The night undisputedly went to Lizzo, Missy Elliot and Normani.

Black girl magic (if you wish to name it) had the crowd and social media fired up as Lizzo grabbed attention with her booty-shaking, electrifying performance. She opened with her smash hit Truth Hurts, before going into another crowd favourite, Good As Hell.

One social media user stated, “She went from a strip club to a church sermon.” Lizzo, 31, has claimed the title as a true performer since her rise to fame earlier this year.

Normani, who is a former member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, made her first solo performance since leaving the group and really outdid herself.  She performed her new single Motivation and from the beat dropped her fans shooks the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey with screams. Her performance was not short on sexy and fun. Despite some wardrobe and audio technicalities she managed to keep up her spirited performance.

Missy Elliot delivered an iconic, unforgettable performance. Her performance recreated some of her previous music videos. The night was stolen by Alyson Stoner, the little girl who “worked it” in her Work It music video. The crowd was pumped for Missy’s 10-minute performance. She was also the recipient of the Video Vanguard award.

Other performances for the night included Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello with their sultry sexy performance of their summer hit, Senorita, Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, Lil Nas X, J Balvin and Bad Bunny, Miley Cyrus, Rosalía and Ozuna. The night closed out with a medley performance from iconic rappers Naughty by Nature, Queen Latifah, Redman,  Wyclef Jean, and Fetty Wap.

—Article written by Shania Hanchard