LOS ANGELES — Rihanna clearly enjoyed herself at Thursday’s VMAs, giggling and getting serenaded with some One Direction by her bestie, Katy Perry. But with five nominations going in, she had to wait until near the end of the broadcast to take home some hardware. When it came, though the last embrace was the sweetest.

After opening the show with a bracing performance of “Cockiness” with A$AP Rocky and “We Found Love” with house DJ Calvin Harris, she capped the evening with the biggest prize: Video of the Year.

“MTV thank you so much, but most importantly, my fans thank you so much for voting,” she said. “My Navy. Rihanna Navy… it’s Navy or die. I love you guys, thank you, this is awesome.”

Wearing a stunning white, floor length gown and sporting her new cropped ‘do, Rihanna made it to the stage after slapping it with Perry, brushing some dirt off her shoulder and strutting to the podium amid host Kevin Hart’s screaming and DJ Calvin Harris’ fist-pumping.

With the win, she beat out Drake’s “Take Care,” which she is featured on, as well as Gotye’s smash “Somebody That I Used To Know,” bestie Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake” and M.I.A.’s ghost riding “Bad Girls.”

The “Love” clip, directed by frequent collaborator Melina Matsoukas (“Hard,” “S&M”), features British model/boxer Dudley O’Shaughnessy as her green-eyed love interest. The couple fights and fornicates their way through Belfast, Ireland, experiencing the intense ups and downs of love in an altered state.