At the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, Rihanna is scheduled to receive the Video Vanguard award for her career of hits — from “Pon de Replay” to “S&M” to “Bitch Better Have My Money” to “We Found Love.” The award is meant to showcase and honor an artist who produces iconic songs and music videos that not only shape the art of visualizing music but also make a mark on pop culture.
Watch: Rihanna opens the 2016 VMAs, reminds us why she’s a star
Alex Abad-Santos is a senior correspondent who explains what society obsesses over, from Marvel and movies to fitness and skin care. He came to Vox in 2014. Prior to that, he worked at The Atlantic.
In fitting fashion, Rihanna opened the show with an all-pink mini medley of her hits, proving that she deserves this award.
For fans of Rihanna’s newest album, Anti, the medley is a throwback of sorts — featuring RiRi’s biggest dance hits like “Please Don’t Stop” and “Only Girl (In the World).” It’s a reminder of all the times we’ve danced (or wanted to dance) to Rihanna’s songs, as well as how far she’s come as an artist, that the same singer who could give us a massive dance tune or three could also produce a more artistic, experimental, moody album like Anti.
This won’t be the only Rihanna performance of the evening. According to MTV, she’ll perform three more times — a testament to Rihanna’s career that she could open a show and need three more performances to showcase all her hits.
Update: Here’s Rihanna’s second (better) performance:
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