In deference to growing awareness of Web3, this year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) will feature an exciting new category, ‘Best Metaverse Performance’, with K-pop sensations BTS, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber and American chanteuse Ariana Grande among the six nominees for their recent metaverse music projects:
Metaverse MTV Awards: Full List
Tune in to the VMAs on August 28 to find out who will take out the first ever ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ award. Voting closed on August 8 for the six acts in contention: Justin Bieber and Wave’s ‘An Interactive Virtual Experience’; Fortnite’s ‘the Rift Tour’ featuring Ariana Grande; YouTube and BTS collaboration PUBG Mobile and Blackpink’s ‘The Virtual’; and both Carli XCX’s and Twenty One Pilot’s collabs with Roblox.
MTV’s decision to broaden its categories was based on what it describes as the desire to recognise artists’ efforts to connect with their global fans via virtual metaverse experiences.
We saw the opportunity to highlight and honour some of the best, most impactful executions of this – and celebrate artists who have found creative ways to use these spaces – which led to the addition of a ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ category this year.
MTV spokesperson
The awards show also announced its maiden metaverse foray on August 12, with Paramount Game Studios releasing The VMA Experience to Roblox’s metaverse. The collaboration will be live until early September 2022.
What Else is Happening in the Metaverse?
Just this month, the metaverse real estate ‘bubble’ popped. As happens when the actual real estate bubble bursts, metaverse prices crashed by 85 percent. Beyond waning interest, the downfall of the sector was linked to a wider drop in the value of crypto and NFTs, alongside harsh macroeconomic conditions.
Prior to this, Animoca Brands, the company behind The Sandbox, launched a new decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) called OMA3, with hopes of developing the metaverse’s interoperability standards. Animoca has reportedly established an alliance with other prominent Web3 companies and plans to prioritise users’ asset ownership capabilities in its upcoming changes.