It’s awards season, and if you didn’t catch the MTV Video Music Awards, I highly recommended that you watch it.

Opening with performances by Ariana Grande, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj, you could say the night started off with a bang. MTV did not disappoint with guest performances by Iggy Azalea, Taylor Swift, Usher, 5 Seconds of Summer, Maroon 5 and Sam Smith.

There were also reflective moments, with a tribute video to the late Robin Williams and a moment of silence led by rapper-actor Common for the violent civil unrest occurring in Ferguson, Missouri.

Miley Cyrus, the winner for Video of the Year for “Wrecking Ball,” shocked and awed the world by keeping her tongue in her mouth for the night.

Jesse Helt, a young homeless man, accepted the award on her behalf. Helt, 22, told his story of jumping between shelter homes and spoke about My Friend’s Place, a homeless youth development program where Cyrus met him. Helt appealed to the famous crowd to check out Cyrus’s Facebook page to learn more and donate toward a foundation that aims to end youth homelessness.

Beyoncé’s highly anticipated and highly satisfying 16-minute mash-up performance of her self-titled album blew up Twitter feeds and Facebook timelines, and will probably make MTV Video Music Awards history.

Queen B didn’t just sing and dance; she made a powerful statement.

During “Flawless,” the voice over sample from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie defined feminism with its words played out like subtitles on the large backdrop of the stage.

The venue resonated with girl-power as Beyoncé stood in front of the words, including “Feminist,” before launching into a fierce performance of the song.

After the mash-up ended, the most popular kid on the block, Blue Ivy, and her father Jay-Z presented Beyoncé with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

The Winner’s Circle includes:

Video of the Year: Miley Cyrus- “Wrecking Ball”

Best Female Video: Katy Perry ft. Juicy J- “Dark Horse”

Best Male Video: Ed Sheeran ft Pharrell- “Sing”

Best Pop Video: Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea- “Problem”

Best Rock Video: Lorde- “Royals”

Best Hip-Hop: Drake ft. Majid Jordan- “Hold On (We’re Going Home)”

Artists to Watch: Fifth Harmony- “Miss Movin’ On”

Best Social Message: Beyoncé- “Pretty Hurts”

Follow Jennifer on Twitter @jenmnguyen