That’s just Chlöe to you. The R&B singer-songwriter, best known as one half of sister act Chloe x Halle, is stepping out on her own and making her solo debut at the VMAs. The performance — her first during the main show after Chloe x Halle stunned during the preshow in 2020 — will mark the live debut of her unreleased first solo single, “Have Mercy,” per an MTV press release; the track is set to lead off an upcoming solo album. Along with Chlöe, the newly announced performers at this year’s Video Music Awards include Doja Cat, the reigning Push Best New Artist, who returns as a top nominee this year with five nods including Video of the Year and Artist of the Year. Best Pop nominee Shawn Mendes will debut his new single, “Summer of Love,” while Best Alternative nominees Twenty One Pilots will perform their song “Saturday.”
They join a slate of VMA performers including Lil Nas X (with a sure-to-be-risqué performance of “Industry Baby”), Olivia Rodrigo (with “good 4 u” in her VMAs debut), Lorde (with the live premiere of a song off her new album, Solar Power), Machine Gun Kelly (with the live premiere of “papercuts“), and Camila Cabello (with new single “Don’t Go Yet”). Foo Fighters will also perform on the VMAs stage for the first time in 14 years as the band accepts the Global Icon Award, presented at the VMAs for the first time (after usually being awarded at the MTV Europe Music Awards). Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion lead nominations at the MTV awards, set to take place live at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.