Taylor Swift again urges fans to vote at MTV VMAs

Elmont: Taylor Swift on Wednesday repeated her call for fans to register to vote in the US presidential election as she accepted MTV's top Video Music Award.

Swift won the Video of the Year for "Fortnight," which also featured Post Malone, and thanked her loyal Swifties for bestowing her with the fan-chosen award, which she took home for the third straight year.

"To the fans, I'm always trying to figure out a way to say thank you to you for making my life what it is," Swift, who directed the video, said onstage.

"If you are over 18 please register to vote for something else that is very important," she added.

The 34-year-old international megastar's call follows her endorsement of Kamala Harris in the minutes after the previous evening's presidential debate between the Democratic hopeful and Republican Donald Trump.

"I'm voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them," Swift said in a lengthy Instagram post in throwing her support behind the Democratic nominee.

Also among the night's big winners was Chappell Roan, the "Midwest Princess" whose career has skyrocketed in recent months.

Performance over prizes

South Africa's Tyla meanwhile won Best Afrobeats for "Water," a result she called "such a big moment for Africa."

"The global impact that 'Water' had on the world just proved that African music can be pop music too," she said to wild applause. "Like this is just so special but also bittersweet, because I know there's a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats."

"African music is so diverse - it's more than just Afrobeats," Tyla said.

The vast majority of awards were doled out offstage during the evening far better known for its performances and stage antics than its prizes.

Megan Thee Stallion hosted, at one point even recreating Britney Spears's iconic 2001 set when she performed with a live python.

Megan's snake was real too - but she didn't have the same stamina as Brit.

"Come get this snake - I don't know this snake, this snake don't know me," she shrieked as a handler took the reptile from her arms.

Eminem opened the evening with a recreation of his famous set from the 2000 edition of the awards when he performed "The Real Slim Shady," packing the stage with a crew of his doppelgangers.

Katy Perry was bestowed with the evening's top honour, the Video Vanguard prize, which her husband, the actor Orlando Bloom, presented to her.

Perry also emerged from the air, giving a video-game-meets-Cirque-du-Soleil aerial dancing performance of her greatest hits including "Dark Horse" and "California Gurls."

Earlier in the broadcast, while accepting an award with Post Malone for Best Collaboration, Swift acknowledged that this year's show fell on September 11.

She paid homage to those lost in the 2001 attacks, telling the audience "that is the most important thing about today."