VMAs 2016 nominations: Beyoncé and Adele lead pack for MTV
Kanye West, Drake, and Justin Bieber also up for major awards
The nominations for the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards have arrived and promise that this year’s installment of the awards show will be as buzzy and suspenseful as ever.
Beyoncé and her visual album Lemonade lead the pack with 11 nominations — her most at a single VMAs yet — while Adele earned eight nominations. And the show’s flagship Video of the Year category is truly stacked, pitting Adele’s “Hello,” Beyoncé’s “Formation,” Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” and Kanye West’s “Famous” against each other.
For Best Female Video, Adele and Beyoncé are joined by Sia (“Cheap Thrills”), Ariana Grande (“Into You”), and Rihanna (“Work”), while the Best Male Video features Drake, West, Bryson Tiller (“Don’t”), Calvin Harris (“This Is What You Came For”), and The Weeknd (“Can’t Feel My Face”). Conspicuously, Bieber was not nominated for Best Male Video despite his Video of the Year nod.
And, given the changing mediums of music distribution, MTV has introduced a new category in 2016: Breakthrough Long Form Video. This year’s nominees for the award are Florence + the Machine (The Odyssey), Beyoncé (Lemonade), Justin Bieber (PURPOSE: The Movement), Chris Brown (Royalty), and Troye Sivan (Blue Neighborhood Trilogy).
Elsewhere, Bryson Tiller, Desiigner, Zara Larsson, Lukas Graham, and DNCE are all contenders for Best New Artist. All Time Low, Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Twenty One Pilots, and Panic! At The Disco will compete for Best Rock Video, while Calvin Harris, 99 Souls, Mike Posner, Afrojack, and the Chainsmokers will face off for Best Electronic Video.
The late David Bowie picked up four nominations, one for “Blackstar” (Best Art Direction) and three for “Lazarus” (Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing).
The 2015 VMAs took the internet by storm, with host Miley Cyrus feuding with Nicki Minaj during the broadcast, West promising a 2020 presidential run, and Cyrus dropping a surprise album at the show’s conclusion.
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. Check out the complete list of VMA nominees below.
Video of the Year
Adele – “Hello”
Beyoncé – “Formation”
Drake – “Hotline Bling”
Justin Bieber – “Sorry”
Kanye West – “Famous”
Best Female Video
Adele – “Hello”
Beyoncé – “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
Beyoncé 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 Bling”
Desiigner – “Panda”
Bryson Tiller – “Don’t”
Chance The Rapper – “Angels”
2 Chainz – “Watch Out”
Best Pop Video
Adele – “Hello”
Beyoncé – “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
Beyoncé – 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
Beyoncé – “Hold Up”
Fergie – “M.I.L.F. $”
Drake – “Hotline Bling”
David Bowie – “Blackstar”
Adele – “Hello”
Best Choreography
Beyoncé – “Formation”
Missy Elliott ft. Pharrell – “WTF (Where They From)”
Beyoncé – “Sorry”
FKA Twigs – “M3LL155X”
Florence + The Machine – “Delilah”
Best Direction
Beyoncé – “Formation”
Coldplay – “Up&Up”
Adele – “Hello”
David Bowie – “Lazarus”
Tame Impala – “The Less I Know The Better”
Best Cinematography
Beyoncé – “Formation”
Adele – “Hello”
David Bowie – “Lazarus”
Alesso – “I Wanna Know”
Ariana Grande – “Into You”
Best Editing
Beyoncé – “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”
Check out the live announcement below:
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