Rihanna to receive MTV’s lifetime achievement award

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Rihanna will receive MTV’s lifetime achievement award at the Aug. 28 Video Music Awards (VMA) show, MTV said on Thursday, joining the likes of Kanye West, Madonna and Beyonce.

The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award is the highest honor in the video music industry, and reflects an artist’s impact not just on music but on pop culture, fashion, film and philanthropy.

Rihanna, 28, has twice won the coveted video of the year at the MTV ceremony and is an eight-time Grammy winner with more than 61 million albums sold. The “Umbrella” singer also set up the Clara Lionel Foundation, which works to improve health and cultural services in her home of Barbados and beyond.

Rihanna will perform at the ceremony in New York, where she is nominated for four VMA’s for her song “Work” with Canadian rapper Drake, and her collaboration with Calvin Harris on “This is What You Came For.”

Rapper West won the Vanguard award in 2015 and other previous winners include Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Grant McCool)