Who had the show of the summer? Beyoncé and Taylor Swift fans have their answer — and the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards just gave its take.
On Sept. 12, the VMAs pitted the two artists' major ongoing world tours against each other. Also up for the award were BLACKPINK (“Born Pink World Tour”), Ed Sheeran “Mathematics Tour”), Drake (“It’s All A Blur Tour”) and Karol G (“Manana Sera Bonito Tour”).
In the end, Swift walked away with the show of the summer title — and eight other awards.
The show of the summer category was fan-voted.
The summer of 2023 has arguably redefined what it means to have a “record-breaking” world tour. Beyonce’s “Renaissance Tour” and Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” both permeated culture in a way that has now gone far beyond the stage.
Cities underwent temporary name changes, people have gone into labor, and seismic activity was detected when these shows came into town.
Since the "Eras" tour kicked off in March, Taylor Swift has done 53 shows across North America, and Beyonce has done 45 since her "Renaissance" world tour started in May.
Both have had record-shattering revenue reports. The concert data tracker Pollstar estimates that Taylor Swift’s show will rake in over $1 billion in sales. Beyonce’s is expected to go even further, Forbes reports.
Both tours have been viral internet sensations, with people showing off their elaborate outfits on TikTok, exchanging friendship bracelets and participating in viral challenges.
But how do you define which was the show of the summer?
While there might not be a definitive answer to such a subjective question, the VMAs were determined to ask it regardless during their 2023 awards — pitting both iconic shows against each other in the "show of the summer" category.
This is not the only category that the two musical icons were up against each other in. Beyonce and Taylor Swift were also both nominated for artist of the year, album of the year, and song of the summer.
In the end, Swift came out on top, taking home a total of nine awards on Tuesday evening: video of the year (“Anti-Hero”), artist of the year, song of the year (“Anti-Hero”), best pop (“Anti-Hero”), best direction (“Anti-Hero”), best cinematography (“Anti-Hero”), best visual effects (“Anti-Hero”), show of the summer and album of the year (“Midnights”).
Swift tied the record for the most wins in one night and now second-most overall wins, MTV confirmed in a press release.
Over the past decade, Beyoncé and Swift have often competed during awards season. The most famous instance of this, of course, was the moment when Kanye West jumped on stage during Swift’s 2009 VMA acceptance speech saying the line that would live on in infamy: “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish,” he said. “But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!”