When Beyoncé premiered “Lemonade” in April on HBO, it was a foregone conclusion she would rampage through the VMAs — which she did, scoring eight wins, including Video of the Year (for “Formation”) and Breakthrough Long-form Video. But she also dominated the social conversation.
According to Twitter’s data, the end of Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” medley performance was the most-tweeted moment of the night, including the three hours before the telecast started. A small sampling of some of the reactions, which varied from “effusive” to “nearly catatonic”:
Iike like im in love with her #Beyonce #Lemonade #vmas omg omg
— natalie nunn (@missnatalienunn) August 29, 2016
beyonce’s music makes me want to go to a club, set my man’s house on fire, start a family, spend all my money, and find God at the same time
— spencer claus (@spxncxrx) August 29, 2016
YAAAAAS BEYONCE SLAY ME QUEEN SHAKE THEM CHEEKS DRAG ME BY MY INVISIBLE EDGES
— FREEXXXTENTACION (@troytheblackguy) August 29, 2016
Beyoncé’s extensive slaying extended to being the most tweeted-about person of the evening, a natural side effect of a performance like this one:
I think I need a moment after watching @beyonce‘s #VMA performance https://t.co/lYVFfrIenO
— MTV (@MTV) August 29, 2016
Rihanna also cleaned up in both meatspace and the social competition: Her acceptance of the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award was the second-most tweeted moment of the night, and her second performance came in as the fifth-most tweeted.
Sandwiched in between the Rihanna and Bey was none other than Kanye West, with his lengthy speech that touched on subjects as diverse as Taylor Swift, the nature of art and artists, Amber Rose, and police violence. He also was the third-most-tweeted-about person at the VMAs.
“I came here to present my new video, but before I do that, Imma talk.” – @kanyewest #VMAs https://t.co/ukVtlkcIsD
— MTV (@MTV) August 29, 2016
Drake and his lateness (he apparently got stuck in traffic on the way to Madison Square Garden, a reminder that sometimes it’s faster to take the subway) came in at number four on the list of most-tweeted-about celebrities at the VMAs. Fifth Harmony was, appropriately enough, fifth.
Feels like there’s a glaring omission? Your gut isn’t wrong. Britney Spears‘ long-awaited comeback didn’t even crack the top five in the social conversation.
Part of the reason, presumably, was Spears’ misfortune of having to follow Beyoncé — it appears people were still busy being awakened via smelling salts during Spears’ performance.
Tuned in to the #VMAs only to find out they made Britney Spears follow a full-on Beyonce concert. What is this world?
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 29, 2016
