Rihanna proved exactly why she deserved to win the Video Vanguard Award at the MTV VMAs tonight (August 29).
Taking to the stage four times throughout the night, Rihanna opened the show with a medley of 'Don't Stop the Music','Only Girl', 'We Found Love' and 'Where Have You Been'.
Her second performance was a more Island influenced piecee that included 'Rude Boy', 'What's My Name', and the majority of 'Work', minus Drake.
Returning to the stage a third time, Rihanna starts off a gangster themed set with 'Needed Me' before going into 'Pour It Up' and 'Bitch Better Have My Money'.
For her final performance, Rihanna wore a gown/dress/coat thing for a slow, ballad section. Backed a choir and a host of musicians, she belted out 'Stay', 'Diamonds' and 'Love on the Brain'.
Drake then presented her with the Video Vanguard Award after giving an adorable speech about how they first met and how he's been in love with her since he was 22. Accepting the award, Rihanna said the award wasn't just her success, but it belonged to her friends, family, her country and her fans.
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The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award is MTV's version of a Lifetime Achievement Award, and it's safe to say Rihanna has delivered some iconic music videos since the 'Pon de Replay' days.
'Work' featuring Drake was also nominated for Best Female video and Best Collaboration. 'This Is What You Came For' with Calvin Harris also won the award for Best Male video.
Watch the video for 'Work' below:
Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
