Ah, the VMAs -- a night to honor some of the greatest musical artists of our time.

The majority of us spend the magical evening at home, watching our favorite stars arrive at the awards, already looking flawless and ready to read pre-written lines from a teleprompter or perform heavily-practiced routines.

Our televisions give us an adequate view of the ceremony, but when we want those priceless, candid celebrity moments, there's only one place to turn... Snapchat.

SEE ALSO:Chrissy Teigen skipped the VMA's and chose delicious sandwiches instead

Only on Snapchat can we see our favorite celebrities ditch their award-winning makeup to look like a deer, get tattoos hours before performing or casually work out backstage before receiving one of the most prestigious awards in MTV history.

These behind-the-scene celebrity VMA Snapchats are here to show you what the awards were reallylike.

Kim Kardashian (kimkardashian)

Credit: kimkardashian/snapchatCredit: kimkardashian/snapchatCredit: kimkardashian/snapchat

Besides showing us that she got to hang with her idol, Britney Spears, Kim used her Snapchat to let us know just how fun it is to use the deer filter with Ariana Grande, snap a pic with the Final Five (minus Gabby Douglas) and grab a gold-worthy selfie with Kanye, Michael Phelps and his fiancé, Nicole Johnson.

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Nick Jonas (jicknonas)

Credit: jicknonas/snapchatCredit: jicknonas/snapchatCredit: jicknonas/snapchat

Before Nick brought the fire with an amazing VMAs performance, the singer prepared for the night with a very low-key gathering where he and his bro, Joe, got matching tattoos before the big night. Luckily, Nick documented his pre-VMA prep on Snapchat, and closed the evening by sipping some champagne, celebrating his successful performance and his brother's big win.

Rihanna (rihanna)

Credit: rihanna/snapchatCredit: rihanna/snapchatCredit: rihanna/snapchat

This was Rihanna's big night. With a total of four amazing performances, the singer still somehow managed to find the time to capture a last minute workout on Snapchat, show a ton of love for her team, accept the Video Vanguard award from Drake and even take a pic of her menu at dinner afterwards.

DJ Khaled (djkhaled305)

Credit: djkhaled305/snapchatCredit: djkhaled305/snapchatCredit: djkhaled305/snapchat

King of the white carpet, DJ Khaled, shared all his major keys for the evening while hosting the exciting VMA pre-show. After a ton of interviews and "fan love," he caught up with friends like Future, Naomi Campbell, Rita Ora and LA Reid. DJ Khaled proved that his Snapchat was the place to be for a behind-the-scenes look at VMA after parties.

Ariana Grande (moonlightbae)

Credit: moonlightbae/snapchatCredit: MOONLIGHTBAE/snapchatCredit: MOONLIGHTBAE/snapchat

Ariana Grande gave us a special glimpse into her VMA life, complete with a hilarious and lengthy saga of her mom attempting to rap before the show. Grande made use of basically every Snapchat filter during her hair and makeup session and then ate a bunch of avocado toast at a VMA after party. That's blessed.

The Chainsmokers (thechainsmokers)

Credit: mashable composite: thechainsmokers/snapchat

We got to see the DJ duo -- Andrew Taggart and Alex Pal -- perform alongside Halsey at the awards, but their Snapchat gave us an up-close-and-personal look at the boys before and after the VMAs.

Puff Daddy (puffdaddy)

Credit: puffdaddy/snapchatCredit: puffdaddy/snapchat

Considering Kanye West referred to Puff Daddy as his "idol" on stage, you could say Sean Combs had quite the successful night. His Snapchat documented his exciting journey to the awards -- from getting groomed to picking out his VMA bling and posing for the paparazzi.

After Puff Daddy hung out with his close buddy DJ Khaled on the white carpet and promoted his new Mango Ciroc, he took us on a very detailed and exclusive journey backstage. There we got to see what it'd be like to in the audience, and hang out with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. No big deal.

Simone Biles (simonebiles)

Credit: MASHABLE COMPOSITE: SIMONEBILES/SNAPCHAT

At her first VMAs, Simone and three of her Team USA girls made a stylish and excited entrance. In between gushing over performances by Rihanna and Ariana Grande and speeches by Kanye West and Beyoncé, Simone managed to present and get her dream selfie with Kim Kardashian -- all while wearing heels.

Credit: mashable composite: simonebiles/snapchat

TopicsMusicSnapchatVMAsCelebrities