The MTV Video Music Awards were held on Sunday, Aug.27. With many performers and upbeat musical numbers, such as Logic’s performance of his song “1-800-273-8255”, grabbed the audiences’ as well as social media attention (featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid).

Rapper, singer, and songwriter Logic is most famously known for this song as an international hit, even ranking top-five of the Billbaord Hot 100 list as top five. Logic, also known as Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, grew up in the small town of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and became interested in the rap and hip-hop music industry beginning at the age of 14. Soon after meeting his future mentor, Solomon Taylor. His first stage name was “Psychological” and eventually turned into Logic because he wanted to make music that challenges the mind.

The music video premiered this past August on YouTube as well. According to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, only three weeks after the song was released, calls directed to the hotline rose by 27%, and visits to the website increased from 300,000 to almost over 400,000 visitors a month. When Logic performed this song at the VMA’s, however, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) rose by and enormous 50%. The music video itself sent such a strong message that one is good enough, no matter how one intends to identify him/herself, and that taking oneself away from this life is not the direction to take. There are people who care as well as support one another and are there to help others from feeling in this way.

The performance at the VMAs highlighted important topics, including a short speech made in the midst of the song. The song is a way to show concern and compassion for mental health disorders and beyond. In the performance, Logic states, “…from racism, discrimination, sexism, domestic violence, sexual assault and so much more…if you are black, white or any color in between… I am here to fight for your equality. We are all born equal, but we are not treated equally; that is why we must fight…”

The powerful and heart-wrenching performance included suicide survivors on stage, all of whom had their own unique stories. Each person wore an identical black t-shirt with the suicide hotline number on the front and an inspirational quotation saying, “You Are Not Alone” on the back. All the performers gathered around Logic for a group hug at the end of the song. The theme of the song is that as a society, people must recognize the severity of problems like this that ordinary people go through every day.