Sabrina Carpenter thanked her cats and dogs “watching at home” as she won her first-ever MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) gong on Wednesday night (11.09.24).
The 25-year-old singer and actress beat off competition from the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow, and Teddy Swims to scoop the Song of the Year prize for ‘Espresso’, and she didn’t forget her beloved pets.
Speaking to the audience at the UBS Arena in Long Island, New York, she said: “I’ve literally never won one of these. This is really special. The first people I want to thank are the fans.
“If you clap after everything I say, they’re gonna call me off the stage, so one second. But I just want to say that you guys are the reason that I get to do what I love, but also the reason that we get to have so much fun and share music with each other.
“And I just feel so grateful to have the best, truly, the best fans in the world. I know it sounds cheesy, but I love you.
“Thank you, thank you to my managers, thank you to my family, my cats and dogs at home watching, and thank you to the people who made ‘Espresso’ with me.
“I love making music with you and I can’t wait to share more music with you. And thank you.”
Sabrina – who is dating Irish actor Barry Keoghan, 31 – also performed at the ceremony, singing ‘Please Please Please’, ‘Taste’, and ‘Espresso’, during which she shocked fans by smooching an alien.
Eminem opened the show by performing songs ‘Houdini’ and ‘Somebody Save Me’, which are both from his latest album, ‘The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)’.
The rapper recreated a set from his performance at the 2000 VMAs, when he filled the stage with lookalikes.
During his rendition of ‘Somebody Save Me’, Jelly Roll appeared virtually for a duet.
Other performances on the night saw Camila Cabello debut her latest single ‘Godspeed’.
Halsey, Anitta, Benson Boone, Lenny Kravitz, and Megan Thee Stallion, who hosted the ceremony, also performed.