The nominations for the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards have been announced, and I promise, this year’s race will be an entertaining one.
Leading the pack with 11 nominations is Beyonce — her most at any single VMAs yet — with her visual album “Lemonade.” Adele is second with eight nods. Then, of course, the Video of the Year category is stacked with viable contenders. It could go to anyone — pitting Adele’s “Hello,” Beyonce’s “Formation,” Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and Kanye West’s “Famous” against each other.
This year, MTV introduced a new category to the awards: Breakthrough Long Form Video. This year’s nominees include Florence and the Machine, Beyonce, Bieber, Chris Brown and Troye Sivan.
The late David Bowie picked up four nominations, one for “Blackstar” (Best Art Direction) and three for “Lazarus” (Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing).
One thing that is absent from this year’s nominations is Taylor Swift. Swift didn’t receive a single nod after leading with 10 nominations last year. It could be possible that she wasn’t nominated because her album, “1989,” came out in late 2014. In the past year, Swift has released three music videos — “Wildest Dreams,” “Out of the Woods” and “New Romantics.”
The 2015 VMAs is going to be a hard year to follow. With Miley Cyrus feuding with Nicki Minaj during the live broadcast, West promising a 2020 presidential run and, to end the night, Cyrus dropping a surprise album. Who knows what will happen this year?
Beginning July 26, fans can start voting for their favorite artists in the categories Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Female Video and the new Best Long Form Video category at http://www.vma.mtv.com/. Voting for Best New Artist will stay open through the VMAs pre-show.
This year, the VMAs will be held at New York’s Madison Square Garden for the first time. The show will air on Aug. 28 on MTV.
Video of the Year:
Adele – “Hello”
Beyonce – “Formation”
Drake – “Hotline Bling”
Justin Bieber – “Sorry”
Kanye West – “Famous”
Best Female Video:
Adele – “Hello”
Beyonce – “Hold Up”
Sia – “Cheap Thrills”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”
Rihanna ft. Drake – “Work” (short version)
Best Male Video:
Drake – “Hotline Bling”
Bryson Tiller – “Don’t”
Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For”
Kanye West – “Famous”
The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
Best Collaboration:
Beyonce ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Freedom”
Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Work From Home”
Ariana Grande ft. Lil Wayne – “Let Me Love You”
Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For”
Rihanna ft. Drake – “Work” (short version)
Best Hip Hop Video:
Drake – “Hotline”
Desiigner – “Panda”
Bryson Tiller – “Don’t”
Chance The Rapper ft. Saba – “Angels”
2 Chainz – “Watch Out”
Best Pop Video:
Adele – “Hello”
Beyonce – “Formation”
Justin Bieber – “Sorry”
Alessia Cara – “Wild Things”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”
Best Rock Video:
All Time Low – “Missing You”
Coldplay – “Adventure Of A Lifetime”
Fall Out Boy ft. Demi Lovato – “Irresistible”
Twenty One Pilots – “Heathens”
Panic! At The Disco – “Victorious”
Best Electronic Video:
Calvin Harris & Disciples – “How Deep Is Your Love”
99 Souls ft. Destiny’s Child & Brandy – “The Girl Is Mine”
Mike Posner – “I Took A Pill In Ibiza”
Afrojack – “SummerThing!”
The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down”
Breakthrough Long Form Video:
Florence + The Machine – “The Odyssey”
Beyonce – “Lemonade”
Justin Bieber – “PURPOSE: The Movement”
Chris Brown – “Royalty”
Troye Sivan – “Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy”
Best New Artist:
Bryson Tiller
Desiigner
Zara Larsson
Lukas Graham
DNCE
Best Art Direction:
Beyonce – “Hold Up”
Fergie – “M.I.L.F.$”
Drake – “Hotline Bling”
David Bowie – “Blackstar”
Adele – “Hello”
Best Choreography:
Beyonce – “Formation”
Missy Elliott ft. Pharrell – “WTF (Where They Form)”
Beyonce – “Sorry”
FKA Twigs – “M3LL155X”
Florence + The Machine – “Delilah”
Best Direction:
Beyonce – “Formation”
Coldplay – “Up&Up”
Adele – “Hello”
David Bowie – “Lazarus”
Tame Impala – “The Less I Know The Better”
Best Cinematography:
Beyonce – “Formation”
Adele – “Hello”
David Bowie – “Lazarus”
Alesso – “I Wanna Know”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”
Best Editing:
Beyonce – “Formation”
Adele – “Hello”
Fergie – “M.I.L.F.$”
David Bowie – “Lazarus”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”
Best Visual Effects:
Coldplay – “Up&Up”
FKA Twigs – “M3LL155X”
Adele – “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)”
The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
Zayn – “PILLOWTALK”