HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / MUSIC

MTV VMAs 2020: H.E.R's 'I Can't Breathe' wins Video for Good, fans say it's well deserved as 'BLM is important'

H.E.R. had released 'I Can't Breathe' in June as a tribute to George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and as a  protest against police brutality

We know this year hasn’t been good so far. But there are still some things to look forward to such as the MTV Video Music Awards. It is happening outdoors keeping the safety concerns in mind. It was announced that the show will be broadcast from multiple open-air locations. As far as live audiences go, the show had kept its options open, to have either “limited” or “no” audience at the sites where performances took place on August 30.

The Video for Good award went to H.E.R. for ‘I Can't Breathe'. The award was presented by Sofia Carson. In a recorded video she said, "Thank you so so much. I can't believe I am winning the VMA. I am so proud to be a part of this category. All the other nominees were super dope. And I'm super proud of everybody speaking out on social injustice."

H.E.R. had released 'I Can't Breathe' in June as a tribute to George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and as a protest against police brutality. As reported by Pop Sugar, she had performed it during an iHeartRadio Living Room concert, and on Juneteenth, the singer officially released the single on buying and streaming platforms. The lyrics are a reference to the last words spoken by Floyd. As quoted by the website, she had said, "These lyrics were kind of easy to write because it came from a conversation of what's happening right now, what's been happening, and the change that we need to see."

Twitter reacted to the win as well. One said, "Unfortunately Taylor Swift didn’t win the #VMA award for Video For Good with ‘The Man’ but congratulations to @HERMusicx for taking home the award with an important message fighting for racial justice."

Another said, "h.e.r won the vma for video for good i’m so happy for her i love her music & this song !!"

One said, "Congratulations to @HERMusicx for winning 'Video For Good' for #ICantBreathe.This award was definitely well deserved #VMA."

Another said, "So happy for H.E.R!!! They all deserved the award but BLM is so important right now!! "

But there were a few who disagreed with the award. One said, "You could donate to BLM without robbing another artist that fans worked very hard to vote."

Another said, "There is no point in voting for a prize if you are going to give it to whomever you want and pretend that you are woke up."

The other nominees in the category included Billie Eilish (‘All the Good Girls Go to Hell’), Lil Baby (‘The Bigger Picture’), Demi Lovato (‘I Love Me’), Anderson Paak (‘Lockdown’) and Taylor Swift (‘The Man’).

This award is basically Best Video with a Social Message and was first introduced at the 2011 ceremony. Initially, it was called Best Video with a Message, the word ‘Social’ was added to its name in 2013. During the 2017 ceremony, the award was renamed as Best Fight Against the System while still being known for awarding videos that address current social and political subjects. In 2018, the award's name became Video with a Message, and in 2019 it was changed to Video for Good. The first winner of the category was Lady Gaga for ‘Born This Way’. As of 2019, John Legend and Big Sean are the biggest winners of the category with two wins.

Some of the big performances of the night included artistes Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, BTS, The Weeknd, and others. The award ceremony was hosted by actress, singer and talk show personality Keke Palmer. Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga lead the nominations with nine nominations each. This will be the first time that the ceremony will be hosted in Brooklyn, since 2013.