When it comes to music awards ceremonies, it's just as much about the performances and the outfits as it is the actual awards - and this year's MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) were no different.
There were some notable names missing - some chose to stay, others were left at home - and of course no music awards ceremony is complete without a bit of Kanye.
With any sort of awards comes the red carpet, and with the red carpet comes the glitz and glam - and in this case, the highly questionable.
No surprises it was Beyonce who managed to steal the show before it had even begun - bringing daughter Blue Ivy as her date instead of husband Jay-Z.
Perhaps raising more questions was the no-show from pop star Taylor Swift - although reports suggest she was never expected to show up.
Maybe she'd heard organisers had given Kanye West four minutes to do what he wanted - and the rapper chose to talk about Kanye, introduce Kanye's new music, and reveal who inspires him.
Rihanna opened the show and starred throughout, performing four separate medleys celebrating various genres.
That was the first of a night full of extravagant performances, with Ariana Grande, Beyonce and the evergreen Britney Spears.
Kiwi choreographer Parris Goebel celebrated her Pasifika roots with her outfit - she was nominated for three awards, but unfortunately missed out.
Calvin Harris took out best male video for 'This Is What You Came For'.
And Kanye would have been very happy with the female video winner - his favourite, Beyonce, for 'Hold Up'.
And Beyonce struck again for the biggest scalp of the night, the best video award for 'Formation'.
The VMAs are traditionally remembered more for the attention-grabbing stunts than the awards.
Unfortunately, this year, there weren't many stunts to remember.
Newshub.
