MTV celebrated its 30th Video Music Awards on Sunday, so naturally we had to take a little trip back in time. Would that whole 'NSync rumor come true? (Of course it would.) Would Lil Kim get her boob bounced? (Of course she would not.) For a modern twist on the classic, here are our most GIF-able moments of the night.
Gaga egg face
While Gaga wore a seriously boring dress on the red carpet (by her standards), she really brought it with the costume changes for her first post-surgery performance. While the mermaid shells and bodysuits were great, the opening shot of the Gagster as a giant white egg face head thing was priceless.
Lil Kim
We always forget that Kim bought herself a new face, but seeing her always makes us nostalgic for a simpler time. A time when Diana Ross bobbled Kim's boob on national TV. A time when Britney Spears wore a snake. A time when we weren't about to see what came next ...
Miley Cyrus 'Blurred Lines'
Shockingly, the final votes for the award for song of summer were tallied before Miley Cyrus officially murdered "Blurred Lines." Sorry, Robin Thicke, it's dead to us now. (One Direction won MTV's version of the award, BTW.)
Taylor Swift's big win
Taylor may not have won Goat Scream of the Year (although she totally did), but she DID manage to pick up the trophy for best female. And thank the guy who inspired the song. And then MTV panned to Harry Styles. Bahaha.
It's gonna be him
Well, we weren't planning to buy tickets to Justin Timberlake's February show, but we damn well might have to now. Taking a trip backward and forward through time, JT started with his first solo hits, teasing us just long enough to send the anticipation level through the roof. AND THEN 'NSYNC DID THE "BYE BYE BYE" DANCE. And then Justin had them sucked back into the ether a la Destiny's Child at the Super Bowl. The whole thing was perfection redefined.
Kevin Hart getting sucked into the same vortex as 'NSync
Wait, that didn't happen. But oh, if we were controlling this show, it would have. Kevin popped in multiple times throughout the broadcast to, we assume, entertain us during set changes. He is horrifyingly unfunny.
Surprise! It's J-Hud
After an intro by A$AP Rocky and gay pro athlete Jason Collins, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed their equal rights hit, "Same Love." But the best part was their special backup guest-Jennifer Hudson! And she looked fan. tas. tic. Chicago represent!
Drake album cover morph
Drake revealed his cover art for "Nothing Was The Same" last week-it's a painting of his head against a blue sky background. Hilariously, he started his VMAs performance as the frozen version of the exact same thing, then slowly came to life. Runner-up GIFable moments from this performance include Rihanna throwing MAD shade and Jaden Smith losing his damn mind.
Roaring firework
They do that, right? Katy Perry closed out the night under the Brooklyn Bridge, bookending the new singles game with "Roar." While we enjoyed the boxing theme, maybe don't include ring card girls in teeny bikinis if you're performing a song about female empowerment? Just a thought.