2021 MTV Video Music Awards: Justin Bieber leads with 7 nominations, followed by Megan Thee Stallion and Olivia Rodrigo
The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards will return to New York City for a live ceremony to be broadcast Sunday, September 12 on MTV. The nominations for the annual event were announced Tuesday with a list of both VMA veterans and new artists.
Justin Bieber has the opportunity to take home seven "Moon Person" statues, making him the most nominated person this year. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion follows closely behind with six nominations.
Billie Eilish, BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo and Giveon each are tied with five nominations for an array of music videos, including "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" and "Kiss Me More."
Fans can vote for their favorite nominees at the MTV page here.
The VMAs, which had been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the first time in seven years. It will also collaborate with the nonprofit 9/11 Day to honor victims of the 2001 terror attacks, which marks its 20th anniversary.
See the full list of nominations below:
Video of the Year
- "WAP" – Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, Atlantic Records
- "Popstar" – DJ Khaled ft. Drake (starring Justin Bieber) OVO / We The Best / Epic Records
- "Kiss Me More" – Doja Cat ft. SZA, Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
- "Bad Habits" – Ed Sheeran, Atlantic Records
- "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" – Lil Nas X, Columbia Records
- "Save Your Tears" – The Weeknd, XO / Republic Records
Artist of the Year
- Ariana Grande, Republic Records
- Doja Cat, Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
- Justin Bieber, Def Jam
- Megan Thee Stallion, 300 Entertainment
- Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen Records
- Taylor Swift, Republic Records
Song of the Year
- "Mood" – 24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior, Records LLC / Columbia Records
- "Leave the Door Open" – Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic, Aftermath Entertainment / Atlantic Records
- "Dynamite" – BTS, Bighit Music
- "WAP" – Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, Atlantic Records
- "Levitating" – Dua Lipa, Warner Records
- "Drivers License" – Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen Records
Best New Artist
- 24kGoldn, Records LLC / Columbia Records
- Giveon, Epic Records / Not So Fast
- The Kid Laroi, Columbia Records
- Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen Records
- Polo G, Columbia Records
- Saweetie, Warner Records
Push Performance of the Year
- "Are You Bored Yet?" – Wallows, Atlantic Records
- "Daisy" – Ashnikko, Warner Records
- "Gorgeous" – Saint Jhn, Godd Complexx / HITCO
- "Coco" – 24kGoldn, Records LLC / Columbia Records
- "Break My Heart" – JC Stewart, Elektra Music Group
- "Sex Lies" – Latto, RCA Records
- "Selfish" – Madison Beer, Epic Records / Sing It Loud
- "Without You" – The Kid Laroi, Columbia Records
- "Drivers License" – Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen Records
- "Serotonin" – Girl in Red, World in Red / AWAL
- "My Slime" – Fousheé, RCA Records
- "Think About Me" – Jxdn, DTA Records / Elektra Music Group
Best Collaboration
- "Mood" – 24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior, Records LLC / Columbia Records
- "WAP" – Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, Atlantic Records
- "Kiss Me More" – Doja Cat ft. SZA, Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
- "Laugh Now Cry Later" – Drake ft. Lil Durk, OVO / Republic Records
- "Peaches" – Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon, Def Jam
- "Prisoner" – Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa, RCA Records
Best Pop
- "Positions" – Ariana Grande, Republic Records
- "Therefore I Am" – Billie Eilish, Darkroom / Interscope Records
- "Butter" – BTS, Bighit Music
- "Treat People With Kindness" – Harry Styles, Columbia Records
- "Peaches" – Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon, Def Jam
- "Good 4 U" – Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen Records
- "Wonder" – Shawn Mendes, Island Records
- "Willow" – Taylor Swift, Republic Records
Best Hip-Hop
- "WAP" – Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, Atlantic Records
- "Laugh Now Cry Later" – Drake ft. Lil Durk, OVO / Republic Records
- "On Me (remix)" – Lil Baby ft. Megan Thee Stallion, Quality Control / Motown
- "Said Sum" – Moneybagg Yo, N-Less Entertainment / Interscope Records
- "Rapstar" – Polo G, Columbia Records
- "Franchise" – Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A., Cactus Jack / Epic Records
Best Rock
- "Use My Voice" – Evanescence, BMG
- "Shame Shame" – Foo Fighters, Roswell Records / RCA Records
- "Last Train Home" – John Mayer, Columbia Records
- "My Own Soul's Warning" – The Killers, Island
- "The Bandit" – Kings Of Leon, RCA Records
- "Raise Vibration" – Lenny Kravitz, Roxie Records / BMG
Best Alternative
- "Stop Making This Hurt" – Bleachers, RCA Records
- "Heat Waves" – Glass Animals, Republic Records
- "Follow You" – Imagine Dragons, Kidinakorner / Interscope Records
- "My Ex's Best Friend" – Machine Gun Kelly ft. Blackbear, Bad Boy / Interscope Records
- "Shy Away" – Twenty One Pilots, Fueled By Ramen
- "Transparent Soul" – Willow ft. Travis Barker, MSFTSMusic / Roc Nation
Best Latin
- "Dákiti" – Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez, The Orchard
- "Lo Vas A Olvidar" – Billie Eilish & Rosalía, Darkroom / Interscope Records
- "Girl Like Me" – Black Eyed Peas and Shakira, Epic Records
- "Un Die (One Day)" – Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy, Universal Music Latino / Neon16
- "Bichota" – Karol G, Universal Music Latino
- "Hawái" – Maluma, Sony Music US Latin
Best R&B
- "Brown Skin Girl" – Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Saint Jhn, WizKid, Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
- "Leave the Door Open" – Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic, Aftermath Entertainment / Atlantic Records
- "Go Crazy" – Chris Brown and Young Thug, Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA Records
- "Heartbreak Anniversary" – Giveon, Epic Records / Not So Fast
- "Come Through" – H.E.R. ft. Chris Brown, MBK Entertainment / RCA Records
- "Good Days" – SZA, Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records
Best K-pop
- "Dumdi Dumdi" – G)I-DLE, Republic Records
- "Ice Cream" – Blackpink and Selena Gomez, YG Entertainment / Interscope Records
- "Butter" – BTS, Bighit Music
- "Gambler" – Monsta X, Starship Entertainment
- "Ready to love" – Seventeen, Pledis Entertainment
- "Alcohol-Free" – Twice, JYP Entertainment Company
Video For Good
- "Your Power" – Billie Eilish, Darkroom / Interscope Records
- "Dancing With the Devil" – Demi Lovato, Island
- "Fight For You" – H.E.R., MBK Entertainment / RCA Records
- "Worldwide Beautiful" – Kane Brown, Sony Music Nashville / RCA Records
- "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" – Lil Nas X, Columbia Records
- "Entrepreneur" – Pharrell Williams ft. Jay-Z, Columbia Records
Best Direction
- "Your Power" – Billie Eilish, Directed by: Billie Eilish, Darkroom / Interscope Records
- "Popstar (starring Justin Bieber)" – DJ Khaled ft. Drake, Directed by: Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X, OVO / We The Best / Epic Records
- "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" – Lil Nas X directed by: Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino, Columbia Records
- "Willow" – Taylor Swift, Directed by: Taylor Swift, Republic Records
- "Franchise" – Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A, Directed by: Travis Scott, Cactus Jack / Epic Records
- "Lumberjack" – Tyler, The Creator, Directed by: Wolf Haley, Columbia Records
Best Cinematography
- "Brown Skin Girl" – Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid, Cinematography by: Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, Mohammaed Atta Ahmed, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant, Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
- "Therefore I Am" – Billie Eilish, Cinematography by: Rob Witt, Darkroom / Interscope Records
- "Shame Shame" – Foo Fighters, Cinematography by: Santiago Gonzalez, Roswell Records / RCA Records
- "Holy" – Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper, Cinematography by: Elias Talbot, RBMG / Def Jam
- "911" – Lady Gaga, Cinematography by: Jeff Cronenweth, Interscope Records
- "Solar Power" – Lorde, Cinematography by: Andrew Stroud, LAVA/Republic Records
Best Art Direction
- "Already" – Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer, Art Direction by: Susan Linns, Gerard Santos, Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
- "Bad Habits" – Ed Sheeran, Art Direction by: Alison Dominitz, Atlantic Records
- "911" – Lady Gaga, Art Direction by: Tom Foden, Peter Andrus, Interscope Records
- "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" – Lil Nas X, Art Direction by: John Richoux, Columbia Records
- "Best Friend" – Saweetie ft. Doja Cat, Art Direction by: Art Haynes, Warner Records
- "Willow" – Taylor Swift, Art Direction by: Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez, Republic Records
Best Visual Effects
- "Build a Bitch" – Bella Poarch, Visual Effects by: Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova, Warner Records
- "Higher Power" – Coldplay, Visual Effects by: Mathematic, Atlantic Records
- "You Right" – Doja Cat & The Weeknd, Visual Effects by: La Pac, Anthony Lestremau, Julien Missaire, Petr Shkolniy, Alexi Bailla, Micha Sher, Antoine Hache, Mikros MPC, Nicolas Huget, Guillaume Ho Tsong Fang, Benjamin Lenfant, Stephane Pivron, MPC Bangalore, Chanakya Chander, Raju Ganesh, David Rouxel, Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
- "Tangerine" – Glass Animals, Visual Effects by: Ronan Fourreau, Republic Records
- "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" – Lil Nas X, Visual Effects by: Mathematic, Columbia Records
- "All I Know So Far" – P!nk, Visual Effects by: BUF, VFX Supervisors: Dominique Vidal & Geoffrey Niquet, VFX Producers: Annabelle Zoellin & Camille Gibrat, RCA Records
Best Choreography
- "34+35" – Ariana Grande, Choreography by: Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson, Republic Records
- "Butter" – BTS, Choreography by: Son Sung with BHM Performance Directing Team, Bighit Music
- "Bad Habits" – Ed Sheeran, Choreography by: Natricia Bernard, Atlantic Records
- "Shame Shame" – Foo Fighters, Choreography by: Nina McNeely, Roswell Records / RCA Records
- "Treat People With Kindness" – Harry Styles, Columbia Records
- "Be Kind" – Marshmello & Halsey, Choreography by: Dani Vitale, Astralwerks / Capitol Records
Best Editing
- "Leave the Door Open" – Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic, Editing by: Troy Charbonnet, Aftermath Entertainment/Atlantic Records
- "Butter" – BTS, Editing by: Yong Seok Choi from Lumpens, Bighit Music
- "What's Next" – Drake, Editing by: Noah Kendal, OVO / Republic Records
- "Treat People With Kindness" – Harry Styles, Columbia Records
- "Peaches" – Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon, Def Jam
- "Prisoner" – Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa, RCA Records
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