The clickiest and most outrageous night in music, aka the VMAs, are just around the corner. Can you believe it's been nearly a year since Madonna's puzzling Aretha Franklin tribute delivered in an indigenous headdress, J. Lo stole the show, and Pete and Ari made their red carpet debut? Big Dick Energy had only just become a thing for god's sake.
The year felt long, but it was also a transformational one, and the VMAs are making updates to reflect those changes.
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This year, for the first time ever, the VMAs will nominate and award an artist for "Best K-Pop." It's only fitting for a year of mass K-pop hysteria, in which BLACKPINK won Coachella (becoming the first female K-pop group ever to play the fest) and broke a world record for YouTube streaming for "Kill This Love. BTS (who is up for four awards) literally released three No. one albums one after another, got their first Grammy nom, and made their SNL debut. Plus, a tsunami of breakout acts like Holland, Monsta X, TXT, Red Velvet, Tiffany Young, KARD went global and collaborating with a K-pop artists became a rite of passage for US stars. "Kill This Love," BTS and Halsey's "Boy With Luv," and Monsta X and French Montana's "Why Do You Love," are among the inaugural nominees for the category.
On top of giving K-pop it's due, this year the VMAs will recognize the deluge of socially conscious pop being released since 45 took office, with a new category called "Video for Good." This category will recognize songs like Halsey's "Nightmare" which spoke to female rage, Lil Dicky's "Earth" which one could say, addressed climate change, and of course, Taylor Swift's self-proclaimed allyship anthem "You Need To Calm Down."
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The VMAs are changing a few things up, but still staunchly loyal to the reigning queens. They're also really into the Lover era. With only two singles out, Taylor Swift scored a total of ten nominations, tying Ariana Grande as the top-nominated performer. They're up against each other for the night's biggest category, Video of The Year. "You Need To Calm Down" and "Thank U, Next," will compete against "Bad Guy" and "Old Town Road" from first-time nominees and the year's biggest break-outs, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X. Billie and Lil Nas lead the nominations Taylor and Ari, with nine and eight respectively. Notably absent were any nominations for Madonna's Madame X.
Halsey, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, and Cardi B also cleaned up. Cardi was the top-nominated artist last year, and in a non-album year, she's still up for four awards, for "Please Me," "Money" and her feature on DJ Snake's "Taki Taki."
No one could predicted this time last year, that we'd be congratulating the Jonas Brothers, who used to take home bouquets of trophies at the Teen Choice and Nickelodeon Kids Choice awards, on four nominations for their Happiness Begins work, including Video of the Year for "Sucker."
Heralding Latin pop's mainstream ascendance, J. Balvin and Rosalía rightfully home four and three noms each. The mainstream-centric show also gave respect to indie experimentalists like H.E.R, Solange and FKA Twigs. They're each nominated for three awards, and if Twigs' fantastical "Cellophane" doesn't snag Best Choreography at very lest, we'll riot.
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Finally, Lizzo has gotten that Best New Artist nomination that's been coming to her.
It's all going down on August 26th at the Prudential Center. Read the full list of nominations, below.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
21 Savage ft. J. Cole – "a lot" – Epic Records
Billie Eilish – "Bad Guy" – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Ariana Grande – "thank u, next" – Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – "Sucker" – Republic Records
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – "Old Town Road (Remix)" – Columbia Records
Taylor Swift – "You Need to Calm Down" – Republic Records
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Cardi B – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Ariana Grande – Republic Records
Halsey – Astralwerks/Capitol Records
Jonas Brothers – Republic Records
Shawn Mendes– Island Records
SONG OF THE YEAR
Drake – "In My Feelings" – Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records
Ariana Grande – "thank u, next" – Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – "Sucker" – Republic Records
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – "Shallow" – Interscope Records
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – "Old Town Road (Remix)" – Columbia Records
Taylor Swift – "You Need to Calm Down" – Republic Records
BEST NEW ARTIST
Ava Max – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records
H.E.R. – MBK/RCA Records
Lil Nas X – Columbia Records
Lizzo – Atlantic Records
ROSALÍA – Columbia Records
BEST COLLABORATION
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – "Old Town Road (Remix)" – Columbia Records
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – "Shallow" – Interscope Records
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – "Señorita" – Island Records
Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – "ME!" – Republic Records
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – "I Don't Care" – Atlantic Records
BTS ft. Halsey – "Boy With Luv" – Columbia Records
PUSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bazzi – Atlantic Records
CNCO – RCA Records
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records
H.E.R. – MBK/RCA Records
Lauv – LAUV/AWAL
Lizzo – Atlantic Records
BEST POP
5 Seconds of Summer – "Easier" – Interscope Records
Cardi B & Bruno Mars – "Please Me" – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – "Bad Guy" – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Ariana Grande – "thank u, next" – Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – "Sucker" – Republic Records
Taylor Swift – "You Need to Calm Down" – Republic Records
BEST HIP HOP
2 Chainz ft. Ariana Grande – "Rule the World" – 2 Chainz Ps/Def Jam
21 Savage ft. J. Cole – "a lot" – Epic Records
Cardi B – "Money" – Atlantic Records
DJ Khaled ft. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend – "Higher" – We The Best/Epic Records
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – "Old Town Road (Remix)" – Columbia Records
Travis Scott ft. Drake – "SICKO MODE" – Epic Records/Grand Hustle/Cactus Jack
BEST R&B
Anderson .Paak ft. Smokey Robinson – "Make It Better" – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music
Childish Gambino – "Feels Like Summer" – RCA Records
H.E.R. ft. Bryson Tiller – "Could've Been" – MBK/RCA Records
Alicia Keys – "Raise A Man" – RCA Records
Ella Mai – "Trip" – 10 Summers/Interscope Records
Normani ft. 6lack – "Waves" – Keep Cool/RCA Records
BEST K-POP
BTS ft. Halsey – "Boy With Luv" – Columbia Records
BLACKPINK – "Kill This Love" – YG Entertainment/Interscope Records
Monsta X ft. French Montana – "Who Do You Love" – Epic Records
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – "Cat & Dog" – Republic Records
NCT 127 – "Regular" – SM Entertainment
EXO – "Tempo" – SM Entertainment
BEST LATIN
Anuel AA, Karol G – "Secreto" – Universal Music Latino
Bad Bunny ft. Drake – "MIA" – OVO Sound/Warner Bros. Records
benny blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, J Balvin – "I Can't Get Enough" – NEON16/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records
Daddy Yankee ft. Snow – "Con Calma" – Universal Music Latin Entertainment
Maluma – "Mala Mía" – Sony Music US Latin
ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – "Con Altura" – Columbia Records
BEST DANCE
The Chainsmokers ft. Bebe Rexha – "Call You Mine" – Disruptor/Columbia Records
Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato – "Solo" – Big Beat/Atlantic Records
DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B – "Taki Taki" – DJ Snake Music Productions Ltd/Geffen
David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin – "Say My Name" – Big Beat/Atlantic Records
Marshmello & Bastille – "Happier" – Capitol Records
Silk City & Dua Lipa – "Electricity" – Columbia Records
BEST ROCK
The 1975 – "Love It If We Made It" – Dirty Hit/Interscope Records
Fall Out Boy – "Bishops Knife Trick" – Island Records
Imagine Dragons – "Natural" – KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records
Lenny Kravitz – "Low" – BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Panic! At The Disco – "High Hopes" – Elektra Music Group
twenty one pilots – "My Blood" – Elektra Music Group
VIDEO FOR GOOD
Halsey – "Nightmare" – Astralwerks/Capitol Records
The Killers – "Land of the Free" – Island
Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey ft. Gallant – "Runaway Train" – Interscope Records
John Legend – "Preach" – Columbia Records
Lil Dicky – "Earth" – Dirty Burd, Inc./Commission/BMG
Taylor Swift – "You Need to Calm Down" – Republic Records
BEST DIRECTION
Billie Eilish – "Bad Guy" – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Directed by Dave Meyers
FKA twigs – "Cellophane" – Young Turks – Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang
Ariana Grande – "thank you, next" – Republic Records – Directed by Hannah Lux Davis
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – "Old Town Road (Remix)" – Columbia Records – Directed by Calmatic
LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – "No New Friends" – Columbia Records – Directed by Dano Cerny
Taylor Swift – "You Need to Calm Down" – Republic Records – Directed by Drew Kirsch & Taylor Swift
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Billie Eilish – "when the party's over" – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Visual Effects by Ryan Ross, Andres Jaramillo
FKA twigs – "Cellophane" – Young Turks – Visual Effects by Matt Chandler, Fabio Zaveti for Analog
Ariana Grande – "God is a Woman" – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Fabrice Lagayette, Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic
DJ Khaled ft. SZA – "Just Us" – We The Best/Epic Records – Visual Effects by Sergii Mashevskyi
LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – "No New Friends" – Columbia Records – Visual Effects by Ethan Chancer
Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – "ME!" – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX
BEST EDITING
Anderson .Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar – "Tints" – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music – Editing by Elias Talbot
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – "Old Town Road (Remix)" – Columbia Record – Editing by Calmatic
Billie Eilish – "Bad Guy" – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Editing by Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande – "7 Rings" – Republic Records – Editing by Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh
Solange – "Almeda" – Columbia Records – Editing by Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor
Taylor Swift – "You Need to Calm Down" – Republic Records – Editing by Jarrett Fijal
BEST ART DIRECTION
BTS ft. Halsey – "Boy With Luv" – Columbia Records – Art Direction by JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E)
Ariana Grande – "7 Rings" – Republic Records – Art Direction by John Richoux
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – "Old Town Road (Remix)" – Columbia Records – Art Direction by Itaru Dela Vegas
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – "Señorita" – Island Records – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter
Taylor Swift – "You Need to Calm Down" – Republic Records – Art Direction by Brittany Porter
Kanye West and Lil' Pump ft. Adele Givens – "I Love It" – Warner Records & Def Jam Music Group – Art Direction by Tino Schaedler
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
FKA twigs – "Cellophane" – Young Turks – Choreography by Kelly Yvonne
ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – "Con Altura" – Columbia Records – Choreography by Charm La'Donna
LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – "No New Friends" – Columbia Records – Choreography by Ryan Heffington
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – "Señorita" – Island Records – Choreography by Calvit Hodge, Sara Biv
Solange – "Almeda" – Columbia Records – Choreography by Maya Taylor, Solange Knowles
BTS ft. Halsey – "Boy With Luv" – Columbia Records – Choreography by Rie Hata
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anderson .Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar – "Tints" – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music – Cinematography by Elias Talbot
Billie Eilish – "hostage" – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Cinematography by Pau Castejon
Ariana Grande – "thank you, next" – Republic Records – Cinematography by Christopher Probst
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – "Señorita" – Island Records – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham
Solange – "Almeda" – Columbia Records – Cinematography by Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton
Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – "ME!" – Republic Records – Cinematography by Starr Whitesides
Photo via Getty
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