Beyoncé

But let's be honest, the VMAs are more about jaw dropping moments than music videos and Moon Man trophies.

Whether it was Kanye West stealing the stage from Taylor Swift in the midst of her acceptance speech in 2009, or Miley Cyrus twerking her way into a national controversy in 2013, this annual award show is always unfiltered.

Here are five reasons to watch this year's VMAs.

Britney's back

In arguably one of her best looks yet, pint-sized fashionista Blue Ivy Carter has emerged as the style star of Beyoncé's newly shared family photos.

The sultry songstress pulled in $54 million, good enough to claim the No. 34 spot on our upcoming Celebrity 100 list—the annual ranking of the world’s top-earning superstars, which will be released tomorrow morning. Jay Z finished a smidgeon behind, taking the No. 36 slot with a $53.5 million tally.

"Got my hands in the air in despair/don't shoot/I just wanna do good," he raps on the track.

The song, which was released on Tidal, was accompanied by a long open letter in which Jay Z said he began writing the song "awhile ago," and considered releasing it after the 2014 murder of Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri.

"I'm saddened and disappointed in this America," he wrote. "We should be further along. We are not. I trust God and know everything that happens is for our greatest good, but man ... it's tough right now."

The seafood chain known for its cheddar biscuits says sales surged 33 per cent on Superbowl Sunday, after the singer mentioned the chain in new song Formation, which she released over the weekend. 

In the song Beyonce says she took a man to Red Lobster after sex. Red Lobster says it's sure the mention is responsible for at least part of its sales jump.

Beyonce released Formation on Saturday as a free download on her artist page for the streaming service, Tidal, which she co-owns with husband Jay Z, Rihanna and other artists. The song, along with a music video, was released as a gift to her fans and it can be downloaded without having a subscription to Tidal. Formation is a gritty street anthem that, perhaps not coincidentally for Black History Month, has lyrics that express black pride with an exclamation point.

The 34-year-old singer's last, self-titled, record hit the shelves with no fanfare in 2013, with Beyonce dropping it completely by surprise and doing no promotional duties for it.

It's been suggested she is planning the same stunt this time around, with her turn on stage alongside Coldplay at the upcoming American football event the Super Bowl apparently the offering the perfect occasion to reveal the news. 

During the long weekend, it was announced Beyonce was looking to write and star in a film based on the life of a Saartjie "Sarah" Baartman, a South African woman who was enslaved in a freak show in the 1800s.

According to South African History Online, Baartman's large buttocks and "unusual colouring" made her the object of fascination for colonial Europeans and she was taken to London where people paid to see her half-naked body on display. 

The iconic singer, who once sampled a French dub of Maude Lebowski's (Julianne Moore) monologue about feminism in her song "Partition,"has reportedly purchased the mansion seen in the film. 

The New York Times has pointed out that the Grammy winner's latest magazine spread, for Vogue's coveted September issue, is without any word from the singer herself.

Considering the fact that the fashion bible generally offers up lengthy, juicy sit-downs with their cover stars, it's a bit of a mystery as to why the reigning queen of pop chose to remain silent.

And yet, here we are scratching our heads over something that she very clearly orchestrated from the get-go.