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MTV VMAs 2016: What We Know About Kanye West, Beyonce, Taylor Swift and More (Exclusive)

Kanye West and Beyonce
Kanye West and Beyonce

Get ready for a wild night! Kanye West, Beyoncé and more artists are planning big surprises for the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, August 28, while some stars are skipping the event altogether. Here’s everything we know about this year’s highly anticipated ceremony:

Kanye West Will Have Four Minutes of Freedom

According to TMZ, the 39-year-old hip-hop star — who was presented with the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award by sometime enemy Taylor Swift at last year’s show — will have minutes to “do as he pleases” on stage before he performs.

Related: PHOTOS: The Wildest, Most Iconic MTV VMAs Moments of All Time

An insider confirms TMZ’s report to Us Weekly and adds that the dad of two will most likely treat the crowd to “Famous,” the controversial track in which he takes credit for Swift’s fame. The song’s accompanying video is nominated for multiple categories including Video of the Year and Best Male Video.

Queen Bey Will Get the Crowd Buzzin’

Multiple sources confirm to Us that the “Formation” singer, 34, will light up the VMAs stage Sunday night. Beyoncé — who is nominated for 11 Moonmen this year — last performed at the pop culture event in 2014, when she closed the show with an incredible, nearly 20-minute medley of her greatest hits. (Entertainment Tonight also reported Bey’s plans.)

Lady Gaga performs during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
Lady Gaga performs during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

Sorry, Little Monsters: Lady Gaga Will Not Be Debuting Her New Single

Though many fans speculated that the eccentric pop star, 30, would perform her upcoming single “Perfect Illusion” live for the first time at the VMAs, an insider tells Us that she “is not performing or presenting.”

Related: PHOTOS: Lady Gaga's Craziest VMA Looks

Rihanna Will Take the Stage More Than Once

RiRi, 28, who will accept the Video Vanguard Award at this year’s VMAs, is set to perform “several songs throughout the show,” a source confirms to Us

Taylor Swift Will Not Be Present

The “Wildest Dreams” songstress, 26, “will not be attending the show,” multiple sources tell Us.

Related: PHOTOS: Taylor Swift’s Red Carpet Style Evolution

The pop superstar — whose celeb-packed “Bad Blood” visual won Video of the Year in 2015 — famously made up with Yeezy at last year’s ceremony after years of feuding. The drama started at the VMAs in 2009, when West bum-rushed Swift’s Best Female Video acceptance speech for “You Belong With Me” in defense of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” video.

Taylor Swift attends the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
Taylor Swift attends the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.

Her absence from the 2016 VMAs is unsurprising, not only because she isn’t up for any Moonmen this year — her “Wildest Dreams” and “Out of the Woods” clips were both eligible — but also because she is at odds once more with West. As previously reported, Swift fired back at the “Stronger” rapper earlier this summer after his wife, Kim Kardashian, released a recording of a phone call in which the 1989 hitmaker seemingly gave approval to West for his use of her name in “Famous” — a conversation a rep for Swift once denied took place.

Confirmed performers for the show include Britney Spears, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Future. The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards will air on MTV Sunday, August 28, at 9 p.m. ET.

 

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