Everything You Need To Know About The 2021 MTV VMAs
The MTV Video Music Awards are right around the corner, and this year's annual ceremony — which will broadcast live this Sunday, Sept. 12 — marks an exciting return to the show's traditional format after it was adapted to meet COVID safety requirements in 2020.
The ceremony is taking place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and it will unveil at least one element that we haven't seen before — the VMA's moonperson trophies have undergone a redesign by artist Kehinde Wiley, which will debut at this weekend's show.
The VMAs are also partnering with 9/11 Day, a nonprofit, on a series of events this week to honor those impacted by the 2001 attacks, since Saturday is the 20th anniversary.
Doja Cat is a centerpiece of the upcoming VMA program. Not only will she host the event, but the artist is also due to perform at the show for the second year in a row, and she's up for awards in five different categories.
"I'm hosting the 2021 #VMAs this year Wowowowowowow," the Planet Her singer captioned an Instagram post unveiling the news.
As usual, the ceremony will feature live performances by some of the most popular names in music right now. A handful of them are making their VMA debuts at Sunday's show, and several are nominated for multiple awards.
Olivia Rodrigo, Kacey Musgraves, Lil Nas X, Camila Cabello, Justin Bieber, Kim Petras, Chl?e of Chloe x Halle, Machine Gun Kelly, Polo G, Sean Mendes, Swedish House Mafia, and Twenty One Pilots are all scheduled to perform during the award show, alongside Doja Cat. Lorde originally planned to return to the VMA stage with them, but canceled her appearance last week "due to a change in production elements," according to the VMAs.
The award categories' extensive nomination lists recognize many of the great songs, albums, videos, and artists that kept us entertained, intrigued, and inspired during the pandemic. In addition to Foo Fighters, who will receive the VMAs' Global Icon Award, here's every nominee contending for titles this year:
BEST NEW ARTIST
24kGoldn
Giveon
The Kid LAROI
Olivia Rodrigo
Polo G
Saweetie
SONG OF SUMMER
Billie Eilish – "happier than ever"
BTS – "Butter"
Camila Cabello – "Don't Go Yet"
DJ Khaled ft. Lil Baby & Lil Durk – "Every Chance I Get"
Doja Cat – "Need To Know"
Dua Lipa – "Levitating"
Ed Sheeran – "Bad Habits"
Giveon – "Heartbreak Anniversary"
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Cesar & Giveon – "Peaches"
The Kid Laroi With Justin Bieber – "Stay"
Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow – "Industry Baby"
Lizzo ft. Cardi B – "Rumors"
Mean Thee Stallion – "Thot Shit"
Normani ft. Cardi B – "Wild Side"
Olivia Rodrigo – "Good 4 U"
Shawn Mendes & Tainy – "Summer of Love"
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blackpink
BTS
CNCO
Foo Fighters
Jonas Brothers
Maroon 5
Silk Sonic
Twenty One Pilots
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
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"
PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Wallows – "Are You Bored Yet?," September 2020:
Ashnikko – "Daisy," October 2020
SAINt JHN – "Gorgeous," November 2020:
24kGoldn – "Coco," December 2020
JC Stewart – "Break My Heart," January 2021
Latto – "Sex Lies," February 2021
Madison Beer – "Selfish," March 2021
The Kid LAROI – "WITHOUT YOU," April 2021
Olivia Rodrigo – "drivers license," May 2021
girl in red – "Serotonin," June 2021
Fousheé – "my slime," July 2021
jxdn – "Think About Me," August 2021
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 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"
Monsta X – "Gambler"
SEVENTEEN – "Ready to love"
TWICE – "Alcohol-Free"
BEST LATIN
Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez – "Dákiti"
Billie Eilish & ROSALíA – "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 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"
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 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 CHOREOGRAPHY
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 Sham," choreography by Nina McNeely
Harry Styles – "Treat People With Kindness," choreography by Paul Roberts
Marshmello & Halsey – "Be Kind," choreography by Dani Vitale
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 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"
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 – "Tangerin," 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