The 1984 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 14, 1984. The inaugural ceremony honored the best music videos released between May 2, 1983 and May 2, 1984, and was hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.[1][2]

The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2006 to June 2007, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, and renaming many of the remaining awards. The 2008 awards restored most of the categories.

The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom), honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were announced on the MTV program FNMTV after being selected through viewer online voting at MTV.com. The remaining, professional categories were chosen by a panel of music industry professionals and announced via press release on August 27.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2008 to June 2009, were presented on September 13, 2009, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and televised by MTV. The ceremony was hosted by Russell Brand.

The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Chelsea Handler hosted the event, the first woman in sixteen years – since the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards – to do so.

The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced. Katy Perry received the most nominations this year at ten, followed by Adele, and Kanye West, who were both tied at seven. A Britney Spears tribute was held, consisting of adult and children dancers alike, they wore costumes based on the music videos of Spears. Hamish Hamilton directed the show.

he 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, took place on Thursday, September 6, 2012, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The awards were broadcast from the Staples Center arena at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles. Nominations were announced on July 31, 2012. Rihanna and Drake were the most nominated artists that year with five nominations apiece, followed by Katy Perry and Beyoncé, who received four.

The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 25, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Marking the 30th installment of the award show, they were the first to be held in New York City not to use a venue within the borough of Manhattan. Nominations were announced on July 17, 2013.

The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It was the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé and Iggy Azalea led the nominees with eight nominations each, while Eminem followed them with seven.

The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015. The 32nd installment of the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Miley Cyrus. Taylor Swift led the nominations with a total of ten, followed by Ed Sheeran, who had six, bringing his total number of mentions to 13. Swift's "Wildest Dreams" music video premiered during the pre-show.

The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards were held on Sunday night, August 28, 2016 at 9:00–11:54pm EDT at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Adele's "Hello" was the most nominated video with seven categories. This marked the 33rd edition of the live broadcast. Beyoncé led all winners with nine awards.

The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 27, 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, honoring music videos released between June 25, 2016 and June 23, 2017. It was hosted by Katy Perry. The 34th annual award show aired live from the venue for the second time in its history.

The MTV Video Music Awards are returning to Radio City Music Hall in NYC, with performances by Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, Travis Scott, Post Malone, Logic featuring Ryan Tedder, and this year's Video Vanguard recipient, Jennifer Lopez.

The 2019 MTV Video Music Awards are Live from Newark, NJ and hosted by Sebastian Manscalco. With performances by Taylor Swift, and many more.

The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards returns to honor the biggest names in music with live performances by Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, BTS, Doja Cat, Maluma and more, Hosted by Keke Palmer in New York City.

The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards were held on September 12, 2021, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. This marked the first time in eight years that the venue hosted the show. The show was hosted by hip-hop rapper and singer Doja Cat. It was the first time in history a Video of the Year nominee hosted the ceremony the same year.

The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on August 28, 2022. The show was emceed by LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj, and Jack Harlow. Minaj was honored with the Video Vanguard Award, presented to her by her fans.

The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on September 12, 2023. The show was hosted by Nicki Minaj, marking her second consecutive year in the role. This was the first time the ceremony was held on a Tuesday. A new award category, "Show of the Summer", was awarded this year through fan votes. Shakira was honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards will be held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 11, 2024.