2023 MTV Video Music Awards

**2023 MTV Video Music Awards** is the sixty-third chapter of *Push to the Limit* and the four hundred thirty-eighth chapter of the series overall. It is 17,754 words long. It is told entirely in third person and was published on October 23rd, 2016.

Julie, Crystal Army, Jake, Santana, Amity, Rhythmix, and Travis attend the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

## Plot

Keith walks Julie through the VMA carpet plans for her and Jake. Julie is distracted, not looking forward to having to sit next to Nick and Francesca and in front of Crystal Army, but the network wants high ratings by placing the allegedly 'feuding' artist around each other for drama.

Backstage at a show in Lisbon, Tyler warns the rest of Crystal Army about taking part in any drama at the awards show. He specifically means Sam and Alex but neither is paying attention to him. Sam has been depressed over his breakup with Eva, but denies being upset over it, while everyone is worried that Alex will give any cues of being unhappy on camera (as he rolled his eyes at Sam during their Carpool Karaoke in Promo). Alex reminds his band mates that Julie will be with her date and he will be with his (Caleb and Haley, respectively) and there won't be a problem. John continues to express concern over Sam's well-being but the latter says they should be more worried about Alex, who is going through Julie 'withdrawal'.

Sarah has lunch with Charlie. She is upset that Sebastian sent all his acts to the VMAs, front and center, and she doesn't get to attend, despite having just released a new single. Charlie reminds him that Rhythmix's first couple of months of releasing music were troubled by the same issues and they found their own way to get the label's attention by showing they could be successful without the label's support. Sarah is concerned that only country music will pay her any attention and questions why Charlie continues to bring up Kayli's band. Charlie tells her to be more proactive and suggests that she get help from Dani or Blaine. Sarah laments that Sebastian doesn't respect her and never will.

Jeremy attempts to convince Sebastian that he should promote Sarah's new single by getting her a slot on *Ellen*. Sebastian refuses, claiming he wants to book an appearance for Amity instead. Jeremy suggests getting her a feature from a famous artist. Sebastian says that Sarah 'doesn't have it' and her ten seconds of fame are over.

Travis performs Toothbrush as his fourth performance in an end of summer festival in Malibu. During the performance, he feels great about the direction his life has taken and the success that he has had in the recent months. Luke watches the performance from home and tells Albany that he thinks the song is written about he and Travis's sex life. He debates whether he should reach out to Travis and though Albany encourages him, he decides to let Travis reach out to him first.

Luke gathers up some of the people in Lima for a 'normal people's night out' at Adonis. By the time he arrived, some of the people with stricter work schedules had already gone home to sleep early. He tells Ryder he wants to focus on friendship, but not by supporting their friends at the VMAs. Sarah arrives, attempting to get an alcoholic drink and getting shut down by Ryder. She tells them about her desire for mainstream fame and to attend mainstream award shows, but that it won't happen because Sebastian is letting her flop. When she complains that she doesn't have any live performances of her single lined up, Ryder suggest that she perform on stage now. She gets up and performs I Got The Boy during which Albany thought about Shana Davis and Santana Lopez marrying each other and Luke wonders whether he will see his exes get married soon, too.

Before the award ceremony, Julie has lunch with Jake to discuss blue carpet talking points. Jake thanks her again for walking the carpet with him and Julie reminds him that his success has been his own he earned his nominations.

Shana and Kayli wonder why Leila isn't bothered by her boyfriend and his ex making this big public appearance together. Leila answers that she loves Jake and trusts him completely.

Santana has an interview which focuses primarily on her marriage to Shana to her annoyance and wishes to discuss primarily her music. She later tells Jesse that she wants to start work on her next album but still doesn't know which label to sign on to do it with. She does not want to work with Sebastian anymore but fears that Julie will not have the power or resources to boost her career the way being in Blackbird has.

Crystal Army arrive at the VMAs, where Alex has trouble adjusting his watch. On the carpet, Amity is posing for pictures when Santana arrives. Amity thinks she should make more celebrity friends outside of the Lima artists.

Blaine, Kurt, Bree, Stefan, Kitty, Riley, Marley and Ryder watch the live carpet feeds online. They like the outfits so far, designed by Bree and Kurt, and wait for the rest of their friends to arrive. The show starts live on television and they watch both simultaneously. Crystal Army arrive as Lyric does a pre-show interview.

Lyric and the guys meet and after Lyric takes a few photos with John, they start heading into the arena. However, Alex realizes that he has lost his watch and despite his bandmates moving on, he goes back to get it, with Tyler tagging along. Alex tells Tyler that the watch was a twenty-first birthday gift from Amity and that it is special to him.

As Julie and Jake arrive, Camilla notes that Amity's dress is better and takes to Twitter to bash on Julie's, but is stopped by Kurt, who along with Bree designed both dresses. Kitty notes that Jake is getting good promo from Julie while Marley is concerned that the paparazzi's heckling of the stars must be stressful for Julie.

Julie finds Alex's watch on the ground, broken after being stepped on, and picks it up just as Alex comes back around in search of it. The two haven't seen each other in all most two months and are awkward around each other until Tyler joins them and reminds them that they are on camera. Julie is hugged by both guys, who then leave to rejoin their band.

Bree notes how awkward that encounter was and Ryder is confused, seemingly unaware of the troubles between Alex and Julie. Finn and Rachel arrive in time to change the subject and the others watch Julie give a pre-show interview during which she promotes her show, Starmaker, and announces that she will be working on her next album soon. Nick and Francesca arrive and, wanting to avoid them, Julie hurries into the arena, where she does a few other things before being able to go into the auditorium. When she makes it to her seat, Crystal Army, Lyric, Santana, Jake and Rhythmix are already there, with the first two in the second row and the other three in the third.

The Rhythmix girls, Sam, John, and Lyric greet Julie as she wonders where Amity is. Caleb isn't around either, so Julie goes off to find him, bumping into Nick and Francesca on the way. He is friendly but she is curt, briefly greeting him and then running off in search of Caleb. Meanwhile, Nick and Francesca sit down in front of Sam and John, respectively, and the latter is unhappy due to his remaining suspicions that Francesca had been involved in Julie's pill swap. Kanye West begins the opening performance.

Backstage, Julie finds Caleb in the lobby, along with Amity and a group of models who are a part of Taylor Swift's current squad. Julie, Caleb and Amity head out to their seats together, with Amity making plans to hang out with Taylor's squad at the birthday party of someone named Jordan. Julie is dubious about Amity associating with that squad, thinking they don't really fit with who Amity is, but keeps that opinion to herself.

Back in Lima, Camilla continues to insist that Amity is better than Julie. During the commercial break, Nick leaves to prepare for his performance and Kanye returns, greeting Francesca but really there in search of Nick. Francesca does not want to greet him, as he is still feuding with Taylor, whom she is friends with. Kanye then introduces himself to Julie, telling her that Kim Kardashian is a huge fan and gifted her album to Kourtney Kardashian on the latter's birthday. Julie is excited by this information as Kanye greets the Crystal Army guys.

Albany, Jeremy, Rory, Morgan and Dean join the watch party in Lima. Travis arrives at the award show fashionably late, sitting near Kim, Kanye and Drake and away from the others. Selena Gomez and Joe Jonas announce Nick's performance and Bree notes that Selena looks like Shea.

Nick performs his new song "Chains" during which he sings to Francesca as Julie watches from beside them. Alex asks Julie if there's any chance that the song is actually about her time with Nick, trying to stir up trouble with her. Tyler tells Alex to stop making those type of jokes, to which Alex responds by cheering on the performance and singing along, dancing much like Taylor Swift, whom he is a fan of.

Travis wins the award for Best Male Video with Ride and during his speech mentions that he didn't expect to have such success, thanking everyone for their support. Santana seems the most happy about his win. Kayli is very impatient, wanting her category to be announced already, and goes off to the bathroom to kill time. She then wanders backstage to a coat closet, where she almost snoops through Rita Ora's purse until she is stopped by Sam, who reminds her that they are always on camera at these events. After a brief conversation, they return to the audience together as Rihanna is reaching the end of her performance. The professional awards are announced and Julie's team wins Best Cinematography for Don't Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet. Santana's team also wins Best Editing for Ghost. Jake assures Leila that there is still a chance for her to win something after they lose an award to Beyonce's team. Jake and Julie win Best Collaboration for Beautiful and go up to give their speech. Jake thanks his mom, Puck, Leila, Blackbird, and his and Julie's fans. Backstage, they celebrate their win and Jake thanks Julie. She jokes that this is her final payment for cheating on him. They go back to the auditorium and Julie wins Best Female Video for Break Free. She thanks her fans, SafeHouse, Keith, Nick, Demi, MTV, her family and her friends. Jake wins the Artist to Watch award, defeating Rhythmix and Amity. Once again, he thanks his team, family and fans. Backstage, Travis congratulates him and Jake hurries back to Leila. Rhythmix, Julie, and Travis lose Best Pop Video to Katy Perry and Kendrick Lamar. Crystal Army win Best Rock Video for Almost Summer, presented to them by Julie.

In Lima, everyone discusses whether or not MTV had Julie present for ratings and Riley hopes for some sort of fight to ensue. Dean calls it dumb, saying there is no point in bringing feuding into the art of making music. He also says he's seen the hatred the public gives artists in these positions lead them to 'darkness' to which Kitty responds with a joke that this is how he got into drugs. Marley does not find it funny and when Dean leaves the room, Morgan and Rory describe him as scary.

Meanwhile, Crystal Army accept their awards, thanking the fans, the producers, and the label. Tyler also gives a shout out to his mom and Alex thanks MTV. During a commercial break, Rhythmix are announced as the winners of the Song of the Summer award for Competition.

Marley goes to the studio to check in on Dean, hoping Kitty's comments about his drug addiction didn't offend him. He tells her his issues aren't a big deal, to which she responds with surprise, stating that his 'disease' is dangerous and he shouldn't take it lightly. Dean says it is now she who is judging him and calls her out for thinking she is better than others, at least morally, then calls it a night and closes the door on her.

Kim Kardashian awards Julie with the Video of the Year award for Break Free. While accepting the award, Julie thanks her fans for sticking by her during the most difficult times of the year and for putting in the hard work to make her music a success. She encourages everyone to 'break free' of all helpless situations. Usher performs a medley of his hits and is awarded the Vanguard Award by Christina Aguilera. The show ends.

## Guest Cast

#### Celebrity Cameos

* Nick Jonas
* Kanye West
* Selena Gomez
* Joe Jonas
* Kim Kardashian
* Harry Styles
* Alicia Keys
* Andy Samberg
* Tinashe

## Trivia

* Bree stated that Selena Gomez looks like Shea. In fact, Selena Gomez portrays Shea in Race to the Finish.
* This episode marks the first time that the characters are shown attending the VMAs.
* Amity is seen interested in befriending Taylor Swift's squad. Camila Cabello, who portrays Amity, is a notable member of the actual T-Squad.
* Jake and Julie reference Until We Can't Ignore Them Anymore, when Julie cheated on him with Sam.

### Billboard 200

* "Don't Look Back" - Travis Hilton
	+ Number 6
	+ Last Week: 5
	+ Peak Position: 1
	+ Weeks on Chart: 8
* "Who I've Been" - Crystal Army
	+ Number 8
	+ Last Week: 10
	+ Peak Position: 1
	+ Weeks on Chart: 34
* "Black Roses" - Juliet Vasquez
	+ Number 12
	+ Last Week: 17
	+ Peak Position: 1
	+ Weeks on Chart: 23
* "Stand Down" - Rhythmix
	+ Number 48
	+ Last Week: 51
	+ Peak Position: 4
	+ Weeks on Chart: 21
* "Amity Hills" - Amity Hills
	+ Number 93
	+ Last Week: 82
	+ Peak Position: 3
	+ Weeks on Chart: 24

### Billboard Hot 100

* "Ride" - Travis Hilton
	+ Number 7
	+ Last Week: 7
	+ Peak Position: 6
	+ Weeks on Chart: 22
* "Here" - Amity Hills
	+ Number 8
	+ Last Week: 8
	+ Peak Position: 8
	+ Weeks on Chart: 20
* "He Could Be The One" - Juliet Vasquez
	+ Number 10
	+ Last Week: 13
	+ Peak Position: 10 (NEW)
	+ Weeks on Chart: 6
* "Don't Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet" - Juliet Vasquez
	+ Number 19
	+ Last Week: 17
	+ Peak Position: 2
	+ Weeks on Chart: 20
* "Jet Black Heart" - Crystal Army
	+ Number 30
	+ Last Week: 34
	+ Peak Position: 30 (NEW)
	+ Weeks on Chart: 2
* "Photograph" - Crystal Army
	+ Number 33
	+ Last Week: 26
	+ Peak Position: 10
	+ Weeks on Chart: 25
* "Competition" - "Rhythmix"
	+ Number 37
	+ Last Week: 28
	+ Peak Position: 22
	+ Weeks on Chart: 14
* "Me and My Broken Heart" - Jake P.
	+ Number 41
	+ Last Week: 55
	+ Peak Position: 41 (NEW)
	+ Weeks on Chart: 4
* "Hide Away" - Lyric Heron
	+ Number 46
	+ Last Week: 45
	+ Peak Position: 40
	+ Weeks on Chart: 16
* "Always Summer" - Crystal Army
	+ Number 52
	+ Last Week: 42
	+ Peak Position: 16
	+ Weeks on Chart: 17
* "Love Me Like You Mean It" - Sarah Linley
	+ Number 55
	+ Last Week: 49
	+ Peak Position: 45
	+ Weeks on Chart: 14
* "Hollow" featuring Travis Hilton - Lyric Heron
	+ Number 80
	+ Last Week: 96
	+ Peak Position: 80 (NEW)
	+ Weeks on Chart: 3