VMAs 2016: Beyoncé wins video of the year for 'Formation'

Beyoncé took home the top prize at Sunday night’s VMAs, winning Video of the Year for “Formation.”

The powerful and political visual beat out a trove of heavyweight contenders: Adele’s gorgeous, sepia-toned “Hello,” Drake’s meme-spawning “Hotline Bling,” Justin Bieber’s dance-driven “Sorry,” and Kanye West’s controversially artful “Famous.”

In a brief acceptance speech, Beyoncé dedicated her victory to her family, daughter Blue Ivy and husband Jay Z, her crew, and to the people of New Orleans, where “Formation” is set.

The accolade marks Beyoncé’s 23rd VMA win in just over a decade, seven of which came Sunday night. In addition to Video of the Year, “Formation” won Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Choreography; Beyoncé’s “Hold Up” won Best Female Video, while her visual album Lemonade won Breakthrough Long Form Video.

Beyoncé had previously won Video of the Year for 2009’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).” Beyoncé led this year’s VMAs nominations with 11 nods and stole the show with a riveting medley of Lemonade tracks.

“Formation” was the first short to come from the collection. It debuted as a standalone in February, just ahead of Beyoncé’s smash Super Bowl halftime performance. Revisit “Formation” below and check out a complete list of VMAs winners here.