Details on VMA’s Tonight + Historical Moments, Who’s Performing & More!

The VMAs will air tonight! The show will take place live from Los Angeles, starting at 9/8c with a pre-show that starts at 8/7c. Given the VMAs past, we can’t wait to see what will happen this year. The first VMA Award show took place in 1984 and has continued to become more and more popular. Some notable moments of MTV VMA history are unforgettable– like in 1999, when Lil Kim’s entire breast was exposed, except for the tiny covering of her nipple in her VMA outfit.

That same year the parents of Tupac and Biggie, who were both murdered by then, met for the first time at the show.

But of course we can’t forget that moment in 2009 when Taylor Swift won Best Female Video and Kanye West decided to take it upon himself to go take the stage AND microphone proclaiming that Beyonce deserved the award instead. That was definitely the most memorable VMA moment for me.

Anywaydoe, this year will hopefully be just as exciting, with or without any microphone grabbing. Performers include Adele, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Ne-Yo, and Pitbull. The presenters list includes even more celebs such as Drake, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj, Odd Future, Rick Ross, Selena Gomez, and Zoe Saldana. There will also be a tribute to Amy Winehouse. Competition is thick this year too. Some of the most competitive categories include:

Best New Artist

• Big Sean (featuring Chris Brown), “My Last”
• Foster the People, “Pumped Up Kicks”
• Kreayshawn, “Gucci Gucci”
• Tyler, the Creator, “Yonkers”
• Wiz Khalifa, “Black and Yellow”

Best Hip-Hop Video

• Chris Brown (featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes), “Look at Me Now”
• Kanye West (featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi), “All of the Lights”
• Lil Wayne (featuring Cory Gunz), “6 Foot, 7 Foot”
• Lupe Fiasco, “The Show Goes On”
• Nicki Minaj, “Super Bass”

Best Female Video

• Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
• Beyoncé, “Run the World (Girls)”
• Katy Perry, “Firework”
• Lady Gaga, “Born This Way”
• Nicki Minaj, “Super Bass”

Best Video With a Message

• Eminem (featuring Rihanna), “Love the Way You Lie”
• Katy Perry, “Firework”
• Lady Gaga, “Born This Way”
• Pink, “F—– Perfect”
• Rise Against, “Make It Stop (September’s Children)”
• Taylor Swift, “Mean”

You can vote for your favorites HERE. And of course, tweeting about the VMAs is predicted to reach crazy numbers tonight. Last year there were more than 2million tweets. This year the network has even set up a special system for tweeting about the VMAs, called the VMA Tracker.  MTV shares:

“Fans who want to get in on the VMA action can head to our MTV Twitter Tracker, where the section labeled “buzz” will display photos of the celebs getting the most mentions. The photos will shrink and grow depending on popularity from moment to moment, so you’ll always know who’s blowing up. Join the conversation on Twitter! Use the hashtag #VMA!”

Peep the footage of the promotion for the Amy Winehouse:

Check back tonight for the latest info, observations and updates on the VMA’s!