Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande Made It Purple Rain During Their MTV VMAs Performance
The two pop icons took to the 2020 MTV VMAs stage for an iconic performance of "Rain On Me".
Two of the world’s biggest superstars – Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande – coming together to perform their chart-topping single “Rain On Me”; the hype was very real.
And on Sunday night at the 2020 MTV VMAs, Gaga and Grande delivered with a purple-themed performance complete with clouds and thunderbolts, choreographed backup dancers and, for Gaga, a latex two-piece, bondage-style set. In keeping with theme, Grande was dressed in purple too – a flouncy skirt and crop top – as well as white platform boots and her signature pigtails. Both Gaga and Grande wore black masks, which Gaga later described as a "sign of respect".
The performance was Gaga’s first at the VMAs since 2013. Back in May, Gaga explained the meaning behind the song’s lyrics to Elle, saying: “'I'd rather be dry, but at least I'm alive. Rain on me.' This is about an analog of tears being the rain”, adding that the song was also a metaphor for her drinking. “I'd rather be dry. I'd rather not be drinking, but I haven't died yet. I'm still alive. Rain on me. Okay, I'm going to keep on drinking. This song has many layers.”
After the performance, Gaga went on to win Artist of the Year, beating out Justin Bieber, The Weeknd and Megan Thee Stallion, and has taken home MTV's first-ever MTV Tricon award, presented by Bella Hadid.
"This means a lot to me. It means more than you'll ever know," Gaga said when accepting the Tricon award. "I’ve been making music since I was a little girl. Even though I had really big dreams, I never could have imagined that someday I’d be given an award that honoured me for so many of my passions."
Catch the performance here:
Follow along with all our MTV VMAs coverage here, including our complete VMAs winners list. Catch the VMAs performance line-up here and tune in to the 2020 Video Music Awards, which are airing live in Australia right now, on Monday, August 31 from 10am AEST.
