The upcoming 2022 MTV Video Music Awards has added a new category to this year’s list as a way of honouring the best musical performance in virtual spaces.
MTV has added the “Best Metaverse Performance” category for this year and the nominations include Ariana Grande’s Rift Tour event in Fortnite.
This new category comes on the heels of successful virtual concerts in video games like Roblox and Fortnite, eventually becoming more prevalent in the last couple of years with the likes of Lil Nas X, Travis Scott and more artists performing in virtual spaces.
According to an MTV spokesperson to The Hills, “We saw the opportunity to highlight and honour some of the best, most impactful executions of this – and celebrate artists who have found creative ways to use these spaces – which led to the addition of ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ category this year.”
#VMA Best Metaverse Performance Nominees
🚀 #ArianaGrande
🚀 @BLACKPINK
🚀 @BTS_twt
🚀 @charli_xcx
🚀 @justinbieber
🚀 @twentyonepilots— Video Music Awards (@vmas) July 26, 2022
It remains unclear whether the inclusion of the ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ category is a one-time thing but we’re banking on this being a regular slot in the future, marking an important landmark in the world of music consumption and laying down the road for a future of virtual, rather than actual, ‘world’ tours by the biggest stars.
Speaking to Comicbook.com, Gen Hoshino, a musician stated, “I think there will be more opportunities to take part in similar events in the future. With Fortnite spearheading events like this, I get the feeling that more and more events centred on musical performances will be held within the gaming sphere.”
As seen from the Twitter post above, the category includes celebrities like Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK, BTS, Charli XCX, Justin Bieber, and Twenty One Pilots have all been nominated in the “Best Metaverse Performance” category at the MTV Video Music Awards 2022.
Online voting is currently available, and winners are set to be announced alongside the rest of the categories on August 28th on MTV.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
