Ladies rule the 2019 Video Music Award nominations, with Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift leading this year’s list of contenders for the annual MTV award show at 10 nominations each.
Among these categories are video of the year, where Grande’s rom-com fueled “thank u, next” and Swift’s pride-themed “You Need to Calm Down” were both recognized. Each track was also nominated for other categories, including song of the year and best pop video. Hannah Lux Davis, who directed “thank u, next,” and Drew Kirsch and Swift, who directed “You Need to Calm Down,” were also recognized in the directing category.
The VMA nominations have also recognized recent break-through talent Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X. Each are up for best new artist. They both also received nominations for video of the year — Eilish for “Bad Guys” and Lil Nas for “Old Town Road (Remix),” which features Billy Ray Cyrus.
The VMAs introduced two new categories this year. One is best K-Pop, which includes a nomination for “Boy With Luv” from BTS, featuring Halsey. The other category is video for good, which includes nominations for John Legend’s socially conscious “Preach” and Lil Dicky’s “Earth,” which donates proceeds from that song’s sales to environmental charities.
Other stand-outs include both a song of the year and a best collaboration nomination for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s duet “Shallow” from their 2018 remake of “A Star is Born.” The song won two Grammy Awards earlier this year, including best pop/duo group performance, as well as the Oscar for best original song. Lady Gaga was recently asked to join the Motion Picture Academy.
The best hip hop category includes a nomination for DJ Khaled’s “Higher,” which features the work of Legend and the late Nipsey Hussle.
The 2019 VMAs, hosted by comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, will air on August 26.
The full list of nominees is as follows.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“a lot,” 21 Savage ft. J. Cole
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish
“thank u, next,” Ariana Grande
“Sucker,” Jonas Brothers
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Cardi B
Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande
Halsey
Jonas Brothers
Shawn Mendes
SONG OF THE YEAR
“In My Feelings,” Drake
“thank u, next,” Ariana Grande
“Sucker,” Jonas Brothers
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift
BEST NEW ARTIST
Ava Max
Billie Eilish
H.E.R.
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
ROSALÍA
BEST COLLABORATION
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
“Shallow,” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“Señorita,” Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
“ME!,” Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco
“I Don’t Care,” Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber
“Boy With Luv,” BTS ft. Halsey
PUSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bazzi
CNCO
Billie Eilish
H.E.R.
Lauv
Lizzo
BEST POP
“Easier,” 5 Seconds of Summer
“Please Me,” Cardi B & Bruno Mars
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish
“Talk,” Khalid
“thank u, next,” Ariana Grande
“Sucker,” Jonas Brothers
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift
BEST HIP HOP
“Rule the World,” 2 Chainz ft. Ariana Grande
“a lot,” 21 Savage ft. J. Cole
“Money,” Cardi B
“Higher,” DJ Khaled ft. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
“SICKO MODE,” Travis Scott ft. Drake
BEST R&B
“Make It Better,” Anderson .Paak ft. Smokey Robinson
“Feels Like Summer,” Childish Gambino
“Could’ve Been,” H.E.R. ft. Bryson Tiller
“Raise A Man,” Alicia Keys
“Trip,” Ella Mai
“Waves,” Normani ft. 6lack
BEST K-POP
“Boy With Luv,” BTS ft. Halsey
“Kill This Love,” BLACKPINK
“Who Do You Love,” Monsta X ft. French Montana
“Cat & Dog,” TOMORROW X TOGETHER
“Regular,” NCT 127
“Tempo,” EXO
BEST LATIN
“Secreto,” Anuel AA, Karol G
“MIA,” Bad Bunny ft. Drake
“I Can’t Get Enough,” benny blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, J Balvin
“Con Calma,” Daddy Yankee ft. Snow
“Mala Mía,” Maluma
“Con Altura,” ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho
BEST DANCE
“Call You Mine,” The Chainsmokers ft. Bebe Rexha
“Solo,” Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato
“Taki Taki,” DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B
“Say My Name,” David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin
“Happier,” Marshmello & Bastille
“Electricity,” Silk City & Dua Lipa
BEST ROCK
“Love It If We Made It,” The 1975
“Bishops Knife Trick,” Fall Out Boy
“Natural,” Imagine Dragons
“Low,” Lenny Kravitz
“High Hopes,” Panic! At The Disco
“My Blood,” twenty one pilots
VIDEO FOR GOOD
“Nightmare,” Halsey
“Land of the Free,” The Killers
“Runaway Train,” Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey ft. Gallant
“Preach,” John Legend
“Earth,” Lil Dicky
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift
BEST DIRECTION
“Bad Guy,” Dave Meyers
“Cellophane,” Andrew Thomas Huang
“thank you, next,” Hannah Lux Davis
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Calmatic
“No New Friends,” Dano Cerny
“You Need to Calm Down,” Drew Kirsch & Taylor Swift
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“when the party’s over,” Ryan Ross, Andres Jaramillo
“Cellophane,” Matt Chandler, Fabio Zaveti for Analog
“God is a Woman,” Fabrice Lagayette, Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic
“Just Us,” Sergii Mashevskyi
“No New Friends,” Ethan Chancer
“ME!,” Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX
BEST EDITING
“Tints,” Elias Talbot
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Calmatic
“Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish
“7 Rings,” Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh
“Almeda,” Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor
“You Need to Calm Down,” Jarrett Fijal
BEST ART DIRECTION
“Boy With Luv,” JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E)
“7 Rings,” John Richoux
“Old Town Road (Remix),” Itaru Dela Vegas
“Señorita,” Tatiana Van Sauter
“You Need to Calm Down,” Brittany Porter
“I Love It,” Tino Schaedler
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
“Cellophane,” Kelly Yvonne
“Con Altura,” Charm La’Donna
“No New Friends,” Ryan Heffington
“Señorita,” Calvit Hodge, Sara Biv
“Almeda,” Maya Taylor, Solange Knowles
“Boy With Luv,” Rie Hata
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Tints,” Elias Talbot
“hostage,” Pau Castejon
“thank you, next,” Christopher Probst
“Señorita,” Scott Cunningham
“Almeda,” Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton
“ME!,” Starr Whitesides
