The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards will air live on MTV Sunday, 9/12, from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, which last hosted the show in 2013. This year’s awards will debut a verdant new trophy, designed by artist Kehinde Wiley, complete with a woke new name: Moonperson.
The VMAs will also honor the victims of 9/11 by collaborating with the nonprofit 9/11 Day on a series of events promoting awareness and positive action around the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks.
Cast your votes on vma.mtv.com.
Here’s the full list of nominees:
Video of the Year
Cardi B f/Megan Thee Stallion: “WAP,” Atlantic
DJ Khaled f/Drake: “Popstar” (starring Justin Bieber), OVO/We the Best/Epic
Doja Cat f/SZA: “Kiss Me More,” Kemosabe/RCA
Ed Sheeran: “Bad Habits,” Atlantic
Lil Nas X: “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name),” Columbia
The Weeknd: “Save Your Tears,” XO/Republic
Artist of the Year
Ariana Grande, Republic
Doja Cat, Kemosabe/RCA
Justin Bieber, Def Jam
Megan Thee Stallion, 300 Entertainment
Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen
Taylor Swift, Republic
Song of the Year
24kGoldn f/iann Dior: “Mood,” LLC/Columbia
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: “Leave the Door Open,” Aftermath Entertainment/Atlantic
BTS: “Dynamite,” Big Hit Music
Cardi B f/Megan Thee Stallion: “WAP,” Atlantic
Dua Lipa: “Levitating,” Warner
Olivia Rodrigo: “drivers license,” Geffen
Best New Artist
24kGoldn, LLC/Columbia
GIVĒON, Epic/Not So Fast
The Kid LAROI, Columbia
Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen
Polo G, Columbia
Saweetie, Warner
Push Performance of the Year
Wallows: "Are You Bored Yet?" Atlantic
Ashnikko: "Daisy," Warner
SAINt JHN: "Gorgeous," Godd Complexx/HITCO
24kGoldn: "Coco," LLC/Columbia
JC Stewart: "Break My Heart," Elektra
Latto: "Sex Lies," RCA
Madison Beer: "Selfish," Epic/Sing It Loud
The Kid LAROI: "Without You," Columbia
Olivia Rodrigo: "drivers license," Geffen
girl in red: "Serotonin," World in Red/AWAL
Fousheé: "My Slime," RCA
jxdn: “Think About Me,” DTA/Elektra Music Group
Best Collaboration
24kGoldn f/iann dior: “Mood,” LLC/Columbia
Cardi B f/Megan Thee Stallion: “WAP,” Atlantic
Doja Cat f/SZA: “Kiss Me More,” Kemosabe/RCA
Drake f/Lil Durk: “Laugh Now Cry Later,” OVO/Republic
Justin Bieber f/Daniel Caesar, GIVĒON: “Peaches,” Def Jam
Miley Cyrus f/Dua Lipa: “Prisoner,” RCA
Best Pop
Ariana Grande: “positions,” Republic
Billie Eilish: “Therefore I Am,” Darkroom/Interscope
BTS: “Butter,” Big Hit Music
Harry Styles: “Treat People With Kindness,” Columbia
Justin Bieber f/Daniel Caesar, GIVĒON: “Peaches,” Def Jam
Olivia Rodrigo: “good 4 u,” Geffen
Shawn Mendes: “Wonder,” Island
Taylor Swift: “Willow,” Republic
Best Hip-Hop
Cardi B f/Megan Thee Stallion: “WAP,” Atlantic
Drake f/Lil Durk: “Laugh Now Cry Later,” OVO/Republic
Lil Baby f/Megan Thee Stallion: “On Me Remix,” Quality Control/Motown
Moneybagg Yo: “Said Sum,” N-Less Entertainment/Interscope
Polo G: “Rapstar,” Columbia
Travis Scott f/Young Thug & M.I.A.: “Franchise,” Cactus Jack/Epic
Best Rock
Evanescence: “Use My Voice,” BMG
Foo Fighters: “Shame Shame,” Roswell/RCA
John Mayer: “Last Train Home,” Columbia
The Killers: “My Own Soul's Warning,” Island
Kings of Leon: “The Bandit,” RCA
Lenny Kravitz: “Raise Vibration,” Roxie/BMG
Best Alternative
Bleachers: “Stop Making This Hurt,” RCA
Glass Animals: “Heat Waves,” Republic
Imagine Dragons: “Follow You,” Kidinakorner/Interscope
Machine Gun Kelly f/Blackbear: “My Ex’s Best Friend,” Bad Boy/Interscope
Twenty One Pilots: “Shy Away,” Fueled by Ramen
Willow f/Travis Barker: “Transparent Soul,” MSFTSMusic/Roc Nation
Best Latin
Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez: “Dákiti,” The Orchard
Billie Eilish & Rosalía: “Lo Vas a Olvidar,” Darkroom/Interscope
Black Eyed Peas and Shakira: “Girl Like Me,” Epic
J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy: “Un Die (One Day),” Universal Music Latino/Neon16
Karol G: “Bichota,” Universal Music Latino
Maluma: “Hawái,” Sony Music U.S. Latin
Best R&B
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid: “Brown Skin Girl,” Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: “Leave the Door Open,” Aftermath Entertainment/Atlantic
Chris Brown and Young Thug: “Go Crazy,” Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA
GIVĒON: “Heartbreak Anniversary,” Epic/Not So Fast
H.E.R. f/Chris Brown: “Come Through,” MBK Entertainment/RCA
SZA: “Good Days,” Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA
Best K-pop
(G)I-DLE: “Dumdi Dumdi,” Republic
Blackpink and Selena Gomez: “Ice Cream,” YG Entertainment/Interscope
BTS: “Butter,” Big Hit Music
Monsta X: “Gambler,” Starship Entertainment
Seventeen: “Ready to love,” Pledis Entertainment
Twice: “Alcohol-Free,” JYP Entertainment Company
Video for Good
Billie Eilish: “Your Power,” Darkroom/Interscope
Demi Lovato: “Dancing With the Devil,” Island
H.E.R.: “Fight for You,” MBK Entertainment/RCA
Kane Brown: “Worldwide Beautiful,” Sony Music Nashville/RCA
Lil Nas X: “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name),” Columbia
Pharrell Williams f/Jay-Z: “Entrepreneur,” Columbia
Best Direction
Billie Eilish: “Your Power,” Darkroom/Interscope, directed by Billie Eilish
DJ Khaled f/Drake: “Popstar (Starring Justin Bieber),” OVO/We the Best/Epic, directed by Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X
Lil Nas X: “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name),” Columbia, directed by Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino
Taylor Swift: “Willow,” Republic, directed by Taylor Swift
Travis Scott f/Young Thug & M.I.A: “Franchise,” Cactus Jack/Epic, directed by Travis Scott
Tyler, The Creator: “Lumberjack,” Columbia, directed by Wolf Haley
Best Cinematography
Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid: “Brown Skin Girl,” Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia, cinematography by Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, Mohammaed Atta Ahmed, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant
Billie Eilish: “Therefore I Am,” Darkroom/Interscope, cinematography by Rob Witt
Foo Fighters: “Shame Shame,” Roswell/RCA, cinematography by Santiago Gonzalez
Justin Bieber f/Chance The Rapper: “Holy,” RBMG/Def Jam, cinematography by Elias Talbot
Lady Gaga: “911,” Interscope, cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth
Lorde: “Solar Power,” LAVA/Republic, cinematography by Andrew Stroud
Best Art Direction
Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer: “Already,” Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia, art direction by Susan Linns, Gerard Santos
Ed Sheeran: “Bad Habits,” Atlantic, art direction by Alison Dominitz
Lady Gaga: “911,” Interscope, art direction by Tom Foden, Peter Andrus
Lil Nas X: “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name),” Columbia, art direction by John Richoux
Saweetie f/Doja Cat: “Best Friend,” Warner, art direction by Art Haynes
Taylor Swift: “Willow,” Republic, art direction by Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez
Best Visual Effects
Bella Poarch: “Build a Bitch,” Warner, visual effects by Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova
Coldplay: “Higher Power,” Atlantic, visual effects by Mathematic
Doja Cat & The Weeknd, “You Right,” Kemosabe/RCA, 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,” Republic, visual effects by Ronan Fourreau
Lil Nas X: “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name),” Columbia, visual effects by Mathematic
P!nk: “All I Know So Far,” RCA, visual effects by Dave Meyers, Freenjoy
Best Choreography
Ariana Grande: “34+35,” Republic, choreography by Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson
BTS: “Butter,” Big Hit Music, choreography by Son Sung with BHM Performance Directing Team
Ed Sheeran: “Bad Habits,” Atlantic, choreography by Natricia Bernard
Foo Fighters: “Shame Shame,” Roswell/RCA, choreography by Nina McNeely
Harry Styles: “Treat People With Kindness,” Columbia, choreography by Paul Roberts
Marshmello & Halsey: “Be Kind,” Astralwerks/Capitol, choreography by Dani Vitale
Best Editing
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic: “Leave the Door Open,” Aftermath Entertainment/Atlantic, editing by Troy Charbonnet
BTS: “Butter,” Big Hit Music, editing by Yong Seok Choi
Drake: “What's Next,” OVO/Republic, editing by Noah Kendal
Harry Styles: “Treat People With Kindness,” Columbia, editing by Claudia Wass
Justin Bieber f/Daniel Caesar, GIVĒON: “Peaches,” Def Jam, editing by Mark Mayr and Vinnie Hobbs
Miley Cyrus f/Dua Lipa: “Prisoner,” RCA, edited by Alana O'Herlihy
NEAR TRUTHS: REALIGNMENT AND RECOGNITION
Underscoring the year's biggest stories (11/19a)
NEAR TRUTHS: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Nervous time in the music biz and beyond. (11/16a)
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