VMA records that could be broken this year: Taylor Swift, Anitta, Eminem …

The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards have the potential to be one of the most star-studded ceremonies the show has seen in years, with huge names like Eminem, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish all up for awards. There could also be a few iconic moments when it comes to the winners. More than a couple of artists could break records and make history on the VMA stage.

Most VMA wins ever
Right now the record for the most Video Music Awards trophies belongs to Beyoncé with a whopping 27 Moonpersons. However, that might change this year. Taylor Swift scooped up 10 nominations for this edition of the awards. She is already in second place behind Beyoncé with 23 wins, so if Swift manages to win five awards this year, she’ll become the most awarded person in VMA history — like she already is at both the Billboard Music Awards and the American Music Awards.

How possible is it for Swift to win five, you might ask? Well, last year Swift won nine awards, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she also gets a large awards package this year too. Her most likely wins are for Best Pop, Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Artist of the Year, and Video of the Year, categories she has taken before. And for the fan-voted non-tech categories, Swifties will likely vote en masse like they did last year. MTV also typically announces more categories a few weeks before the event, like Album of the Year and Song of the Summer, so expect Swift to have even more chances to break the record.

Most wins by a male artist
While women are at the forefront at the VMAs, there have also been frequent male winners. Right now rapper Eminem is tied with singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel for the most wins by a male artist with 13 each. It’s likely that Eminem breaks that tie this year, being nominated six times thanks to his hit “Houdini.” While Em will likely not win Video of the Year (see above re: Taylor Swift), he could take Best Hip-Hop with ease, especially as the most awarded artist in the category (Nicki Minaj) is not in contention this year. He could also win in technical categories, especially for Best Editing, Best Direction and Best Visual Effects.

Most wins for Best Latin
Anitta is one of Latin America’s biggest stars, bringing Brazilian music to the forefront of the Urbano music scene. She’s a two-time VMA winner, taking home Best Latin for the past two years for her hits “Envolver” (2022) and “Funk Rave” (2023). This year she’s in the hunt for a third win, nominated twice for “Mil Veces” and “Bellakeo” (with Peso Pluma). If she wins, she’ll become the most awarded female artist in the category and tie J Balvin for the most wins overall. Like Balvin, she’d also be the second person to win the category three years in a row. It’s likely that this will happen, considering Anitta has quite a large and loyal fan base, though having two nominated videos could result in a vote split. One could argue “Bellakeo” is the more likely of the two, being a smash hit in Latin America and also getting support from Peso Pluma stans.

First Artist of the Year repeat
The Artist of the Year category was added to the VMAs in 2017. So far no artist has won twice, although a few have received multiple nominations. This year, though, there’s a real chance of a repeat winner for the first time. There are three artists who can achieve this: Bad Bunny (who won in 2022), Ariana Grande (2019) and Taylor Swift (2023). Bad Bunny might be the least likely out of the three, since his latest “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” era has been a little quieter than his previous album roll-outs, but he is still a huge name bound to attract votes. Grande has a real shot after the success of her album “Eternal Sunshine,” including the Video of the Year-nominated hit “We Can’t Be Friends.” And of course there’s Swift, a VMA darling who is having a big year with “The Tortured Poets Department” and the eight-time-nominated “Fortnight.” Granted, there’s also a chance that none of the three prevail; Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, and Eminem could also make a play for the win. But if it comes down to Swift vs. Grande, it’ll be interesting to see if Swift wins consecutively, or if Grande rebounds after her loss in 2021.