At the 2017 Video Music Awards, Pink accepted this year’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award — and paired the special presentation with one of her most eye-popping VMAs performances to date, a career-spanning medley that sprawled across the VMAs stage.
Pink kicked off the performance by harkening back to her devil-may-care pop beginnings, playing “Get The Party Started” and “Raise Your Glass” before riding a lawnmower across the stage during “So What.” The medley then took a somber turn, as the pop star appeared to be giving her younger self sage advice for “F–king Perfect” before snaking in the melody of her No. 1 single “Just Give Me a Reason.” Finally, new single “What About Us” was given a moving showcase, as Pink showed lock-step choreography before clasping hands with her dancers and raising her fists to the rafters.
Then, Ellen DeGeneres appeared onstage to present Pink with the Video Vanguard award, calling the singer “the most incredible performer” and “an awesome human being” (and mentioning that Cher was originally tapped to present the award). Pink took the stage to recount a story about teaching her daughter that refusing to conform to traditional beauty standards is something that should be embraced. “We don’t change … we help other people to change so that they can see more kinds of beauty,” Pink declared to rapturous applause.
Since being nominated for Best New Artist at the VMAs way back in 2000, Pink has won seven Moonmen over the course of her career, including the Video Vanguard Award. The pop star joins the esteemed company of recent Video Vanguard recipients Rihanna, Kanye West, Beyonce and Justin Timberlake.
“What About Us” has peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track precedes her seventh studio album, Beautiful Trauma, due out Oct. 13.
