The musician nabbed seven nominations for the night.
Fans can always count on Lil Nas X to shake up a red carpet! The Montero artist brought his A-game to the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.
The 23-year-old turned heads -- and had to balance his -- as he walked the black carpet in a stunning feathered ensemble by Harris Reed. The "Scoop" rapper paired his chiseled abs with sleek leather pants that were accented with black feathers.
The real star of the show was Nas' head piece that extended inches around his head. The newly announced YSL Beauty ambassador was all smiles as he snapped pictures with fans and celeb friends as he made his way inside the show.
Last year, Lil Nas X brought the memory of Prince to the carpet, sporting a lilac suit, complete with a long cape, matching boots, and an off-the-shoulder cut lapel.
The 'Late to Da Party' musician scored seven nominations for the night, including Video and Artist of the Year. He's tied for the most nominations with friend and collaborator Jack Harlow and Kendrick Lamar.
Lil Nas X has had a rough time with award shows recently. In June, the 23-year-old called out the BET Awards for their lack of support of "Black excellence" after the network announced the nominations for this year's awards. In since-deleted tweets, Lil Nas X vented his frustrations about being snubbed by the show for the second year in a row -- and on the first day of Pride Month and Black Music Month, too.
When asked why he believed his work deserved nominations, Lil Nas X pointed out the success of his debut album, which included three singles -- "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)," "That’s What I Want" and "Industry Baby" -- on the Billboard Top 10 chart and eight more in the Hot 100. The album went platinum in the United States, earned placements on a slew of year-end lists and earned various accolades, including five GRAMMY nominations.
"I feel like that should've helped me a bit," he noted.
In a final since-deleted tweet, the openly gay artist explained his frustrations, explaining that it was less about his lack of nominations and more about what he feels is a lack of acceptance from his own community.
"I just feel like black gay ppl have to fight to be seen in this world and even when we make it to the top mfs try to pretend we are invisible," he wrote.
The singer went on to mock his feud with the network when he released his highly anticipated track featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again. "Late to Da Party" was the first drop from the musician's forthcoming second album, which he's been teasing fans with snippets of since his surprise return to social media after nearly four months of silence.
The single's cover image shows (presumably) him peeing on a BET Award in a toilet -- a reference to Kanye West's 2020 social media video of himself urinating on a GRAMMY.
That same month, ET spoke with Lil Nas X on the red carpet at the 2022 Songwriters Hall of Fame gala in New York City where he was honored with the Hal David Starlight Award, which honors young songwriters impacting the music industry with original songs.
"I think we have a long way to go in some places," Lil Nas X told ET about the feud, "but I feel like the world is definitely trying its best to change in many ways."
See more on the VMAs below.
RELATED CONTENT
