MTV

TAYLOR Swift debuted Patient Zero music video at the MTV Video Music Awards after accepting a massive honor.

The Fate of Ophelia singer accepted the first-ever Artist Director Honor at the annual awards ceremony on Sunday.

Taylor’s good friend, Dakota Johnson, who also stars in the music video for her new single Patient Zero, presented her with the award.

The global pop star kept her acceptance speech short and sweet before introducing the world premiere of the highly anticipated music video.

She shared a teaser of the video, which also stars Colin Farrell, on Friday, before announcing that all will be revealed during Sunday’s ceremony.

Fans were taken aback by the video’s grim twist, as she portrayed Colin’s character’s deceased former partner, but it overall received rave reviews online.

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“Taylor really wanted to team up with MTV to do something to celebrate the release of Patient Zero,” a source told Page Six about Taylor’s VMAs appearance.

“They created this award just for her. It’s their first time handing out this award.

The insider also said that the “timing made sense,” given the release of Taylor’s latest single, alongside three other new tracks.

The four new songs are a part of The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, an extended deluxe edition of her 2025 album, The Life of a Showgirl.

“She really wanted to be there, and the network wanted to figure out a moment in the show that was special to her where she wasn’t just in the background, so MTV made this moment happen,” the source added about the collaboration.

Taylor, 36, was one of the last to arrive on the red carpet at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles in a stunning black and silver gown.

Her husband, NFL tight end Travis Kelce, 36, skipped the event to play with the Kansas City Chiefs in their game against the Miami Dolphins in Florida earlier in the day.

While Taylor has supported her man on the sidelines since the football season began, she couldn’t miss this night as she was the first recipient of the Artist Director Honor.

This marked the singer’s 31st Moon Man trophy, breaking her tie with Beyoncé for the most VMA wins.

The vocalist was also nominated for nine other awards – the second-most of the night behind Madonna, who had 11 nominations – and won the Video of the Year award.

Taylor has kept a lower profile since her and Travis’s extravagant July 4th wedding.

MOST AWARDED ARTISTS IN VMA HISTORY

Since the iconic MTV Video Music Awards first premiered to shake up pop culture in 1984, artists across all genres have tried their best to score the coveted Moonman trophy. Here are the top 10 musician’s who have taken home the most hardware:

• Taylor Swift – 31 wins: Taylor is now the most-awarded artist in VMA history. She has won Video of the Year five times, including for her hit All Too Well, and picked up a record nine awards in one night for Midnights in 2023.
• Beyoncé – 30 wins: Beyoncé’s haul includes six wins for Formation in 2016, plus Video of the Year for Single Ladies in 2009. Her total also includes two wins with Destiny’s Child.
• Lady Gaga – 22 wins: Gaga dominated the 2010 VMAs, taking home seven awards for Bad Romance. She has also won Artist of the Year twice.
• Madonna – 20 wins: The original VMA powerhouse has collected wins for Vogue, Ray of Light and Express Yourself, as well as the Video Vanguard Award.
• Eminem – 15 wins: The rapper is the most-awarded male artist in VMA history, with wins including Without Me, The Real Slim Shady, Not Afraid and Houdini.
• Ariana Grande – 13 wins: Ariana has collected 13 Moonmen, including Video of the Year and Best Pop for Brighter Days Ahead and three wins for Rain on Me with Lady Gaga.
• Peter Gabriel – 13 wins: Peter holds one of the biggest records in VMA history: 10 wins at the 1987 ceremony, including nine for Sledgehammer.
• R.E.M. – 12 wins: The rock band swept the 1991 VMAs with six wins for Losing My Religion and later added four for Everybody Hurts.
• Justin Timberlake – 11 wins: Justin’s haul includes Video of the Year for Mirrors, multiple wins for Cry Me a River and the Video Vanguard Award.
• Green Day – 11 wins: Boulevard of Broken Dreams powered Green Day’s VMA haul, winning six awards in 2005. 21 Guns added even more to their collection in 2009.

She showed her love for her husband last week while celebrating his touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Out of Style singer was caught on video screaming and clapping as Travis darted across the field to score.

She could also be heard yelling, “That’s my husband!” while pointing at her $1 million wedding ring.

MADONNA has already appeared to take over this weekend’s MTV Video Music Awards, after scoring the most nominations and is expected to hit the stage with a record-breaking performance.

The notorious Queen of Pop outshines Taylor Swift with the most nominations of the night (a whopping 11) and is expected to sweep many categories with songs from her 15th studio album, Confessions II.

She’s also opening the ceremony for the fifth time before handing the mic over to this year’s host, Snoop Dogg, to continue the show at the Los Angeles Peacock Theater on Sunday.

But long before Madonna, 68, collaborated with Sabrina Carpenter for their pop-dance hit, Bring Your Love, and introduced Gen-Zers to her classics like Vogue and Like a Prayer, she delivered many other memorable moments at the VMAs.

Below are some of the most talked-about memories from Madonna’s past VMA appearances throughout her decades-long career.

Madonna’s white dress (1984)

For those who’ve followed Madonna since the early days of her singing career, her infamous 1984 VMAs opening performance of Like a Virgin immediately comes to mind as one of her wildest moves.

FIT FOR A QUEEN

Madonna, 68, feels so free in just a see-through bra, underwear and tights

The singer kicked off the show with a fiery performance of her hit track, wearing a full wedding gown and veil.

Her dress featured a skintight, lace, corset-like top with a sweetheart neckline and a poofy tulle skirt that fell to her knees.

Madonna sang on top of a massive wedding cake before rolling and twirling around on stage.

The performance was controversial at the time, and her publicist even thought it was a career-ender before it became an iconic moment for the books.

Infamous on-stage kiss (2003)

Viewers were once again enamored when Madonna joined pop princesses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera on stage for a super-sized performance.

The trio made history with their super-sexy outfits and provocative routine, first as Britney and Christina honored Madonna with a duet of Like a Virgin while wearing wedding gowns.

Madonna then emerged from a giant wedding cake and belted out her track Hollywood, before meeting the ladies on the dance floor.

The performance continued with the threesome stripping down into skimpy lingerie and Madonna sharing a steamy kiss with both pop stars.

Rapper Missy Elliott then joined them to finish out the performance, as the star-studded audience looked in awe.

Marie Antoinette in Vogue (1990)

Madonna gave another show-stopping performance of her classic song Vogue at the 1990 awards show, where she completely transformed herself into Marie Antoinette.

She fully committed to the part, wearing an 18th-century dress that accentuated her chest, a sky-high blonde wig, and heavy makeup.

Many male and female dancers also joined her onstage doing racy moves, including climbing on her skirt, kissing her cheek, and bringing their heads to her chest.

Team Ariana (2018)

If there’s one thing Madonna might not be the best at, it’s hiding her true feelings from the camera.

She demonstrated this in 2018, when she failed to mask her disappointment over Camila Cabello winning Video of the Year over powerhouse singer Ariana Grande.

Madonna presented the coveted award, which she won in 1998, but looked disapproving before announcing Camila as the winner.

She could then be heard saying under her breath, “Y’all suck for that,” while the former Fifth Harmony star made her way to the stage.

Camila then praised Madonna during her acceptance speech, as the legendary singer stood there looking annoyed.

Leather Goddess (2021)

Madonna again stole the show in 2021 when she attended the VMAs in an extremely skimpy leather outfit.

The Material Girl singer opened the show by taking off a massive trench coat to reveal her skintight leather thong bodysuit.

She strutted around onstage in the sexy ensemble, which completely exposed her bare butt beneath her fishnet stockings.

Her boobs also nearly busted out of the tight corset-like suit, which she paired with black leather gloves, a matching hat, and high heels.

Madonna stood out with her racy costume, even in a room packed with A-list stars commemorating MTV’s 40th anniversary.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the iconic singer rocked similar attire at this year’s ceremony, perhaps even as she marks her fifth time opening the show.

Other performers include LISA and RAYE, who will make their VMAs performing debuts, as well as Shaboozey, Sienna Spiro, among others.

The two-hour-long ceremony will air live nationwide on CBS and be simulcast on MTV on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST.

MADONNA is an expensive Material Girl – flogging a square of pink fabric for £40. 

The Queen of Pop, 68, posed in a pink veil on the cover of her No1 album Confessions II and is now selling replica versions on her online store. 

The item is described as a 58-inch sheer pink veil, with a “custom Madonna graphic tag” in the corner. 

However, fans are also being charged £5.54 in shipping fees on top of the £40 cost. 

One fan joked: “Madonna really said, ‘Why buy sheer pink voile for $3.99 a yard when you can buy it from me for $45 with a tiny tag sewn on it?’” 

Another fan account for the star wrote: “That’s a lot for a piece of fabric #Madonna.” 

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The item is among a raft of new merchandise, including a £40 rhinestone drinks tumbler, £40 tote bag, £35 water bottle and £7 pencil set. 

Madonna will tomorrow release a remix of her track Danceteria featuring Charli xcx, 34, months after an online spat. 

They fell out in April when Charli gave an interview to Vogue and quoted a line from her track Rock Music, in which she sings: “The dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music”. 

But Madonna, who had just launched the campaign for her dance-inspired album Confessions II, clapped back in an Instagram post in which she wrote: “If your dance floor feels dead, maybe you’re playing the wrong music.” 

They made amends when they were photographed at Paris Fashion Week in June and then hosted a club night together. 

It is now hoped they will perform their track together for the first time at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night. 

With 11 nominations, Madonna is the frontrunner to win big at the event  

She will open the show – her first performance at the ceremony since 2003 when she famously kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera on stage during a mash-up of her songs Like A Virgin and Hollywood. 

Sources in the US said she is likely to be joined by multiple guests although exact details of her set are being kept under wraps. 

Charli, who is nominated for four awards including Best Pop and Best Long Form Video, will be in the US at the same time as she is currently on a tour across North America. 

However, she played in Boston on the east coast last night (THURS) and is due to perform in Washington on Monday. 

Snoop Dogg, 54, will host the ceremony, which will be available to watch on streaming service Paramount+ and from 9pm on MTV on Monday.