2019 gave as a bunch of amazing music videos that we’ve been watching over and over for the last few months. The very best of them made it to the list of MTV VMAs nominees, with Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande leading the bunch.
Both pop stars scored a total of ten nods, and they’ll be going against each other in all the major categories. When it comes to the video of the year, Grande received a nomination with her pop culture-heavy hit video “Thank U, Next” while Swift scored her nod with star-studded visual for “You Need to Calm Down”.
Rising star Billie Eilish secured nine nominations, most of them thanks to her video for “Bad Guy”. The list of top nominees also includes Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, who got eight nominations with their chart-topping hit “Old Town Road”.
This year’s MTV Video Music Awards will take place on August 26th, with Sebastian Maniscalco taking on the hosting duties.
Full List of 2019 MTV VMAs Nominations:
Video of the Year
- 21 Savage – “a lot (ft. J. Cole)”
- Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”
- Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”
- Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”
- Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)” (Remix)
- Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”
Artist of the Year
- Cardi B
- Billie Eilish
- Ariana Grande
- Halsey
- Jonas Brothers
- Shawn Mendes
Song of the Year
- Drake – “In My Feelings”
- Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”
- Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”
- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow”
- Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)” (Remix)
- Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”
Best New Artist
- Ava Max
- Billie Eilish
- H.E.R.
- Lil Nas X
- Lizzo
- ROSALÍA
Best Collaboration
- Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)” (Remix)
- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow”
- Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita”
- Taylor Swift – “ME! (ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco)”
- Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care”
- BTS – “Boy With Luv (ft. Halsey)”
Push Artist Of The Year
- Bazzi
- CNCO
- Billie Eilish
- H.E.R.
- Lauv
- Lizzo
Best Pop
- 5 Seconds of Summer – “Easier”
- Cardi B & Bruno Mars – “Please Me”
- Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”
- Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”
- Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”
- Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”
- Khalid – “Talk”
Best Hip-Hop
- 2 Chainz – “Rule the World (ft. Ariana Grande)”
- 21 Savage – “a lot (ft. J. Cole)””
- Cardi B – “Money”
- DJ Khaled – “Higher (ft. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend)”
- Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)” (Remix)
- Travis Scott – “SICKO MODE (ft. Drake)”
Best R&B
- Anderson .Paak – “Make It Better (ft. Smokey Robinson)”
- Childish Gambino – “Feels Like Summer”
- H.E.R. – “Could’ve Been (ft. Bryson Tiller)”
- Alicia Keys – “Raise A Man”
- Ella Mai – “Trip”
- Normani – “Waves (ft. 6lack)”
Best K-Pop
- BTS – “Boy With Luv (ft. Halsey)”
- BLACKPINK – “Kill This Love”
- Monsta X – “Who Do You Love (ft. French Montana)”
- TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Cat & Dog”
- NCT 127 – “Regular”
- EXO – “Tempo”
Best Latin
- Anuel AA & Karol G – “Secreto”
- Bad Bunny – “MIA (ft. Drake)”
- benny blanco – “I Can’t Get Enough (ft. Tainy, Selena Gomez & J Balvin)”
- Daddy Yankee – “Con Calma (ft. Snow)”
- Maluma – “Mala Mía”
- ROSALÍA & J Balvin – “Con Altura (ft. El Guincho)”
Best Dance
- The Chainsmokers – “Call You Mine (ft. Bebe Rexha)”
- Clean Bandit – “Solo (ft. Demi Lovato)”
- DJ Snake – “Taki Taki (ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B)”
- David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin – “Say My Name”
- Marshmello & Bastille – “Happier”
- Silk City & Dua Lipa – “Electricity”
Best Rock
- The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It”
- Fall Out Boy – “Bishops Knife Trick”
- Imagine Dragons – “Natural”
- Lenny Kravitz – “Low”
- Panic! At The Disco – “High Hopes”
- Twenty-one pilots – “My Blood”
Video For Good
- Halsey – “Nightmare”
- The Killers – “Land of the Free”
- Jamie N Commons & Skylar Grey – “Runaway Train (ft. Gallant)”
- John Legend – “Preach”
- Lil Dicky – “Earth”
- Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”
Best Direction
- Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy” – Directed by Dave Meyers
- FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang
- Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” – Directed by Hannah Lux Davis
- Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)” (Remix) – Directed by Calmatic
- LSD – “No New Friends” – Directed by Dano Cerny
- Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Directed by Drew Kirsch & Taylor Swift
Best Visual Effects
- Billie Eilish – “when the party’s over” – Visual Effects by Ryan Ross, Andres Jaramillo
- FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Visual Effects by Matt Chandler, Fabio Zaveti for Analog
- Ariana Grande – “God is a Woman” – Visual Effects by Fabrice Lagayette, Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic
- DJ Khaled – “Just Us (ft. SZA)” – Visual Effects by Sergii Mashevskyi
- LSD – “No New Friends” – Visual Effects by Ethan Chancer
- Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX
Best Editing
- Anderson .Paak – “Tints (ft. Kendrick Lamar)” – Editing by Elias Talbot
- Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)” (Remix) – Editing by Calmatic
- Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy” – Editing by Billie Eilish
- Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Editing by Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh
- Solange – “Almeda” – Editing by Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor
- Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Editing by Jarrett Fijal
Best Art Direction
- BTS – “Boy With Luv (ft. Halsey)” – Art Direction by JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E)
- Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Art Direction by John Richoux
- Lil Nas X – “Old Town Road (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)” (Remix) – Art Direction by Itaru Dela Vegas
- Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter
- Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Art Direction by Brittany Porter
- Kanye West and Lil’ Pump – “I Love It (ft. Adele Givens)” – Art Direction by Tino Schaedler
Best Choreography
- FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Choreography by Kelly Yvonne
- ROSALÍA & J Balvin – “Con Altura (ft. El Guincho)” – Choreography by Charm La’Donna
- LSD – “No New Friends” – Choreography by Ryan Heffington
- Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records – Choreography by Calvit Hodge, Sara Biv
- Solange – “Almeda” – Choreography by Maya Taylor, Solange Knowles
- BTS – “Boy With Luv (ft. Halsey)” – Choreography by Rie Hata
Best Cinematography
- Anderson .Paak – “Tints (ft. Kendrick Lamar)” – Cinematography by Elias Talbot
- Billie Eilish – “hostage” – Cinematography by Pau Castejon
- Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” – Cinematography by Christopher Probst
- Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham
- Solange – “Almeda” – Cinematography by Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton
- Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Cinematography by Starr Whitesides
