The MTV Video Music Awards announced that they would be going forward on August 30, and with exactly one month to go before that date, they finally announced the nominees on July 30. Winners in most categories will be decided by music fans voting online through August 23. The Best New Artist category will be open for voting until the night of the telecast. Scroll down to see the complete list of contenders.
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande are the biggest nominees with nine apiece. Most of those are for their collaboration together, “Rain on Me,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in June shortly after the release of Gaga’s new album “Chromatica.” Gaga has an especially storied history at the VMAs. In 2010 she won 8 out of her 13 nominations including Video of the Year for “Bad Romance.” That’s the record for the most nominations for an artist in a single year, and she’s tied for second as the winningest artist in a single year, behind only Peter Gabriel, who won 10 times in 1987. Grande, meanwhile, has won five times, but she has yet to win Video of the Year. Could they be even stronger together than they have been apart?
Billie Eilish and The Weeknd are next in line; they have six nominations apiece. Like Gaga and Grande they’re nominated for Video of the Year, Eilish for “Everything I Wanted” and The Weeknd for “Blinding Lights.” Eilish won three times last year: Best New Artist, Push Artist of the Year and Best Editing for “Bad Guy.” But The Weeknd is still waiting for his first win after 11 previous nominations.
Joining them in the top category are “Godzilla” by Eminem featuring the late Juice WRLD, “Life is Good” by Future featuring Drake, and “The Man” by Taylor Swift. Of those, Swift is especially formidable given her popularity with fans over the years and the fact that her fan base is active right now with the surprise release of her new album “Folklore.” She won Video of the Year for “Bad Blood” and again in 2019 for “You Need to Calm Down,” which makes her one of the few to win top honors twice as a lead artist along with Eminem, Rihanna and Beyonce. If she wins for a third time, she’d be the first to achieve that feat.
See who else earned nominations below. Who are you rooting for?
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “everything i wanted”
Eminem ft. Juice WRLD – “Godzilla”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Taylor Swift – “The Man”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
DaBaby
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Megan Thee Stallion
Post Malone
The Weeknd
SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “everything i wanted”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage”
Post Malone – “Circles”
Roddy Ricch – “The Box”
BEST COLLABORATION
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U”
Black Eyed Peas ft. J Balvin – “RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)”
Ed Sheeran ft. Khalid – “Beautiful People”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Karol G ft. Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
PUSH BEST NEW ARTIST
Doja Cat
Jack Harlow
Lewis Capaldi
Roddy Ricch
Tate McRae
YUNGBLUD
BEST POP
BTS – “On”
Halsey – “You should be sad”
Jonas Brothers – “What a Man Gotta Do”
Justin Bieber ft. Quavo – “Intentions”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me”
Taylor Swift – “Lover”
BEST HIP-HOP
DaBaby – “BOP”
Eminem ft. Juice WRLD – “Godzilla”
Future ft. Drake – “Life Is Good”
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage”
Roddy Ricch – “The Box”
Travis Scott – “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM”
BEST ROCK
blink-182 – “Happy Days”
Coldplay – “Orphans”
Evanescence – “Wasted On You”
Fall Out Boy ft. Wyclef Jean – “Dear Future Self (Hands Up)”
Green Day – “Oh Yeah!”
The Killers – “Caution”
BEST ALTERNATIVE
The 1975 – “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)”
All Time Low – “Some Kind Of Disaster”
FINNEAS – “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night”
Lana Del Rey – “Doin’ Time”
Machine Gun Kelly – “Bloody Valentine”
twenty one pilots – “Level of Concern”
BEST LATIN
Anuel AA ft. Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, Karol G & J Balvin – “China”
Bad Bunny – “Yo Perreo Sola”
Black Eyed Peas ft. Ozuna & J. Rey Soul – “MAMACITA”
J Balvin – “Amarillo”
Karol G ft. Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
Maluma ft. J Balvin – “Qué Pena”
BEST R&B
Alicia Keys – “Underdog”
Chloe x Halle – “Do It”
H.E.R. ft. YG – “Slide”
Khalid ft. Summer Walker – “Eleven”
Lizzo – “Cuz I Love You”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
BEST K-POP
(G)I-DLE – “Oh My God”
BTS – “On”
EXO – “Obsession”
Monsta X – “SOMEONE’S SOMEONE”
Tomorrow X Together – “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)”
Red Velvet – “Psycho”
VIDEO FOR GOOD
Anderson .Paak – “Lockdown”
Billie Eilish – “all the good girls go to hell”
Demi Lovato – “I Love Me”
H.E.R. – ”I Can’t Breathe”
Lil Baby – “The Bigger Picture”
Taylor Swift – “The Man”
BEST MUSIC VIDEO FROM HOME
5 Seconds of Summer – “Wildflower”
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U”
blink-182 – “Happy Days”
Drake – “Toosie Slide”
John Legend – “Bigger Love”
twenty one pilots – “Level of Concern”
BEST QUARANTINE PERFORMANCE
Chloe & Halle – “Do It” from MTV’s Prom-athon
CNCO – Unplugged At Home
DJ D-Nice – Club MTV presents #DanceTogether
John Legend – #togetherathome Concert Series
Lady Gaga – “Smile” from One World: Together At Home
Post Malone – Nirvana Tribute
BEST DIRECTION
Billie Eilish – “xanny” – Directed by Billie Eilish
Doja Cat – “Say So” – Directed by Hannah Lux Davis
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now” – Directed by Nabil
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Directed by Dave Meyers
Taylor Swift – “The Man” – Directed by Taylor Swift
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Directed by Anton Tammi
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
5 Seconds of Summer – “Old Me” – Cinematography by Kieran Fowler
Camila Cabello ft. DaBaby – “My Oh My” – Cinematography by Dave Meyers
Billie Eilish – “all the good girls go to hell” – Cinematography by Christopher Probst
Katy Perry – “Harleys In Hawaii” – Cinematography by Arnau Valls
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Cinematography by Thomas Kloss
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Cinematography by Oliver Millar
BEST ART DIRECTION
A$AP Rocky – “Babushka Boi” – Art Direction by A$AP Rocky & Nadia Lee Cohen
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Art Direction by Anna Colomé Nogu ́
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Art Direction by Laura Ellis Cricks
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” – Art Direction by Christian Stone
Selena Gomez – “Boyfriend” – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter
Taylor Swift – “Lover” – Art Direction by Ethan Tobman
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Billie Eilish – “all the good girls go to hell” – Visual Effects by Drive Studios
Demi Lovato – “I Love Me” – Visual Effects by Hoody FX
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Visual Effects by EIGHTY4
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Visual Effects by Mathematic
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Visual Effects by Ingenuity Studios
Travis Scott – “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” – Visual Effects by ARTJAIL, SCISSOR FILMS & FRENDER
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
BTS – “On” – Choreography by Son Sung Deuk, Lee Ga Hun, Lee Byung Eun
CNCO & Natti Natasha – “Honey Boo” – Choreography by Kyle Hanagami
DaBaby – “BOP” – Choreography by Dani Leigh and Cherry
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Choreography by Charm La’Donna
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Choreography by Richy Jackson
Normani – “Motivation” – Choreography by Sean Bankhead
BEST EDITING
Halsey – “Graveyard” – Edited by Emilie Aubry, Janne Vartia & Tim Montana
James Blake – “Can’t Believe the Way We Flow” – Edited by Frank Lebon
Lizzo – “Good As Hell” – Edited by Russell Santos & Sofia Kerpan
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” – Edited by Alexandre Moors, Nuno Xico
ROSALÍA – “A Palé” – Edited by Andre Jones
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Edited by Janne Vartia & Tim Montana
Be sure to make your Grammy predictions so that record executives and top name stars can see how their music is faring in our Grammy odds. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until nominees are announced. And join in the fierce debate over the 2021 Grammys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our music forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
