MTV Bumps Date of 2024 VMAs; Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan & More to Perform

MTV has bumped the date of the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards from Tuesday Sept. 10 to Wednesday Sept. 11 to avoid conflicting with the planned U.S. Presidential debate between vice president Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.

The conflict with the debate would have posed an image problem for MTV, which has made boosting voter turnout and civic engagement a part of its brand since the 1992 election, in which Bill Clinton unseated George H.W. Bush. Also, the intense interest in the first (and conceivably only) Trump/Harris debate threatened to completely overwhelm the VMAs.

In a press release announcing the change, MTV said “Our fans are encouraged to tune in for the 9/10 debate ahead of music’s most iconic night.”

Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Camila Cabello, GloRilla and Rauw Alejandro are the first artists slated to perform at the awards. This will be Cabello’s third main-stage performance on the VMAs, but the first for these other artists. Carpenter performed a mash-up of “Feather” and “Nonsense” on last year’s pre-show. (The fact that Carpenter was booked on the pre-show, rather than the main show, just one year ago is a dramatic sign of how fast her rise has been this year.)

All five of the scheduled performers are 2024 VMA nominees. Carpenter is up for six awards, GloRilla for three, Roan and Alejandro for two and Cabello for one.

The show will air live from UBS Arena in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. This will mark the first time the show has been held on 9/11 since the terrorist attack in 2001 made that date infamous. In observance of the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, MTV will again support the nonprofit 9/11 Day, which organizes the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, and Tuesday’s Children, which serves the families of 9/11.

The 2024 show will be held just three days shy of the 40th anniversary of the inaugural VMAs at Radio City Music Hall, where Madonna stole the show.

Cabello is set to perform a song from her fourth studio album, C,XOXO, which has so far reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200. Cabello’s previous main-stage performances were in 2019, alongside then-beau Shawn Mendes on “Señorita” and in 2021 on “Don’t Go Yet.” (As part of Fifth Harmony, she performed “Boss” on the VMAs pre-show in 2014.) Alejandro will perform a song from his forthcoming fifth studio album.

Latin and Latin pop crossover music has been an important part of the performance mix on VMA broadcasts since 2018. Last year, four Latin artists performed on the show – Shakira (as part of her Video Vanguard award presentation), Karol G, Peso Pluma and Anitta (the latter both solo and in tandem with K-pop stars TOMORROW X TOGETHER).

Prior to that, in 2022, J Balvin (with Ryan Castro), Anitta and Bad Bunny performed. In 2021, Ozuna, Cabello and Tainy (in tandem with Mendes) represented Latin music. In 2020, Maluma, CNCO and Nicky Jam (in tandem with Black Eyed Peas and Tyga) did the honors. In 2019, CNCO (in the pre-show), Cabello (with Mendes), Rosalía and Ozuna (in a joint performance) and J Balvin and Bad Bunny (also in a joint performance) all performed. In 2018, Jennifer Lopez (receiving a Video Vanguard award) and Maluma performed.

Taylor Swift leads the nominations for the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, with 10 nods. Her “Fortnight” collaborator Post Malone is second, with nine nods – eight in tandem with Swift plus one for his hit “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen. They are followed by Ariana Grande, Eminem and Carpenter (six nods each); Megan Thee Stallion and SZA (five each), and LISA, Olivia Rodrigo and Teddy Swims (four each).

Other artists with multiple nominations are Anitta, Benson Boone, Bleachers, GloRilla, Dua Lipa and Tyla, with three each; and Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Roan, Charli XCX, Coldplay, Drake, Jelly Roll, Jessie Murph, Jung Kook, Latto, Alejandro, Sexyy Red, Tate McRae, Usher and Victoria Monét, with two each.

Fans can vote for their favorites across 15 gender-neutral categories by visiting vote.mtv.com through Friday, Aug. 30. Voting for best new artist will remain active into the show on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Nominations in social categories will be announced at a later date.

Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic are executive producers for the 2024 VMAs. Barb Bialkowski is co-executive producer. Alicia Portugal and Jackie Barba serve as executives in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is music talent executive.