The 2021 MTV VMAs Are Shaping Up to Be a Big Night in Music – Here Are the Nominees

The MTV Video Music Awards are taking place next month, and now we finally know which artists will be up for the biggest awards. Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion lead the nominations this year with seven and six nods, respectively, while stars like BTS, Drake, Lil Nas X, and Olivia Rodrigo scored nominations in some of the biggest categories. Of course, after the wild success of “WAP” last year, it’s no surprise that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are up for the coveted video of the year. Based on all the incredible nominees, we can’t wait to see which artists will be performing on the Barclays Center stage in New York City. Be sure to tune into the award show when it airs on MTV on Sunday, Sept. 12.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“WAP” by Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion
“POPSTAR” by DJ Khaled ft. Drake
“Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat ft. SZA
“Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran
“Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” by Lil Nas X
“Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Ariana Grande
Doja Cat
Justin Bieber
Megan Thee Stallion
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Mood” by 24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior
“Leave The Door Open” by Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic
“Dynamite” by BTS
“WAP” by Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion
“Levitating” by Dua Lipa
“Drivers License” by Olivia Rodrigo

BEST NEW ARTIST
24kGoldn
Giveon
The Kid LAROI
Olivia Rodrigo
Polo G
Saweetie

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
September 2020: “Are You Bored Yet?” by Wallows
October 2020: “Daisy” by Ashnikko
November 2020: “Gorgeous” by Saint Jhn
December 2020: “Coco” by 24kGoldn
January 2021: “Break My Heart” by JC Stewart
February 2021: “Sex Lies” by Latto
March 2021: “Selfish” by Madison Beer
April 2021: “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI
May 2021: “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo
June 2021: “Serotonin” by girl in red
July 2021: “my slime” by Fousheé
August 2021: “Think About Me” by jxdn

BEST COLLABORATION
“Mood” by 24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior
“WAP” by Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion
“Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat ft. SZA
“Laugh Now Cry Later” by Drake ft. Lil Durk
“Peaches” by Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon
“Prisoner” by Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa

BEST POP
“Positions” by Ariana Grande
“Therefore I Am” by Billie Eilish
“Butter” by BTS
“Treat People With Kindness” by Harry Styles
“Peaches” by Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar, Giveon
“good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo
“Wonder” by Shawn Mendes
“willow” by Taylor Swift

BEST HIP-HOP
“WAP” by Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion
“Laugh Now Cry Later” by Drake ft. Lil Durk
“On Me (remix)” by Lil Baby ft. Megan Thee Stallion
“Said Sum” by Moneybagg Yo
“RAPSTAR” by Polo G
“FRANCHISE” by Travis Scott ft. Young Thug, M.I.A.

BEST ROCK
“Use My Voice” by Evanescence
“Shame Shame” by Foo Fighters
“Last Train Home” by John Mayer
“My Own Soul’s Warning” by The Killers
“The Bandit” by Kings Of Leon
“Raise Vibration” by Lenny Kravitz

BEST ALTERNATIVE
“Stop Making This Hurt” by Bleachers
“Heat Waves” by Glass Animals
“Follow You” by Imagine Dragons
“my ex’s best friend” by Machine Gun Kelly ft. blackbear
“Shy Away” by twenty one pilots
“t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” by WILLOW ft. Travis Barker

BEST LATIN
“Dákiti” by Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez
“Lo Vas A Olvidar” by Billie Eilish, Rosalía
“GIRL LIKE ME” by Black Eyed Peas and Shakira
“UN DIA (ONE DAY)” by J. Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy
“Bichota” by Karol G
“Hawái” by Maluma

BEST R&B
“Brown Skin Girl” by Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Saint Jhn, WizKid
“Leave The Door Open” by Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic
“Go Crazy” by Chris Brown and Young Thug
“Heartbreak Anniversary” by Giveon
“Come Through” by H.E.R. ft. Chris Brown
“Good Days” by SZA

BEST K-POP
“DUMDi DUMDi” by (G)I-DLE
“Ice Cream” by Blackpink, Selena Gomez
“Butter” by BTS
“Ready to love” by Seventeen
“Alcohol-Free” by Twice

VIDEO FOR GOOD
“Your Power” by Billie Eilish
“Dancing With The Devil” by Demi Lovato
“Fight For You” by H.E.R.
“Worldwide Beautiful” by Kane Brown
“Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” by Lil Nas X
“Entrepreneur” by Pharrell Williams ft. JAY-Z

BEST DIRECTION
“Your Power” by Billie Eilish, directed by Billie Eilish
“POPSTAR” by DJ Khaled ft. Drake, directed by Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X
“Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” by Lil Nas X, directed by Lil Nas X, Tanu Muino
“willow” by Taylor Swift, directed by Taylor Swift
“Franchise” by Travis Scott ft. Young Thug, M.I.A, directed by Travis Scott
“LUMBERJACK” by Tyler, The Creator directed by Wolf Haley

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Brown Skin Girl” by Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Saint Jhn, WizKid, cinematography by Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, Mohammaed Atta Ahmed, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant
“Therefore I Am” by Billie Eilish, cinematography by Rob Witt
“Shame Shame” by Foo Fighters, cinematography by Santiago Gonzalez
“Holy” by Justin Bieber ft. Chance The Rapper, cinematography by: Elias Talbot
“911” by Lady Gaga, cinematography by: Jeff Cronenweth
“Solar Power” by Lorde, cinematography by: Andrew Stroud

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Already” by Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer, art direction by Susan Linns, Gerard Santos
“Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran, art direction by Alison Dominitz
“911” by Lady Gaga, art direction by Tom Foden, Peter Andrus
“Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” by Lil Nas X, art direction by John Richoux
“Best Friend” by Saweetie ft. Doja Cat, art direction by Art Haynes
“Willow” by Taylor Swift, art direction by Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Build a Bitch” by Bella Poarch, visual effects by Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova
“Higher Power” by Coldplay, visual effects by Mathematic
“You Right” by 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
“Tangerine” by Glass Animals, visual effects by Ronan Fourreau
“Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” by Lil Nas X, visual effects by Mathematic
“All I Know So Far” by Pink, visual effects by Dave Meyers, Freenjoy Inc

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
“34+35” by Ariana Grande, choreography by Brian Nicholson, Scott Nicholson
“Butter” by BTS, choreography by SON SUNG DEUK With BHM PERFORMANCE DIRECTING TEAM
“Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran, choreography by Natricia Bernard
“Shame Shame” by Foo Fighters, choreography by Nina McNeely
“Treat People With Kindness” by Harry Styles, choreography by Paul Roberts
“Be Kind” by Marshmello, Halsey, choreography by Dani Vitale

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