The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, which featured a highly anticipated reunion of boy band 'NSYNC, enjoyed a ratings boost Sunday night, jumping 66 percent in viewership compared to last year's show.
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Sunday night's airing grabbed 10.1 million total viewers, a 66 percent increase over the 2012 ceremony. In the 12-34 demographic targeted by MTV, the VMAs grew 47 percent over last year's telecast.
Even so, Sunday night's airing was down from the 2011 ceremony, when the VMAs pulled in a record-breaking 12.4 million total viewers.
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Besides the brief 'NSYNC reunion, which was teased with much will-they-or-won't-they speculation in the days running up to the ceremony, highlights from Sunday night's airing included the show-opening performance of "Applause" by Lady Gaga; an eyebrow-raising duet between Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke during which the former Disney Channel princess appeared to get bawdy with a foam finger; and Katy Perry's boxing-themed performance of her new single "Roar," which ended Sunday night's show.
On the Twitter front, Cyrus' performance was a standout as well, racking up 306,000 tweets per minute — surpassing the previous record set by Beyonce's Super Bowl performance.