HOLLYWOOD—The nominees for the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards were announced on Wednesday, August 11 and leading the pack is an expected contender and another unexpected contender. Justin Bieber earned a total of seven nominations including Video of the Year, while female rapper Megan Thee Stallion earned six nods. Bieber has also earned nominations for Artist of the Year and Best Pop Video.
Megan is also competing against Bieber for Video of the Year for the eye-opening “WAP.” Others earning multiple nods include Billie Eilish, BTS, Doja Cat, Drake and Lil Nas X with five nominations each. There is quite a bit of variety in 2021 people and that is a great thing this year in the world of music, where I would have expected bigger hits considering the pandemic literally shut everything down for months. Not the case though people. This year’s nominees are listed below.
Video of the Year
-Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion “WAP”
-DJ Khaled ft. Drake “Popstar” (Starring Justin Bieber) – OVO
-Doja Cat ft. SZA “Kiss Me More”
-Ed Sheeran “Bad Habits”
-Lil Nas X “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
-The Weeknd “Save Your Tears”
Artist of the Year
-Ariana Grande
-Doja Cat
-Justin Bieber
-Megan Thee Stallion
-Olivia Rodrigo
-Taylor Swift
Song of the Year
-24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior “Mood”
-Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic “Leave the Door Open”
-BTS: “Dynamite”
-Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion “WAP”
-Dua Lipa “Levitating”
-Olivia Rodrigo “Drivers License”
Best New Artist
-24kGoldn
-Giveon
-The Kid Laroi
-Olivia Rodrigo
-Polo G
-Saweetie
Push Performance of the Year
-Wallows “Are You Bored Yet?”
-Ashnikko “Daisy”
-Saint Jhn “Gorgeous”
-24kGoldn “Coco”
-JC Stewart “Break My Heart”
-Latto “Sex Lies”
-Madison Beer “Selfish”
-The Kid Laroi “Without You”
-Olivia Rodrigo “Drivers License”
-Girl in Red “Serotonin”
-Fousheé “My Slime”
-Jxdn “Think About Me”
Best Collaboration
-24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior “Mood”
-Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion “WAP”
-Doja Cat ft. SZA “Kiss Me More”
-Drake ft. Lil Durk “Laugh Now Cry Later”
-Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon “Peaches”
-Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa “Prisoner”
Best Pop
-Ariana Grande“Positions”
-Billie Eilish “Therefore I Am”
-BTS “Butter”
-Harry Styles “Treat People With Kindness”
-Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon “Peaches”
-Olivia Rodrigo “Good 4 U”
-Shawn Mendes “Wonder”
-Taylor Swift “Willow”
Best Hip-Hop
-Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion “WAP”
-Drake ft. Lil Durk “Laugh Now Cry Later”
-Lil Baby ft. Megan Thee Stallion “On Me (remix)”
-Moneybagg Yo “Said Sum”
-Polo G: “Rapstar”
-Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A. “Franchise”
Best Rock
-Evanescence “Use My Voice”
-Foo Fighters “Shame Shame”
-John Mayer “Last Train Home”
-The Killers “My Own Soul’s Warning”
-Kings Of Leon “The Bandit”
-Lenny Kravitz “Raise Vibration”
Best Alternative
-Bleachers “Stop Making This Hurt”
-Glass Animals “Heat Waves”
-Imagine Dragons “Follow You”
-Machine Gun Kelly ft. Blackbear “My Ex’s Best Friend”
-Twenty One Pilots “Shy Away”
-Willow ft. Travis Barker “Transparent Soul”
Best Latin
-Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez “Dákiti”
-Billie Eilish & Rosalía “Lo Vas A Olvidar”
-Black Eyed Peas and Shakira “Girl Like Me”
-Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy “Un Die (One Day)”
-Karol G “Bichota”
-Maluma “Hawái”
Best R&B
-Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Saint Jhn, WizKid: “Brown Skin Girl”
-Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: “Leave the Door Open”
-Chris Brown and Young Thug “Go Crazy”
-Giveon “Heartbreak Anniversary”
-H.E.R. ft. Chris Brown “Come Through”
-SZA “Good Days”
Best K-pop
-(G)I-DLE “Dumdi Dumdi”
-Blackpink and Selena Gomez “Ice Cream”
-BTS “Butter”
-Monsta X “Gambler”
-Seventeen “Ready to love”
-Twice “Alcohol-Free”
Video For Good
-Billie Eilish “Your Power”
-Demi Lovato “Dancing With the Devil”
-H.E.R. “Fight For You”
-Kane Brown “Worldwide Beautiful”
-Lil Nas X “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
-Pharrell Williams ft. Jay-Z “Entrepreneur”
The ceremony is slated to air live on Sunday, September 12 live on MTV. The event will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the first time in 8 years. A host for the show has not yet been announced.
