Leading the nominees were Justin Timberlake and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with six, followed by Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, and Robin Thicke with four.

The most watched performance of the night was Justin Timberlake's 15-minute medley number,[6] which included a brief reunion with NSYNC, leading up to his acceptance speech for the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.

[10] Justin Timberlake – "Mirrors" Bruno Mars – "Locked Out of Heaven" Taylor Swift – "I Knew You Were Trouble" Austin Mahone – "What About Love" Selena Gomez – "Come & Get It" Thirty Seconds to Mars – "Up in the Air" Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (featuring Ray Dalton) – "Can't Hold Us" Pink (featuring Nate Ruess) – "Just Give Me a Reason" Justin Timberlake (featuring Jay-Z) – "Suit & Tie" (Director: David Fincher) Bruno Mars – "Treasure" (Choreographer: Bruno Mars) Capital Cities – "Safe and Sound" (Visual Effects: Grady Hall, Jonathan Wu and Derek Johnson) Janelle Monáe (featuring Erykah Badu) – "Q.U.E.E.N."

(Art Director: Veronica Logsdon) Justin Timberlake – "Mirrors" (Editors: Jarrett Fijal and Bonch LA) Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (featuring Ray Dalton) – "Can't Hold Us" (Directors of Photography: Jason Koenig, Ryan Lewis and Mego Lin) Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (featuring Mary Lambert) – "Same Love" One Direction – "Best Song Ever" Daddy Yankee Justin Timberlake Pop singer Miley Cyrus became the subject of widespread media attention following a controversial performance with Robin Thicke.

Following this, Thicke entered the stage and Cyrus stripped down to a flesh-colored two-piece latex outfit while they performed "Blurred Lines" in a duet.