Mariah Carey Receives First VMA With Video Vanguard Award: “What in the Sam Hill Took You So Long?!”

Mariah Carey finally received her first MTV Video Music Award on Sunday night when the Grammy-winning superstar singer was honored with the Video Vanguard Award. Though she’d been nominated for eight VMAs over the years, Carey had yet to win a competitive prize even as she was recognized with the prestigious Video Vanguard honor.

Taking the stage after a performance of a medley of her hits, Carey joked of her long-awaited award, “What in the Sam Hill took you so long?!”

Prior to receiving her honor, Carey performed snippets of her many hits, highlighting singles that also had particularly memorable videos, including “Honey,” “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed,” “It’s Like That,” “We Belong Together” and the remix of her hit “Fantasy,” complete with audio of the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s rap intro.

She began the medley with latest single, “Sugar Sweet,” donning a silk robe and performing alongside two dancers.