The MTV Video Music Awards returned to New York with a star-studded ceremony.

Madonna, the Queen of Pop, made a surprise appearance while Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Nas X were among the big winners.

Here are some of the best pictures from the Barclays Centre in New York:

2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Arrivals
Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian put on another proud public display of affection at the MTV VMAs (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Arrivals
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly have been showing off their relationship and continued the trend in New York (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Show
Queen of Pop Madonna made a surprise appearance at the ceremony and wished MTV a happy 40th anniversary (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Show
Jennifer Lopez was last week pictured on a red carpet in Venice with Ben Affleck but went solo at the VMAs (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Show
Cyndi Lauper delivered a message of female empowerment with an apparent dig at the new abortion laws in Texas (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Show
Lil Nas X delivered a typically vibrant performance at the VMAs – and it was not the last time he would take to the stage (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Show
Host for the evening Doja Cat caught the eye with a number of eyebrow-raising costumes (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Show
Justin Bieber proudly collected his artist of the year award after celebrating a successful 12 months (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Show
Olivia Rodrigo was named best new artist at the VMAs, cementing her position as one of the most exciting young stars in pop (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
2021 MTV Video Music Awards – Show
Lil Nas X won the coveted video of the year prize for Montero (Call Me By Your Name)  (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)