If there were two artists at UBS Arena who understood the success of country-pop crossovers, it was Taylor Swift and Shaboozey.

Both were nominated for multiple awards at this year’s ceremony, and even competed in a category. Ultimately, Swift’s Post Malone-assisted “Fortnight” beat out Shaboozey’s Billboard Hot 100-topper “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” for song of the summer, Moonperson.

As the two stars caught up during a commercial break, Swift whispered something in Boozey’s ear as cameramen rushed to capture the moment. We don’t know exactly what the two were talking about, but let’s hope there’s some sort of collaboration in the works!

Sure, Katy Perry found some time to promote her new record, but her Video Vanguard medley certainly wasn’t short on hits. From “Teenage Dream” and “California Gurls” to “E.T.” and “Dark Horse,” the night’s biggest guest of honor breezed through several of her Hot 100 chart-toppers, but there was one song in particular that elicited a notable reaction from the crowd.

When Katy got to the “boom boom boom” lyric in the outro of “Firework,” nearly everyone in the audience raised their hand and pounded their first hand in time with each repetition, a movement that felt almost innate. It was as if it was simply an involuntary reaction to hearing the lyrics, as the song has been cemented as a classic for generations. Regardless of how the audience felt about the medley, or even Katy herself, nothing could top the unbridled euphoria in the room when “Firework” got its time to shine.

Benson Boone delivered one of the night’s most dazzling performances with his backflip-laden rendition of “Beautiful Things” (No. 2), which became his first song to reach the Hot 100’s top five earlier this year. Before Boone hopped on pianos and showed off his bejeweled royal blue onesie, two male pop stars gave him fiery endorsements as Damiano of Måneskin announced him as the next artist.

Lil Nas X and Teddy Swims, who ultimately lost the Best Alternative award to Boone, jumped up in a standing ovation, which eventually led to the entire audience following as Boone delivered the song’s final lyric.

This year’s culture war between Kendrick Lamar and Drake and their accompanying feuds undoubtedly dominated music this year, so it was to be expected that we’d hear one of the songs from that battle. What was a little less predictable, however, was the choice of track that received some love from the house DJ: Metro Boomin’s hilarious beat “BBL Drizzy.”

Although both Lamar and Drake — up for Song of the Year and Song of the Summer (“Not Like Us”) for the former and Best Collaboration, and Best Hip-Hop (“Rich Baby Daddy”) for the latter — were nominated at this year’s ceremony, neither artist played their music in the arena during the commercial breaks. Instead, the DJ dropped “BBL Drizzy,” in a (much) more predictable move that drew laughs, head-bobbing and sing-alongs from the crowd — another reminder of the collective joy of an old-school clown session.

Of course, in light of Lamar’s announcement as the headliner of the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show And When he dropped a new song via Instagram just hours before the VMAs began, “BBL Drizzy” is an even funnier song selection.