Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion Lead 2021 VMA Nominations

Last summer, the VMAs turned heads as one of the first COVID-era awards shows daring to put on a live, in-person ceremony. A year later, not much has changed on this front — the 2021 Video Music Awards are once again trying to take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, in front of a live audience, after last year’s show had to be moved to outdoor venues across New York City. Now, the September 12 show is “set to be one of the first fan-filled awards shows in NYC since the city’s reopening,� as a release touts. And it’ll do so with a stacked list of nominees, announced on August 11. Justin Bieber leads the pack with seven nominations, owing both to his video for “Peaches� with Daniel Caesar and Giveon, along with his starring role in DJ Khaled and Drake’s video for “POPSTAR,� nominated for Video of the Year. Megan Thee Stallion is close behind with six, thanks largely to to her appearance in “WAP� with Cardi B, in addition to an Artist of the Year nomination. Five-time nominees include Billie Eilish, BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, Giveon, Lil Nas X, and Olivia Rodrigo, the latter of whom is nominated for the first time. Find the full list of nominees below.

Video of the Year
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion – “WAP�
DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “POPSTAR� (Starring Justin Bieber)
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
September 2020: Wallows – “Are You Bored Yet?�
October 2020: Ashnikko – “Daisy�
November 2020: SAINt JHN – “Gorgeous�
December 2020: 24kGoldn – “Coco�
January 2021: JC Stewart – “Break My Heart�
February 2021: Latto – “Sex Lies�
March 2021: Madison Beer – “Selfish�
April 2021: The Kid LAROI – “WITHOUT YOU�
May 2021: Olivia Rodrigo – “drivers license�
June 2021: girl in red “Serotonin�
July 2021: Fousheé – “my slime�
August 2021: 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 – “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l�

Best Latin
Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez – “Dákiti�
Billie Eilish & ROSAL�A – “Lo Vas A Olvidar�
Black Eyed Peas and Shakira – “GIRL LIKE ME�
J. Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy – “UN DIA (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� – BIGHIT MUSIC 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�

Best Direction
Billie Eilish – “Your Power� – Directed by: Billie Eilish
DJ Khaled ft. Drake – “POPSTAR (Starring Justin Bieber)� – Directed by: Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X
Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)� – Directed by: Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino
Taylor Swift – “willow� – Directed by: Taylor Swift
Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A – “Franchise� – Directed by: Travis Scott
Tyler, The Creator – “LUMBERJACK� – Directed by: Wolf Haley

Best Cinematography
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid – “BROWN SKIN GIRL� – Cinematography by: Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, MOHAMMAED ATTA AHMED, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant
Billie Eilish – “Therefore I Am� – Cinematography by: Rob Witt
Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame� – Cinematography by: Santiago Gonzalez
Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper – “Holy� – Cinematography by: Elias Talbot
Lady Gaga – “911� – Cinematography by: Jeff Cronenweth
Lorde – “Solar Power� – Cinematography by: Andrew Stroud

Best Art Direction
Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer – “ALREADY� – Art Direction by: Susan Linns, Gerard Santos
Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits� – Art Direction by: Alison Dominitz
Lady Gaga – “911� – Art Direction by: Tom Foden, Peter Andrus
Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)� – Art Direction by: John Richoux
Saweetie ft. Doja Cat – “Best Friend� – Art Direction by: Art Haynes
Taylor Swift – “willow� – Art Direction by: Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez

Best Visual Effects
Bella Poarch – “Build A Bitch� – Visual Effects by: Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova
Coldplay – “Higher Power� – Visual Effects by: Mathematic
Doja Cat & The Weeknd – “You Right� – 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
Glass Animals – “Tangerine� – Visual Effects by: Ronan Fourreau
Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)� – Visual Effects by: Mathematic
P!NK – “All I Know So Far� – Visual Effects by: Dave Meyers, Freenjoy Inc

Best Choreopgraphy
Ariana Grande – “34+35� – Choreography by: Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson
BTS – “Butter� – Choreography by: SON SUNG DEUK With BHM PERFORMANCE DIRECTING TEAM
Ed Sheeran – “Bad Habits� – Choreography by: Natricia Bernard
Foo Fighters – “Shame Shame� – Choreography by: Nina McNeely
Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness� – Choreography by: Paul Roberts
Marshmello & Halsey – “Be Kind� – Choreography by: Dani Vitale

Best Editing
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic – “Leave The Door Open� – Editing by: Troy Charbonnet
BTS – “Butter� – Editing by: Yong Seok Choi from Lumpens
Drake – “What’s Next� – Editing by: Noah Kendal
Harry Styles – “Treat People With Kindness� – Editing by: Claudia Wass
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon – “Peaches� – Editing by: Mark Mayr, Vinnie Hobbs
Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa – “Prisoner� – Editing by: William Town