took over. Opening the show with "DNA." and "Humble," he set the stage on literal fire. There were performers wrapped in flames, a martial arts theme, and this pulsing, aggressive energy that made everything else feel small.
He went into the night with eight nominations. He left with six, including Video of the Year for "Humble."
If you watch that video today, it still holds up as a masterpiece of cinematography and social commentary. Dave Meyers and the Little Homies (Kendrick’s creative collective) really leaned into religious iconography and cultural critique. It was a massive win for hip-hop, especially because the VMAs have historically been criticized for leaning too heavily into pop-rock. This was Kendrick’s night, but the shadow of a certain "snake" was lurking in the wings.
The Taylor Swift "Look What You Made Me Do" Moment
Taylor Swift wasn't even at the MTV Video Music Awards 2017. Physically, she was nowhere to be found. Mentally and digitally? She owned the entire broadcast.
The premiere of the "Look What You Made Me Do" music video was the marketing event of the year.
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The crowd went silent when it played. It was the first look at the Reputation era Swift, and it was biting. The video was essentially a graveyard of her past personas—the You Belong With Me girl, the Red tour Taylor, the 1989 Taylor—all being mocked by a new, darker version of herself. People were pausing the live broadcast to count the snakes. They were looking for receipts in the bathtub full of diamonds. It was a masterclass in using a music award show to bypass the traditional press cycle. You have to remember, this was the peak of the Kimye drama. Swift used the 2017 VMAs as her weapon of choice.
A Show That Got Loudly Political
MTV has always tried to be the "voice of the youth," but in 2017, the stakes felt heavier. The show happened just a few weeks after the tragic events in Charlottesville.
They brought out Susan Bro.
She was the mother of Heather Heyer, the young woman who lost her life protesting at the "Unite the Right" rally. The room went dead quiet. It was a jarring shift from Katy Perry’s space jokes to a mother talking about the loss of her daughter to racial violence. She announced the Heather Heyer Foundation and presented the "Best Fight Against the System" award.
In a rare move, MTV didn't pick a single winner for that category. They gave it to all six nominees:
- Logic ft. Damian Lemar Hudson for "Black SpiderMan"
- The Hamilton Mixtape ("Immigrants: We Get the Job Done")
- Big Sean for "Light"
- Alessia Cara for "Scars to Your Beautiful"
- Taboo ft. Shailene Woodley for "Stand Up / Stand N Rock #NoDAPL"
- John Legend for "Surefire"
It was a statement. A bit messy? Maybe. But it felt like the producers realized that ranking "activism" was a bad look.
Pink and the Speech That Made Everyone Cry
Pink received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award that year. Usually, these speeches are just a list of thank-yous to agents and labels. Not Pink.
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She told a story about her daughter, Willow. Her daughter had told her, "I'm the ugliest girl I know... I look like a boy with long hair."
Pink’s response was a PowerPoint presentation—literally, she made one for her kid—showing androgynous rock stars like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and Annie Lennox. She told the audience, and her daughter sitting in the crowd: "We don't change. We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl. And we help other people to change so they can see more kinds of beauty."
It was the most human moment of the MTV Video Music Awards 2017. No pyrotechnics. Just a mom talking about self-love.
Technical Triumphs and Logic’s Powerful Message
Logic’s performance of "1-800-273-8255" was another heavy hitter. He brought suicide prevention survivors onto the stage, all wearing shirts with the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The impact was real.
The Lifeline reported a 50% increase in calls following that performance. It’s easy to be cynical about celebrities "raising awareness," but the data showed that this specific moment actually reached people in crisis. Khalid and Alessia Cara joined him, and the performance felt less like a promotional gig and more like a public service announcement that people actually wanted to hear.
The Visual Evolution of the 2017 VMAs
The stage design was massive. The Forum was transformed into this multi-platform landscape that allowed for constant movement.
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Ed Sheeran performed "Shape of You" with Lil Uzi Vert, which was a collaboration nobody saw coming but everyone talked about. Lorde, dealing with a severe flu, didn't even sing—she just danced to "Homeless" in a silver dress. People were confused. Was it art? Was it a fever dream? That was the 2017 vibe.
Fifth Harmony also had one of the most talked-about entrances. They started their performance with five silhouettes on a ledge, then one of them—representing the departed Camila Cabello—was "thrown" off the back of the stage before the remaining four started singing "Angel." Subtle? No. Effective? Absolutely.
Why 2017 Still Matters in Pop History
We don't get shows like this much anymore.
Now, everything is fragmented. We watch clips on TikTok the next morning. But the MTV Video Music Awards 2017 was one of the last "water cooler" moments where the entire music industry felt like it was in one room, trying to figure out how to navigate a world that felt like it was changing too fast.
It was the year hip-hop truly claimed its throne as the dominant pop culture force. It was the year Taylor Swift weaponized her own narrative. And it was the year MTV tried to balance the superficiality of pop music with the weight of global unrest.
Actionable Insights for Music Fans and Creators
If you’re looking back at the 2017 VMAs to understand the industry today, keep these things in mind:
- Study the "Look What You Made Me Do" rollout. It remains the blueprint for how to use a legacy platform (MTV) to drive digital engagement (YouTube/Socials) without saying a single word to the press.
- Analyze Kendrick Lamar’s "Humble" visuals. For creators, this video is a masterclass in using high-contrast lighting and unconventional camera angles to create a "vibe" that transcends the song itself.
- Look at the impact of the "1-800" performance. It proves that when a celebrity uses their platform for a specific, actionable cause (like a phone number), the results are measurable and life-changing.
- Evaluate the "Vanguard" legacy. Pink’s speech is still used in media training today as an example of how to deliver a "brand-aligned" message that feels authentic rather than corporate.
The 2017 awards weren't perfect. They were loud, sometimes awkward, and occasionally confusing. But they were alive in a way that modern, highly sanitized award shows rarely are. If you want to understand why pop music looks the way it does now, you have to look at the fire Kendrick started on that stage and the snakes Taylor let loose in that video. It was a turning point. We’re still feeling the ripples.