Pop megastar Taylor Swift took home seven trophies on Wednesday at MTV’s Video Music Awards, tying her with Beyonce for the most lifetime honors in the 40-year history of the video accolades. Swift snagged the top prize, video of the year, for her bleak, black-and-white video “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone.

It shows Swift inside a bare psychiatric hospital, a setting she said reflected what she was seeing in her head as she wrote the music for “The Tortured Poets Department” album. “This video seems very sad when you watch it, but it actually was the most fun video to make,” Swift said as she accepted the VMAs Moon Person statuette.

Swift also thanked her fans for voting for the VMA honors and urged them to cast their ballots in the upcoming US presidential election. The singer endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in an Instagram post on Tuesday, but she did not mention the candidate by name on Wednesday. By night’s end, the 34-year-old Swift brought her career VMA total to 30, on par with hip-hop artist Beyonce. Swift’s other awards on Wednesday included artist of the year and song of summer.

Her video of the year award was her third in a row - following an extended version of “All Too Well” in 2022 and “Anti-Hero” in 2023 - and fifth overall, a record for one artist. Early in the show, when “Fortnight” won best collaboration, Swift praised Malone as “ridiculously talented” and “unfailingly polite”. “It has taken me forever to get him to stop calling me ma’am,” she said next to Malone on stage at the UBS Arena outside New York City. Malone returned the compliments, calling Swift “absolutely one of the most kind and talented people I’ve ever had the honor of knowing”.

The VMAs began airing on MTV PARA.O in 1984 and became known for memorable moments. At Wednesday’s awards, “Good Luck, Babe!” singer Chappell Roan was named best new artist. She wore a full suit of armor as she took the stage with a fiery crossbow to channel Joan of Arc in her performance of “Good Luck, Babe!” set in front of a flaming castle.

Blackpink singer Lisa won best K-pop video for her solo hit, “Rockstar”. South African artist Tyla claimed the Afrobeats award for “Water” and Brazilian singer Anitta snagged best Latin video for “Mil Veces”. “The global impact that ‘Water’ had on the world just proved that African music can be pop music too,” she said to wild applause. “Like this is just so special but also bittersweet, because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats. African music is so diverse — it’s more than just Afrobeats,” Tyla said.

The vast majority of awards were doled out offstage during the evening far better known for its performances and stage antics than its prizes. Megan Thee Stallion hosted, at one point even recreating Britney Spears’ iconic 2001 set when she performed with a live python. Megan’s snake was real too — but she didn’t have the same stamina as Brit. “Come get this snake — I don’t know this snake, this snake don’t know me,” she shrieked as a handler took the reptile from her arms.

Fashion-wise it was an evening for the vamps, including Swift in Dior, with a yellow plaid bustier top and open skirt complete with caged leather gloves and velvet hot pants. The Reputation-coded outfit was yet another clue for the Swifties that her re-recording of that album was on its way.

And Sabrina Carpenter arrived in archival Bob Mackie — the same shimmering push-up strapless gown that Madonna wore to the 1991 Oscars. She dropped from the ceiling on a swing to perform songs including “Espresso” to wide applause. Carpenter later won the prize for “Song of the Year” for her caffeinated bop. Anitta brought her signature high-energy twerks to the stage, while Karol G recreated a Latin bar scene to deliver “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”.

Rapper Eminem opened the show with “Houdini” from album “The Death of Slim Shady” before country singer Jelly Roll joined him via a video feed for their hit “Somebody Save Me”. Katy Perry, recipient of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, sang hits from “Teenage Dream” to “Firework” while wearing giant silver butterfly wings on a futuristic set. Perry also emerged from the air, giving a video-game-meets-Cirque-du-Soleil aerial dancing performance of her greatest hits including “Dark Horse” and “California Gurls”. Her husband, actor Orlando Bloom, handed her the trophy, and she embraced him with a long kiss. “Thank you to MTV for believing in my weirdness from day one,” Perry said. — Agencies