At the MTV VMAs, the Best New Artist award is fairly iconic. Recent winners include Dove Cameron in 2022, Olivia Rodrigo in 2021, Doja Cat in 2020, and so on. At this year’s show, Ice Spice became the latest to join their ranks.
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When the Bronx rapper stepped up to accept a Moon Person trophy, she began with a single word: “Y’all.”
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“Thank you so much,” she continued after fanning some air in front of her face. “Thank you, MTV. Oh my god, this is so cool.”
“I just wanna thank my Munchkinz,” Ice Spice said, showing love to her fans. “I love you guys so much.” She went on to thank her manager, her producer, and her label. And of course, the rapper — who was Taylor Swift’s seat buddy earlier in the night — made sure to give a shout out to “all the other nominees in this category.” That included GloRilla, Kaliii, Peso Pluma, PinkPantheress, and Reneé Rapp.
She wrapped up her acceptance speech giving love to the divine: “Without God, none of this would be possible. Shout out to Bronx. Thank you guys, I love you so much.”
The Best New Artist award is one of the night’s top honors, as Cameron mentioned in her introduction of the nominees. “I remember so vividly when I took home this award last year,” Cameron said. “One night drastically changed my life.” Tonight, that drastic change belongs to Ice Spice.
The show, broadcast live from Newark, New Jersey, was emceed by Nicki Minaj, who also performed “Last Time I Saw You” earlier in the show. The ceremony also included many big performances from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Anitta, Peso Pluma, Shakira, and many more.
Cameron came out earlier in the program to announce that the voting had opened for Best New Artist, which was then narrowed down to the top three: Ice Spice, Reneé Rapp, and Peso Pluma. Fans were able to vote during the show after the five was narrowed down to three.
Each of the five Best New Artist nominees were given brief chances throughout the show to showcase their songs live. Fans voted by scanning QR codes. In the end, Ice Spice took home the honor.
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV
