The Weeknd caused a stir and Sunday's 2020 MTV VMAs. The 30-year-old singer showed up to this year's ceremony with a bloodied face, causing many to question the reason behind his appearance.
It's not just The Weeknd that had fans asking questions on Sunday, though. With COVID-19 restrictions fully in place during this year's VMAs, many wondered how MTV pulled off seemingly live interviews, performances and audiences throughout the awards ceremony.
Keep reading for answers to those and all of your other VMAs-related questions following Sunday's ceremony.
WHY DID THE WEEKND WEAR BLOODY MAKEUP?
Fans were alarmed when the singer showed up at this year's ceremony with what appeared to be a broken nose and a bruised face. But there's no cause for concern, as the scary appearance was all just makeup that he wore in promotion of his latest album, After Hours.
The Weeknd, who won two VMAs Sunday night, has been publicly sporting the bloody look since January, when he premiered the music video for "Blinding Lights," in which he gets beaten up by bouncers and sustains the injuries. He sported a similar look in his short film, After Hours, in March even wore the gory makeup during his Saturday Night Live performance later that month.
WHAT IS THE TRICON AWARD?
Lady Gaga took home the first-ever Tricon Award at Sunday's ceremony, which seems to be the show's replacement for the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. The newly-conceived award honors artists who, like Gaga, have become superstars in multiple fields, such as music, acting, fashion and philanthropy.
In her acceptance speech, Gaga, who won four VMAs Sunday night, gushed over being honored "for so many" of her passions.
"I've been making music since I was a little girl, even though I had really, really big dreams, I truly never could have imagined that someday I would be given an award like this that honored me for so many of my passions," she said in part.
HOW DID THE SHOW HAVE A LIVE AUDIENCE AMID COVID-19?
Originally slated to be held at Brooklyn's Barclay's Center, MTV told ET earlier this month that they made the decision to instead hold the ceremony at outdoor venues around New York with "little to no audience."
In fact, though, there was no live audience at this year's show. The feeling of having people in attendance was instead replicated with CGI crowds, fake crowd noise and cartoon silhouettes.
HOW MUCH OF THE SHOW WAS PRE-TAPED?
The majority of performances, award presentations, and red carpet interviews were recorded days in advance of the "live" ceremony, a source tells ET. Despite much of the show not being live, much of the prerecorded content was filmed in-person, requiring artists and their teams to quarantine and be tested prior to shooting, ET has learned.
Some artists traveled to New York, where the show was taking place, to film their performances, acceptance speeches, and red carpet interviews. Among those in New York was The Weeknd, who shot his performance at EDGE at Hudson Yards.
Other stars pre-filmed their portions from Los Angeles with the help of a green screen, according to the source. Among those who filmed in Los Angeles were Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga, ET's source says.
Page Six was the first to report the VMAs portions that were prerecorded.
Watch the video below for more on the 2020 MTV VMAs.
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