Following an emotional cold-open from MTV VMA’s host Keke Palmer, in which she paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman who unexpectedly died over the weekend after a years-long battle with cancer, The Weeknd kicked off the 2020 ceremony with a stellar performance of his hit “Blinding Lights.”
While the set aptly started much like the song’s music video, with The Weeknd’s bloodied face, the R&B-pop star quickly took things to the next level (literally) by stepping out onto a viewing deck that jutted out from a Manhattan skyscraper. While singing from Hudson Yards’ The Edge, a helicopter hovered above. And before all was said and done, fireworks exploded over the water behind him.
