The 2021 MTV (VMA) Awards were held at Barclays Center in New York City on Sept. 12 hosted by Doja Cat. Along with Doja Cat hosting, she also won “Best Collaboration” for the song “Kiss Me More” ft. SZA.

This year’s MTV Awards had many highlights. Olivia Rodrigo started off her night singing “Good 4 U,” the third single off her No. 1 debut album “SOUR” while ceremoniously smashing an MTV camera lens with her microphone.

One of Rodrigo’s fans from Liberty, Carissa Dixon, a junior, said, “I like how relatable her music is and how she captures what being a teenager is like.” Another highlight was Olivia Rodrigo winning “Push Performance of the Year” with her song “Driver’s License.” She also won one of the most important awards of the night, “Best New Artist.”

Justin Bieber won “Artist of the Year” along with “Best Pop” for his song “Peaches” ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon, Def Jam. Harry Styles won “Best Choreography” with his song “Treat People With Kindness.” Many students from Liberty are fans of Styles, including junior Mia Wikoff.

“He brings me so much joy,” Wikoff said. “I say this because he shows me that I can be whoever I want, because that’s what he does. He doesn’t have a care in the world about what anyone else thinks. He owns himself and embraces it. I want to model this.”

Many fans of Harry would say the same, as he is known for bringing awareness to toxic masculinity. Every time he performs you can see that in him and with his music.

Coming to a close, Cindy Lauper, who won a moon person at the first VMA’s in 1984, showed viewers how much time has changed since then. She expressed her opinions with her take on her own song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” focusing on women’s rights saying, “Yeah girls still want to have fun, But we also want to have funds, equal pay, control over our bodies, You know fundamental rights!”

After Cindy Lauper’s performance, The Buggles “Video Killed The Radio Star” which was the first video to air on MTV in 1981, played at the end of the night.

Click here to see a full list of the 2021 MTV VMA Awards.