MTV presented its annual Video Music Awards ceremony earlier this week and audience members were shocked when the stage appeared to malfunction. Stage lights and curtains fell, pyrotechnics misfired, and a security guard led Olivia Rodrigo offstage in the middle of her performance of “Vampire.”
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The “malfunctions” paralleled her “Vampire” music video, which depicted her performing at a similar awards ceremony where the stage falls apart. At Tuesday night’s VMAs, when the stage cleared to black after the “malfunctions,” music led into “Get Him Back,” a single released from Rodrigo’s second album.
This year’s VMAs had 18 stage performances and the whole show lasted for nearly four hours, according to Billboard. Other performers included Fall Out Boy, Demi Lovato, Shakira and Lil Wayne.
Taylor Swift won the most awards of the night and now is the highest VMA recipient after Beyoncé, per Today. Most notably, she won video of the year, artist of the year and song of the year for “Anti-Hero.”
Shakira also made an impact at this year’s VMAs when she “became the first South American artist to win the Video Vanguard Award,” per NBC. This award is MTV’s “version of a lifetime achievement gong,” according to The National News. Other recipients of this award are Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé.