Mariah Carey ended a 35-year drought Sunday, claiming her first MTV Video Music Award as “Type Dangerous” won Best R&B, per hip-hopvibe.com. Minutes later the 55-year-old icon accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, honouring a career that has redefined music-video spectacle. Mariah has consistently pushed the boundaries of the music video format with iconic visuals from hits like “Honey,” “Heartbreaker” and “We Belong Together.”
The singer, who had gone 0-for-19 at previous VMAs, beat contemporary heavyweights with the Anderson .Paak-co-produced single, a silky blend of vintage Eric B. & Rakim samples and 2025 trap-soul sheen. The track has soundtracked 2.3 million TikTok creations since its June release and re-entered Billboard’s R&B top-10 after Sunday’s victory.
“Tonight the Moon Person finally came home,” Carey told Newark’s Prudential Center crowd before premiering a snippet of her 16th studio album, “Here For It All,” due September 26 on her own Mariah imprint via Gamma. The 11-song set features Kehlani, Shenseea, the Clark Sisters and a rumoured cover of Paul McCartney’s “My Love.”
Industry observers call the twin VMA honours a strategic reset, saying that this new project, coupled with her recent VMA success, signals a vibrant new era for the enduring artist.
With pre-orders pushing “Here For It All” into Amazon’s top five within hours, Carey embarks on a fall media blitz that could deliver her 20th US No. 1. For the Lambily, which is how her devoted fans are known, the message is clear: Christmas came early—and it’s still only September.
•Featured image: @MariahCarey/Instagram
