Other performers included Shawn Mendes, who debuted 'There's Nothing Holding Me Back', and Lorde, who performed modern dance instead of singing due to bad flu.
- Aug 28, 2017
AceShowbiz - Kendrick Lamar knows exactly how to kick off a big show. The hometown hero took the stage at The Forum in Inglewood, California to open this year's MTV Video Music Awards with an electrifying medley. He belted out a fiery rendition of "DNA." before performing his smash hit single "HUMBLE." while ninjas climbed a fire wall.
Thanks to "HUMBLE", Kendrick was armed with eight nominations at the award-giving event. The track was nominated for Best Hip-Hop, Video of the Year, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects and Best Choreography Awards.
Following Kendrick's fire-filled medley, Ed Sheeran took the stage to perform "Shape of You". Some artists who were seen grooving to the song were Noah Cyrus, Ellen Degeneres, Chance the Rapper and The Chainsmokers.
The crowd were surprised when Lil Uzi Vert joined Ed onstage to deliver a never-before-heard remix of "Shape of You". The two then teamed up to perform the rapper's "XO TOUR Llif3", with the British crooner offering a new flavor to the rap song.
Shawn Mendes injected the night with more excitement as he debuted his newest single "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" at the event. Surrounded by blinking box TV sets, Shawn passionately sang the romantic song while strumming his acoustic guitar.
In a recent interview, the Canadian singer revealed that the song was inspired by a girl who doesn't even exist. "I wrote the song actually about a girl in a movie script that I read," he explained. "I was going to act in a movie and I fell in love with the girl character, and so I wrote a song about her."
Lorde was among the performers at the show. However, instead of performing her new song off her latest album "Melodrama", the songstress took the stage to show off her dance moves while grooving to "Homemade Dynamite". It was understandable, though, as a day prior she warned fans that she had a bad flu and could barely make it down the red carpet due to the illness.
After nabbing the Moon Person for Best Pop Video, Fifth Harmony and Gucci Mane brought their collaboration "Down" to the VMAs. During the opening portion of the performance, the group started with five members. As soon as they began their performance, one member suddenly fell off the stage. Well, the quartet clearly took a jab at Camila Cabello with this set.
