My evening watching a few of music’s largest stars and the followers who love them

ELMONT, N.Y. — Get there as much as 4 hours earlier than the present. Put together to stroll a mile to the sector. Lock your cellphone in a magnetic pouch that renders it ineffective. Costume on-trend, however don’t put on white, sequins, neon, heels, open-toed sneakers, hats or shirts with logos on them. Clap together with your fingers above your head. Maintain that enthusiasm for 3 straight hours.

These are just some of the principles that the individuals who have been chosen to function on-camera viewers members need to observe to attend the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, that are type of just like the Olympics for pop music superfans.

I infiltrated the seated part simply past the pit, the place viewers members collect across the stage to cheer for the numerous acts that ship quick however intense performances all through the evening. In these greater ranges, we didn’t have to face for seven hours or give up our telephones, which made me all of the extra appreciative of the extra intense stans who did. Their stamina and offline enthusiasm have been almost as spectacular as that of the artists themselves.

Superfans, assemble

MTV set me up with a seat by 1iota, a web site the place followers can apply totally free tickets to on-air occasions. Contained in the UBS Area, the place the VMAs have been held, I sat beside two 27-year-olds from Queens, N.Y., who’ve been going to concert events collectively since highschool. Joyce goes to loads of occasions by 1iota, together with the VMAs in 2022, the place she particularly needed to see Okay-pop group Blackpink. Her good friend, Anika, joked that she was Joyce’s third alternative for a plus-one, however she wasn’t offended as a result of she is aware of Joyce may be very strategic about her fandom.

Joyce was even hesitant to inform me which artists she was most excited to see. To get these tickets, all of us needed to checklist which acts we needed to observe essentially the most, and Joyce tells me she simply named as many individuals as doable. She didn’t wish to discriminate. As a fan, she’s a generalist, which suggests she’s simply continually enthused.

That appeared to be precisely what the present’s producers have been in search of. One took the stage simply earlier than the printed to instruct viewers members on the right way to clap — together with your fingers above your head, as a result of that’s what seems to be finest on TV.

“I’m right here to verify we make good tv as we speak,” the producer mentioned, reminding individuals to “present like to everyone who hits the stage.” The identical stans screaming for Tate McRae would additionally must lose their minds for artists whose careers peaked earlier than they have been born, like Busta Rhymes and Ricky Martin. It’s an odd request for followers in 2025, when the web is extra fragmented and radicalized than ever. Even the audience-voted awards on the VMAs pit superfans towards one another, mobilizing on-line armies to swarm net pages, promote their causes on-line and tear down the competitors.

Nonetheless, the absence of rabid stans — or the pacification of them — was seemingly deliberate. The objective within the enviornment was good TV and good vibes, not sparking web debate about which artists had one of the best outfits, units or music. That’s a sport that may be performed completely from dwelling.

On my left sat my husband, Alex, essentially the most even-keeled particular person I do know. I deliberate to check his reactions as a fish-out-of-water to the followers who have been taking this occasion, and their roles in it, very critically. He has one weak spot, although: He’s been a longtime Woman Gaga supporter, aka slightly monster, since 2008. Naturally, she was the primary superstar everybody freaked out about, together with him — particularly as a result of nobody anticipated her to really present as much as the Lengthy Island enviornment when she had a efficiency scheduled at Madison Sq. Backyard in Manhattan on the identical time. Her powers transcended the constraints of New York Metropolis visitors.

Simply earlier than the present started, there was a rustling in the course of the venue as individuals all through each part craned their necks and telephones to see what celebrities had descended to take a seat among the many frequent folks. It was Ariana Grande in polka dots and Woman Gaga in a dramatic feathered costume. This was no TV-friendly response, however a burst of genuine, widespread pleasure — the A-listers’ arrivals set the bar excessive for fan reactions all through the evening.

Fandemonium

As somebody who spends loads of time lurking in fan areas on-line, I believed I may predict a lot of the artists who would encourage an particularly intense response, however I used to be nonetheless shocked by a couple of: Individuals rushed to their toes for Lola Younger’s 2-minute efficiency of her TikTok-famous music “Messy.” McRae’s significantly athletic dance strikes earned feral cheers. A Busta Rhymes fan behind me screamed a lot all through his wildly energetic efficiency that she was later singled out by a safety guard and pulled down into the pit for a greater view of the rest of the present.

Once I polled the individuals I handed within the viewers earlier than the present began, the artist individuals have been far and away most excited to see was Sabrina Carpenter. Regardless of going through on-line backlash for her provocative new album, “Man’s Finest Pal,” followers at each degree of the sector have been on their toes and straining to report her efficiency of “Tears,” backed by drag queens, and ending with a splash, paying tribute to Britney Spears.

In distinction, at any time when Alex Warren’s identify was learn aloud, there was scattered applause and comparatively muted reactions. He’s bought the largest music of the yr to date — “Bizarre” is the music of summer time and not possible to keep away from on-line and within the wild because it dominates the radio. When he carried out it backed by darkish forest visuals and surrounded by a drum line, his secular reward music made the viewers rise to their toes. These allowed pulled out their telephones to report, however they remained silent. It’s like all of us knew we have been watching a brand new star emerge, although not completely bought on him but. He received Finest New Artist, which was in all probability appropriate.

Because the evening wore on and the mandate to assist every musical act equally fell by the wayside, I observed a gaggle of younger ladies crowding at one aspect of the stage. They have been attempting to catch the eyes of Katseye, a worldwide woman group that just lately broke the web with a tightly choreographed Hole advert. I noticed a lady performing the dance from the industrial to attempt to get their consideration from her seat. It labored — as did the cheers of followers breaking the principles to get nearer to them. They didn’t carry out within the enviornment, however they nonetheless managed to get the largest crowd response of the evening. Once I checked X after the present, my feed was crammed with memes of them for the primary time ever.

‘That’s everlasting’

Given the youthfulness of the viewers, I used to be mildly involved that the legendary-but-older artists MTV recruited to spark nostalgia would possibly get a lesser response, however I used to be incorrect — they took the stage early within the evening and carried out recognizable medleys.

Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey each delivered skillful vocals whereas surrounded by high-energy dancers, whom Alex obsessively recorded. Anika and Joyce mistakenly recognized Steven Tyler and Joe Perry as members of the Rolling Stones, not Aerosmith, however have been nonetheless moved by their tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, led by Yungblud. “Looks as if a foolish man,” Joyce mentioned about Osbourne as projections of his face appeared on a gothic background.

Ricky Martin ascended from a cage above the viewers earlier than bouncing round throughout the stage. “What a zest for all times he has,” Joyce remarked, solely loosely recognizing him.

Simply as Joyce was moved by Martin, Alex was moved by J Balvin, whose efficiency was high-energy and neon-tinged, that includes break dancers and an enormous boot. That’s the magic of the VMAs — music lovers of all generations get to change into followers of artists by their most spectacular performances, giving them momentum to maintain exploring and attending to know them deeper. That’s one thing that algorithms can’t essentially recreate.

“Music evolves, movies evolve, however the enjoyable — that’s everlasting,” Carey mentioned in her acceptance speech for the Video Vanguard Award, MTV’s excessive honor bestowed upon a music video legend yearly.

As somebody with each totally fashionable superfans known as “Lambs” and informal supporters who journey her surges in reputation each December when “All I Need for Christmas Is You” returns to the highest of the charts, she is perhaps onto one thing. It’s arduous to outline fandom in 2025, however you’ll be able to depend on the truth that it’s evolving and nonetheless extraordinarily enjoyable.