Taylor Swift was unsurprisingly the main character at the 2023 MTV VMAs.
The “Anti-Hero” star is in with a shot at becoming the most-awarded artist in VMA history if she can win six of her eight categories.
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At the time of writing, she has already won two out of two, putting her level with Beyoncé at 16 wins, just four behind Madonna who has 20.
So important is Swift’s presence at the New Jersey ceremony that MTV has a camera person dedicated solely to filming the singer’s reactions.
“There is a camera operator tasked with filming [Swift] continuously during the live performances onstage,” Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh, who was in attendance at the awards, tweeted alongside a video.
Swift dominates the 2023 VMA nominations with eight nods: Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Visual Effects and Best Editing, all for her 2022 hit “Anti-Hero”.
During Tuesday’s (12 September) ceremony, Swift freaked out over the surprise reunion of NSYNC.
The five “Bye Bye Bye” stars, comprising Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Justin Timberlake, took to the stage to present the award for Best Pop, which went to Swift.
As Swift hugged each NSYNC member in turn on stage, Bass took the opportunity to hand her multiple colourful beaded bracelets, in keeping with the tradition popular among Swift’s fans.
Fans of the singer, who is in the midst of her international Eras Tour, have been handing out the friendship bracelets at each of her tour stops. The trend ties back to the Swift song “You’re On Your Own, Kid” from the singer’s 2022 album, Midnights.
In the bridge of the tune, the lyrics read: “Everything you lose is a step you take / So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it.” Swifties took the Grammy Award winner’s advice literally, with friendship bracelets becoming a staple of the Eras Tour.
“What are you doing now? Are you doing something?” She asked the group. “They’re gonna do something and I need to know what it is! You’re pop personified.”
NSYNC announced a hiatus to pursue solo material back in 2002. However, after Timberlake’s career took off with his debut Justified, the band never reunited and officially called it quits in 2005.
Last month, a source told Entertainment Tonight that NSYNC would record a song, their first new music since the 2001 album Celebrity, for the upcoming Trolls Band Together film.
