Taylor Swift Calls Last Year ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’ as She Wins Big for ‘Anti-Hero’ at MTV VMAs 2023

This is for all the anti-heroes out there! At the MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, Taylor Swift won the coveted Video of the Year award with Anti-Hero , earning her fourth Moon Person of the evening. Before taking the microphone, Swift, 33, allowed her editor, Chancler Haynes, and her cinematographer, Rina Yang, a chance to introduce themselves. “OK. This is unbelievable,” Swift told the crowd, as per PEOPLE . “This is… I just want to say that the fact that this is a fan-voted award means so much to me based on the memories that we’ve made recently.”

The singer-songwriter continued by promoting her record-breaking Eras Tour, which began in March, while a new leg of the tour will begin in November. “I’ve just been on a tour that has been the most joyful and exhilarating experience,” she said. “And we’re not even halfway done with it. It’s really felt like the adventure of a lifetime this past year. I cannot believe that it was a year ago at the VMAs that I announced the Midnights album. And all I have to say tonight is thank you. I’m blown away. Thank you so much to the fans. I love you so much.”

Swift, who had the most nominations going into the program, won the prizes for Best Pop, Best Direction, and Song of the Year earlier in the evening. She also picked up five additional honors that were revealed after the show, including Artist of the Year. Her tenth studio album, Midnights , which she originally teased at the 2022 MTV VMAs, contained Anti-Hero and was released in October. Swift, who previously took home the same honor at the event, will next release 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in November.

Furthermore, at her concert in Los Angeles on August 9, which served as the star’s final U.S. performance of her Eras Tour, she also disclosed the arrival of the re-recorded 1989 (Taylor’s Version) . “Here we are on the last night of the U.S. leg of the Eras tour in the eighth month of the year on the ninth day. You might have noticed there are some new outfits in the show,” the singer told the crowd before unveiling the cover art and release date of the new album.

The greatest names in music descended on New Jersey’s Prudential Center on Sunday for the VMAs ceremony, which awards prized Moon Person trophies to the year’s best music videos, per PEOPLE . With 11, Taylor Swift has the most nominations this year. SZA is second with eight, followed by Miley Cyrus, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo, and BLACKPINK, who are all tied for sixth.

The Video of the Year competition was the most competitive this year, pitting Doja ( Attention ) against Cyrus ( Flowers ), Minaj ( Super Freaky Girl ), Rodrigo ( Vampire ), Sam Smith and Kim Petras ( Unholy ), SZA ( Kill Bill ), and Swift ( Anti-Hero ) against each other.