The VMAs are going stag this year, with no host set to lead the 2018 MTV awards show, a spokesperson for the network tells TheWrap.
“This year we opted for a tighter show,” VMAs executive producer Bruce Gillmer told Bustle Friday. “We want to let the music do the talking a little bit more. We love having a host, if it’s somebody that is pin-point and dead-on for what we’re looking for.”
“We’re just as happy [not having a host], and by the way, the show is just as vibrant, just as successful with or without. So this year, we’re happy that we have all the music that we have. The music will speak for itself.”
This is not the first time in the show’s nearly 35 year history that the VMAs have been host-less. The awards first dropped their emcee in 2004 and have been down a leader in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2016 as well.
While there won’t be a host, MTV has already announced that performers like Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, Logic and Ryan Tedder from One Republic, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott and Post Malone will all take the stage. And let’s not forget about Jennifer Lopez — the recipient of this year’s Vanguard Award — who will get up and dance too.