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When it came time to make their MTV Video Music Awards debut on Tuesday night (Sept. 12), TOMORROW X TOGETHER made sure to deliver the goods.

Taking to the stage late in the program, the K-pop superstars debuted their brand new single “Back for More” with a splash. Appearing onstage, all five members — Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai — appeared in a bejeweled and fringed jackets, belting out the lyrics to their groovy, disco-tinged song while executing suave dance moves to accentuate their on stage swagger. “All I know is, if you walk away/ Tell me something,” Yeonjun and Soobin sang. “Tell me things you can’t replace.”

As they hit their second verse, the boys were joined onstage by Latin superstar Anitta, following her own performance earlier in the evening and a win for best Latin. Dressed in a fringed black bra and panty combo, she joined the group in the staccato choreography and lent her sultry vocal to the energetic track. With a few blasts of pyrotechnics and an army of backup dancers joining them onstage, TXT brought their excellent VMAs debut to a bombastic close.

The performance comes after the band teased their new track with a series of videos posted across their social media on Sept. 5, showing the group and Anitta dancing along to the groovy new single.

The K-pop quintet weren’t just at the VMAs for their performance, though; TXT was up for four nominations at Tuesday’s ceremony. Before the show even started, the group won its very first Moon Person trophy for push performance of the year for its song “Sugar Rush Ride.”

Astrology fans, get your star charts out, because Taylor Swift just read the cosmos and realized that Nicki Minaj is the perfect distillation of her sign at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday (Sept. 12).

Joining Minaj on stage after winning her third Moon Person for best direction, Swift immediately hugged Minaj and mouthed “I love you” to her. As she stepped to the microphone, the pop star gestured back to the rapper and told the crowd, “That’s my favorite Sagittarius over there,” much to the Minaj’s delight.

Swift then went on to accept her award for self-directing her “Anti-Hero” music video, by first acknowledging her team of fellow directors on the project; editor Chancler Haynes and her director of photography Rina Yang. “If there is one thing I’ve learned about direction, it’s that it is absolutely a team sport,” she said. “We’ve worked together so many times, and every time it is so much fun.”

The “Cruel Summer” singer also made sure to give a special thank you to Mike Birbiglia, John Early and Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who portrayed “my nightmare, horrendous future children” in the song’s iconic funeral scene. “You absolutely played the parts perfectly,” she said.

Swift — who is also a Sagittarius — was nominated for a whopping 11 awards at Tuesday evening’s ceremony, leading all other artists in nominations. Those nods included video, artist and song of the year, the latter of which she won early in the ceremony for “Anti-Hero.” Minaj, meanwhile, served as the evening’s host, while also earning six nominations of her own.

Metro Boomin took over the Prudential Center at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday night (Sept. 12), bringing together a slew of his hip-hop heavyweight friends for a medley of “Superhero” and “Calling.”

While Metro and his turntable levitated over the stage, Future, Swae Lee, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and NAV traded verses down below, surrounded by a foggy laboratory landscape filled with rocks and elevators. The performance was a showcase of today’s biggest hip-hop talent, which is fitting given that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the genre.

“Future is an anomaly,” Metro previously told Billboard of his frequent collaborator. “You don’t get to see too many people of any industry perform and deliver at the rate and level that he does for this amount of time. I met him and started working with him when I was 18 to [my current age of] 29, and he was on before that. It’s a true testament to his grind and his will.” 

“Superhero” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Calling” peaked at No. 41. Over on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs, “Superhero” bowed at No. 2, while “Calling” climbed to No. 13. “Superhero” appears on Metro Boomin’s 2022 album Heroes & Villains, which topped the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart in December.

Metro Boomin was nominated for four awards at this year’s ceremony, including album of the year for Heroes & Villains; best hip-hop for his Future collab “Superhero (Heroes and Villains)”; and best collaboration and best R&B for his The Weeknd, 21 Savage and Diddy team-up “Creepin’ (Remix).”

“¡Arriba México, Viejo!” Peso Pluma enthusiastically said at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday (Sept. 12). Arguably the fastest rising star to hit the American pop mainstream this year, the Guadalajara native made his VMAs debut at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., to perform “Lady Gaga” off his 2023 album Génesis — and Peso Pluma fever was on full display.

Backed by his band — which was made up of of brass players, a tololoche (a sort of stand-up bass), a requinto (12-string guitar) and guitars — attendees gave the performer a warm welcome. With his performance, the Mexican hitmaker — became the first regional Mexican musical act to perform corridos at the annual awards show.

Wearing a huge black puffer jacket and durag, Peso Pluma appeared more like a drill artist than a traditional corridos singer, completing his look with a baggy T-shirt and pants. But that’s the appeal: He resonates with an urbano crowd that leans toward a street-style aesthetic and a bélico lifestyle.

Peso Pluma is nominated for a several VMA awards, including song of the summer for the Mexican reggaetón hit “La Bebe (Remix)” with Yng Lvcas, as well as the best new artist award, which Bronx rapper Ice Spice and North Carolina singer Reneé Rapp are also competing for. Previous winners in that category include Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator and Lady Gaga. 

“My life has changed a lot,” Peso told Billboard in the July cover issue, recalling that his first shows in Mexico just last year were attended by 500 people. He’s currently in the midst of his first U.S. tour.

Colombian powerhouse Karol G kicked off Bichota Season at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday (Sept. 12) at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., with a sweltering performance of “Oki Doki” from her latest album, Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season).

Wearing a fishnet leotard that showed off her pink bikini top, matching sleeves and hair to boot, Karol brought her signature electrifying smooth reggaetón vibes to the MTV stage. The singer soon transitioned to belt out “Tá OK (Remix),” a collaboration that usually features fellow Colombian artist Maluma, Brazilian sensation DENNIS and MC Kevin o Chris.

Karol G was nominated for four awards, including artist of the year, and best collaboration for “TQG” with Shakira.

Karol G is currently on an international tour with Mañana Será Bonito. With several sold-out stadium concerts and an electric stage presence, the Colombian sensation proved during the VMAs that she is a cultural Latin icon who continues to reshape and elevate the Latin music scene on a global scale.

Her 2023 album, Mañana Será Bonito, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200; follow-up Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), scored a No. 1 placement on the Top Latin Albums chart.  She also broke the record for most Hot Latin Songs entries among women as the aforementioned album debuted. 

Four of the artists featured in this year’s main show hail from Latin America, illustrating the global influence of Latin pop in recent years. Shakira and Karol G hail from Colombia, trilingual force Anitta represents Brazil and Peso Pluma is from Mexico, showcasing the storied tradition of músia mexicana.