Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande lead 2020 MTV Video Music Award nominations
Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga lead the 2020 MTV Video Music Award nominations with nine apiece, including co-nominations for Video of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Collaboration for “Rain on Me,” followed by Billie Eilish and The Weeknd with six each.
Two new categories this year speak the current times of life in the era of coronavirus: Best Music Video from home and Best Quarantine Performance.
Starting today, fans can vote across 15 categories including video of the year, artist of the year, best quarantine performance and more at this link until Aug. 23. Voting for the PUSH best new artist category will remain active into the show on Aug. 30.
This year’s MTV VMAs will take place at the Barclays Center on Sunday, August 30. It’s the first time the show has hit the iconic Downtown Brooklyn venue since 2013. But this time, the action isn’t contained just to the arena, or even the borough in which it sits.
For the 2020 show, the VMAs are going wide, featuring performances from various iconic locations throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island, to honor the spirit and resilience of New York.
The 2020 VMAs will be the first event to take place at Barclays Center since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the city. Of course, the virus is still very real, which means an added emphasis and focus on safety. The governor’s announcement came with the note of “limited or no audience.”
“Show producers alongside Barclays Center management have been working closely with state and local officials to implement best practices for everyone involved,” according to a statement. “Among the measures all parties involved have aligned on include extensive social distancing procedures, meaningful capacity limitations and the virtualization of components where possible.”
See the full list of nominations below.
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, Presented by Chime Banking
- 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
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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