Harry Styles and One Direction Booed at the 2013 VMA’s, but This Superstar Defended Them
Remarkably there were periods in the career of Harry Styles when he wasn’t a beloved global icon. Back in 2013, as a One Direction member, Styles and his fellow bandmates were booed at the MTV VMA’s. One superstar stood up for the band members and defended them, saying they’d walk out of the awards show in protest due to the audience’s behavior.
One Direction was at the pinnacle of its popularity in 2013
The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, hosted the MTV VMA’s in 2013. One Direction was at the height of its popularity and placed an impressive six songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year. One Direction’s feat subsequently topped any other group.
Later that same year, the group had their highest-charting song, “Best Song Ever,” which placed no. 2 on the Hot 100 chart. One Direction was subsequently named by IFPI as the top “Global Recording Artist” for 2013.
1D’s 2013 release Midnight Memories peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The band made their mark as the first singing group to top the charts with its first three albums.
However, it wasn’t a good night to be a One Direction Member at the 2013 MTV VMA’s
Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson won a Moonman for Best Song of the Summer, “Best Song Ever.”
However, upon taking the stage, the quintet was greeted with boos from the audience.
According to a report by Us Weekly, the band was subsequently booed over the results of the viewer-voted award.
The group was up against Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky” and Robin Thicke‘s “Blurred Lines,” Selena Gomez’s “Come & Get It,” Miley Cyrus’s “We Can’t Stop,” and Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris’s “I Need Your Love.”
One Direction fans clocked 8 million votes to push the band to the top of the category, reported The Mirror. However, some fans felt they won unfairly due to a large fan push.
Styles said, per MTV, “Wow, we want to say a massive, massive thank you to all of our fans. We know this was a voted award, so thank you to everyone who voted. It means a lot, very much to us.”
Superstar entertainer Lady Gaga came to the band’s defense
The Mirror reported that Gaga told the One Direction members not to listen to their haters after being booed by some audience members.
“If I did hear what I heard just there, I just want to tell you that you deserve every bit of success that you have, and don’t you dare let those people boo you,” she was reported to have said.
Gaga continued by saying she wanted to “leave right now; I don’t even want to stay here, cause I don’t want to be in a room where people would do that.” The entertainer ultimately stayed at the event. Photos showed her speaking to the band in support.
