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After Missy Elliott shut down rumors that she was being honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the upcoming 2018 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA’s), now it has been confirmed who the official recipient is.
This year the show will see actress/singer, Jennifer Lopez receive the coveted award during the show which will air on August 20 according to EW.
The network announced Tuesday that the multi-hyphenate icon will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, making Lopez only the seventh woman to have claimed the prize since 1984.
During the Aug. 20 telecast, Lopez — whose Cardi B-featuring single “Dinero” is nominated for two VMAs this year — will celebrate the honor with her first performance on the VMAs stage since 2001.
Lopez joins the likes of David Bowie, Kanye West, Tom Petty, and the titular pop superstar as past recipients of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Madonna became the first woman to claim the prize in 1986, followed by Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Pink in subsequent years.
Upon successfully crossing over from acting to music with the release of her triple-platinum debut album On the 6 in 1999, Lopez laid the foundation for a robust career as a recording artist. Across eight full-length LPs, Lopez has amassed four No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and over 80 million worldwide record sales on top of a slate of films that have collectively grossed $2.9 billion globally.
She has also fronted multiple memorable music videos over the years, including high profile clips for songs like “Play,” “Love Don’t Cost a Thing,” “Waiting For Tonight,” “Booty,” and the Pitbull-assisted “On the Floor,” which has become one of the most-viewed music videos of all time with over 1.2 billion plays on YouTube alone.
