Knight Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter’s alien dance made the VMAs creepy in a good way

MTV hosted the 2024 Music Video Awards on Wednesday, and the performances brought viewers some of the weirdest and most baffling scenes in the show’s history. Chappell Roan went all out in Dungeons & Dragons to belt out her hit single “Good Luck, Babe!” and took to a flaming stage in chain mail-lined armor.

And then there was Sabrina Carpenter, who charmed the audience with a space-themed medley from her album Short and sweet in which aliens fucked each other.

Host Megan Thee Stallion brought Yuki Chiba on stage live to sing:Mamushi.” All in all, it made for a memorable show that combined some incredible concepts from science fiction and fantasy.

I would say there was no “best” moment of the night, because every performance really hit the nail on the head in its own way. Chappell Roan, whose work is inspired by drag queen hair and makeup, performed and evoked the energy of Joan of Arc. Dancing around a burning castle, looking like she was laying siege to the VMAs — it was nothing short of stunning. One person posted a photo of Chappell during the presentation with the added comment that she would be “every gay dnd bitch the new paladin will claim in the next 3-5 years” and another person did a full stat breakdown of what her class would be in the popular board game.

Sabrina Carpenter went a little more ethereal — and freaky. The singer, who usually takes his cues from the classic American looks of stars like Marilyn Monroe, still sported a glamorous, sparkly bodice that had a more timeless look, but the concept of the performance was pure sci-fi. She performed alongside dancers in blow-up spacesuits and at one point kissed an alien with a large, bulbous head onstage. The Mass Effect memes, as belowwere immediate.

Honestly I think this tweet captures the mood best by comparing the two performances on the “Mass Effect-Baldurs Gate gay girl spectrum.”

Overall, the performances were really great and they weren’t afraid to get weird. (Even Katy Perry pulled out all the stops with some acrobatic stunts, although her show wasn’t as nerdy as the others.) We got aliens, knights, and more – and I’m glad we had so many memorable moments.