#VMAs 2013

Year after year, viewers transform Twitter into the social soundtrack of the @MTV Video Music Awards. Last night was no different, as the VMAs brought a party to the streets of Brooklyn as well as to Twitter.

Fans and stars alike tweeted their own commentaries about the show’s performances, awards, and fashions.

All in all, there were a total of 18,495,883 Tweets about the VMAs last night according to @Social_Guide.

VMA performances are the highlight of the night, and they certainly didn’t disappoint this year. From the highly anticipated @NSYNC reunion to unforgettable shows by @MileyCyrus and @LadyGaga, last night’s acts captured outsized attention as the show aired. Here were the peak Tweets Per Minute around the show’s biggest moments:

• @MileyCyrus and @RobinThicke perform: 306,100 TPM
• @JTimberlake’s medley (featuring @NSYNC) concludes: 219,800 TPM
• @Drake performs “Started from the Bottom”: 194,500 TPM
• @TaylorSwift13’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video: 189,300 TPM
• @KanyeWest performs “Blood on the Leaves”: 181,200 TPM

(Please note: these data points are based on the east coast airing)

For a sense of scale, last year’s VMAs had a peak at 98,307 TPM, whereas election night last year saw a TPM peak of 327,452 TPM.

To see how the whole conversation around the #VMAs played out on Twitter, this video demonstrates the live viewing party that unfolded:

The most-mentioned stars of the night were all headliners: @MileyCyrus topped the list, followed by @JTimberlake, @LadyGaga, @Drake, and @KanyeWest.

While some stars were sitting in the audience whispering to their friends, others came to Twitter to share their reactions with the rest of us:

And then there was Vine, which afforded fans the opportunity to follow their favorite artists from the red carpet to backstage. Moments that usually would have stayed behind-the-scenes were seen through Vine:

Fans were also able to make their voices heard by the stars, thanks to both Twitter and Vine. The ‘song of the summer’ category accepted fan votes via both platforms, leading to a win for @OneDirection. Meanwhile, red carpet stars personally invited fans to give their feedback on what style they should sport:

In addition to listening to the on-stage performances and speeches, you could also listen in on exclusive conversations:

For a deeper dive into how Twitter provided the VMAs with a social soundtrack, take a look at our Media Blog.