Best and worst moments of the 2020 VMAs, from Lady Gaga's pandemic-chic outfits to eerie fake crowds

Well, that was something. On Sunday night, the MTV Video Music Awards aired the first major attempt at a socially distant awards show, complete with masked backup dancers, socially distant presenters and a whole lot of green screen. The show was often charming but frequently surreal and unhinged, as host Keke Palmer attempted to emcee the proceedings atop vague New York City “skyscrapers” (i.e. an animated backdrop with hordes of fake, faceless audience members). Pop superstars Lady Gaga and The Weeknd took home the biggest awards of the night, with their respective videos for “Rain on Me” and “Blinding Lights.” Here are the other high and low points from the show.

HIGH: The Weeknd's performance 

The R&B crooner performed his hit “Blinding Lights” from more than 1,000 feet in the air on the sky deck of the Edge at New York’s (much-maligned) Hudson Yards. During a night that was filled with green screen-heavy performances, it was cool to see an artist take advantage of the city: Singing against a sweeping backdrop of the skyline at night, complete with a dazzling fireworks finale. 

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LOW: CGI crowds

Look, we get that it’s in no way safe to invite a live audience to the VMAs, and we applaud MTV for trying to replicate the awards show performance as much as possible. But the pumped-in fake crowd noise and creepy silhouettes of cartoon audience members clapping was a little too “Hunger Games” for us.

HIGH: The Weeknd’s speeches

The tone of this year’s show was never going to feel right, with MTV trying to shoehorn tributes to frontline workers and quarantine-made music videos into the event. Although most artists acknowledged the unusual circumstances in their acceptance speeches, the only one who truly used his platform to speak out was The Weeknd (whose battered appearance was part of his "After Hours" aesthetic). "It's really hard for me to celebrate at this moment, so I'm just going to say justice for Jacob Blake and justice for Breonna Taylor,” he said after winning best R&B, repeating the same sentiment as he won video of the year for “Blinding Lights.”

HIGH: Miley Cyrus

The pop star has given us some of the most memorable VMAs moments of the past decade, from her feather-ruffling performance with Robin Thicke to her on-stage face-off with Nicki Minaj. Cyrus didn’t disappoint this year with her straightforward but nostalgic TV debut of ’80s Stevie Nicks-channeling new single “Midnight Sky,” writhing across a red and blue-lit soundstage before riding a giant disco ball, a la her iconic 2013 “Wrecking Ball” video.

HIGH: Lady Gaga’s outfits

Leave it to Gaga to make “pandemic chic” a thing. The pop superstar appeared in outrageously fun and CDC-approved looks every time she took the stage, from a bright green ballgown with a tusk-adorned mask to a sequin-covered face cover with a feathery shawl. She even donned an electronic mask during her performance that lit up every time she sang. “Stay safe, speak your mind and I might sound like a broken record, but wear a mask,” Gaga said as she accepted artist of the year. “It’s a sign of respect.”

HIGH: Everything ‘Chromatica'

We already knew that Gaga and Ariana would be performing their joyous No. 1 hit “Rain on Me” together for the first time on the VMAs. But we had no idea that would also include performances of Gaga’s meme-making “911” and pulsing electro-pop banger “Stupid Love,” which she sang as a torch-song ballad on a brain-shaped piano before hitting the dance floor. The vibrant nine-minute performance gave us strong apocalyptic dance party vibes, as Gaga expanded the world of her futuristic disco album “Chromatica” with huge production numbers and unforgettable, “Mad Max”-style visuals. 

LOW: Lip-syncing

We know that we can’t expect every artist to sing live, when they’re also expected to pull off complex choreography on massive soundstages. But the sheer amount of lip-syncing during the VMAs felt like overkill, with Twitter users calling it “atrocious” and “cringeworthy,” especially given how many performances appeared to be pre-recorded.