Entertainment Music Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Nas X and Olivia Rodrigo Lead 2021 MTV VMA Nominations Tied in third for most nominations are Billie Eilish, BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo and Giveon By Tomás Mier Published on August 11, 2021 12:05 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Justin Bieber; Megan Thee Stallion; Lil Nas X; Olivia Rodrigo. Photo: Getty (4) The VMAs are around the corner! On Wednesday, MTV announced the nominees for this year's Video Music Awards and the list features some of 2020 and 2021's biggest artists! Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion lead the list with seven and six nods, respectively, but are followed closely behind by seven artists with five nominations. Billie Eilish, BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, Lil Nas X, Giveon and Olivia Rodrigo all earned five nods. This is the "Drivers License" singer's first time ever being nominated. Among the contenders for video of the year — the top prize of the night — are Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP," DJ Khaled and Drake's video featuring Justin Bieber "POPSTAR," Doja Cat and SZA's "Kiss Me More," Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits," Lil Nas X's "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" and The Weeknd's Save Your Tears. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty MTV Video Music Awards Will Honor 9/11 Victims for 20th Anniversary as It Returns to New York City As for the artist of the year category, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Taylor Swift, Rodrigo, Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion are up for the award. Starting Wednesday and through Sept. 3, fans can vote across 14 categories to select their top contenders. (Nominations for best group and song of summer will be announced at a later date.) Here's the full list of nominees: 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 Taylor Swift 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" BEST NEW ARTIST 24kGoldn Giveon The Kid LAROI Olivia Rodrigo Polo G Saweetie PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR September 2020: Wallows – "Are You Bored Yet?" October 2020: Ashnikko – "Daisy" November 2020: SAINt JHN – "Gorgeous" December 2020: 24kGoldn – "Coco" January 2021: JC Stewart – "Break My Heart" February 2021: Latto – "Sex Lies" March 2021: Madison Beer – "Selfish" April 2021: The Kid LAROI – "WITHOUT YOU" May 2021: Olivia Rodrigo – "drivers license" June 2021: girl in red "Serotonin" July 2021: Fousheé – "my slime" August 2021: jxdn – "Think About Me" 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 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" 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 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" – BIGHIT MUSIC Monsta X – "Gambler" SEVENTEEN – "Ready to love" TWICE – "Alcohol-Free" 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 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 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 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 – "Tangerine" – 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 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 Shame" – Choreography by: Nina McNeely Harry Styles – "Treat People With Kindness" – Choreography by:Paul Roberts Marshmello & Halsey – "Be Kind" – Choreography by: Dani Vitale 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" The MTV VMAs are set to air live from New York City on Sept. 12.