Pop artist Justin Bieber bagged the Artist of the Year at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA’s). Bieber, who led this year’s show with seven nominations, also won Best Pop for his March 2021 hit ‘Peaches’. 

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Justin Bieber defeated Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift for the award. 

Receiving the award, Bieber spoke of music as an ‘amazing’ opportunity to reach people amid COVID-19. He further thanked his wife Hailey and rapper Travis Scott. “The best is yet to come,” Bieber said. 

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Earlier, Bieber and The Kid LAROI rappelled from the ceiling of the Barclays Center in New York onto the VMA’s stage before the hit song “Stay.” The singer, performing for the first time in six years, went solo act for his song “Ghost.” He last took the VMAs stage in 2015 when he performed “What Do You Mean?”

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Moments after Olivia Rodrigo performed her hit “good 4 u,” she collected the first award of the night for her massive hit song “Driver’s License.”

“This is the most magical year of my life,” said Rodrigo, a first-time nominee.

Bieber collected his first award from early MTV icon Cyndi Lauper.

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She preached about female equal rights before she handed the Moonman trophy to Bieber, whose song “Peaches” with Giveon and Daniel Ceasar won best pop song.

“Girls still want to have fun,” said Lauper, known for classic melody “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” “But we also want to have funds, equal pay, control over our bodies, you know, fundamental rights.”

Megan Thee Stallion enters the show as the second-leading nominee with six nominations. BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, Giveon, Lil Nas X and Rodrigo each have five nods.

Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion will compete with Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Rodrigo and Taylor Swift for artist of the year.

With inputs from the Associated Press