The 2012 MTV Video
Music Awards
nominations are out, and Rihanna and Drake are leading the pack with five nods each. Last year’s big winner Katy Perry isn’t far behind, with four nominations.
Rihanna has two chances to win for Video of the Year: she’s nominated both for her hit “We Found Love” and for her duet with Drake, “Take Care.” Others in the category include Katy Perry, who took home the top prize “Firework” last year and is up this year for “Wide Awake”; Gotye for his Hot 100 champ “Somebody That I Used To Know”; and M.I.A. for her comeback single “Bad Girls.”
Another stacked category is the Best New Artist showdown, which features a pair of boy bands (One Direction and The Wanted), two Hot 100 toppers (fun. and Carly Rae Jepsen), and R&B It guy Frank Ocean, whose Odd Future compatriot, Tyler, The Creator, took the prize last year. Ocean’s “Swim Good” will compete with Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend,” Drake’s ‘Take Care,” Chris Brown’s “Turn Up The Music” and Usher’s “Climax” in the R&B-heavy Best Male Video category .
The venue is set at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 6, and will feature performances from four-time VMA winner Alicia Keys and One Direction.
Few List of 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Nominees:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
BEST NEW ARTIST
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
The Wanted, “Glad You Came”
BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Childish Gambino, “Heartbeat”
Drake feat. Lil Wayne, “HYFR”
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean & 2 Chainz, “Mercy”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Nicki Minaj feat. 2 Chainz, “Beez in the Trap”
BEST MALE VIDEO
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Usher, “Climax”
BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Katy Perry, “Part of Me”
Beyoncé, “Love on Top”
Nicki Minaj, “Starships”
Selena Gomez & The Scene, “Love You Like a Love Song”
BEST POP VIDEO
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa, “Payphone”
BEST ROCK VIDEO
Coldplay, “Paradise”
The Black Keys, “Lonely Boy”
Linkin Park, “BURN IT DOWN”
Jack White, “Sixteen Saltines”
Imagine Dragons, “It’s Time”
BEST ELECTRONIC DANCE VIDEO
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
Calvin Harris, “Feel So Close”
Skrillex, “First of the Year (Equinox)”
Martin Solveig, “The Night Out”
Avicii, “Le7els”