The 2012 MTV VMAs are arriving on Sept. 6, and five weeks out, the short list is in. As previously reported, Rihanna and Drake culled the most nominations with five a piece. Katy Perry earned four. Lady Gaga…
1) Well, Lady Gaga earned zero nods. She had “Marry the Night” and “You and I.” The former is a killer dance track with a clip directed by Mother Monster herself, but — granted — it was eight full minutes of non-music footage that likely served as her reel for her first acting role in “Machete Kills.” And the latter was a not-very-good-song with a video that was… interesting?
Regardless, the MTV VMAs have kind of been Gaga’s thing: she donned a meat dress, she spent her camera face-time in 2010 kicking off her “Born This Way” album promo, trotted out Joe Calderone last year and has mega-plans to announce details on her new set some time in September.
Gaga has the superstar name that organizers wouldn’t need to announce as a performer until way later into August but… would Gaga agree to play the show that snubbed her? Will she even hit the red carpet?
2) For best new artist, there are two boy bands, two chart-toppers and a newly developed, certifiable Def Jam R&B superstar who recently, popularly and publicly came out of the closet. One Direction and The Wanted may cancel each other out, fun.’s “We Are Young” have been out of rotation for about six months… is this a contest between Summer Jam winner Carly Rae Jepsen and Frank Ocean?
3) You know what’s adorable? The majority of categories only have five nominees each, but it’s Video With A Message that got a good-natured six. Why? Because why/how the hell else would they fit Lil Wayne’s well-intentioned but poorly developed and badly acted “How to Love” in there?
You gotta hand it to MTV who wants to hand a statue for “messaging” to a man who also goes by the name Pussy Monster. Now that he’s in the race next to B-listers like K’Naan, Rise Against and Gym Class Heroes, plus lesser-known tunes from Kelly Clarkson and Demi Lovato, does anybody stand a chance against Weezy?
4) Video of the Year: M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls.” Really? I mean, I personally love that thing, but no “Otis?” Or something funny like “Big Bad Wolf?” Or a new artist or truly underdog artist like Childish Gambino or Of Monsters And Men? This is now a race of four, and everybody already knows “Take Care” wasn’t Drake or Rihanna’s song.
5) Drake, Chris Brown and Rihanna: all up for a significant number and caliber of awards. Breezy seems to show up to any awards event he’s invited to perform at, and still has face to save and singles to sell. Drake and Rihanna both have the same number of nominations, which sounds like they, too, would show up. Glass bottles, as a rule, are not allowed into L.A.’s Staple Center.
My question is: when can Adele put out another album so we can just give all the air time to her?
Here are the nominees for the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards:
Video of the Year
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
Best New Artist
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
The Wanted, “Glad You Came”
Best Hip-Hop Video
Childish Gambino, “Heartbeat”
Drake feat. Lil Wayne, “HYFR”
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean & 2 Chainz, “Mercy”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Nicki Minaj feat. 2 Chainz, “Beez in the Trap”
Best Male Video
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Usher, “Climax”
Best Female Video
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Katy Perry, “Part of Me”
Beyoncé, “Love on Top”
Nicki Minaj, “Starships”
Selena Gomez & The Scene, “Love You Like a Love Song”
Best Pop Video
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa, “Payphone”
Best Rock Video
Coldplay, “Paradise”
The Black Keys, “Lonely Boy”
Linkin Park, “BURN IT DOWN”
Jack White, “Sixteen Saltines”
Imagine Dragons, “It’s Time”
Best Electronic Dance Music Video
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
Calvin Harris, “Feel So Close”
Skrillex, “First of the Year (Equinox)”
Martin Solveig, “The Night Out”
Avicii, “Le7els”
Best Video With a Message
Demi Lovato, “Skyscraper”
Rise Against, “Ballad of Hollis Brown”
Kelly Clarkson, “Dark Side”
Gym Class Heroes, “The Fighter”
K’Naan feat. Nelly Furtado, “Is Anybody Out There?”
Lil Wayne, “How to Love”
Best Art Direction
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die”
Regina Spektor, “All the Rowboats”
Of Monsters & Men, “Little Talks”
Best Choreography
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Rihanna, “Where Have You Been”
Beyoncé, “Countdown”
Avicii, “Le7els”
Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull, “Dance Again”
Best Cinematography
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
Adele, “Someone Like You”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Coldplay feat. Rihanna, “Princess of China”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die”
Best Direction
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
Coldplay feat. Rihanna, “Princess of China”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Watch the Throne, “Otis”
Best Editing
Beyoncé, “Countdown”
A$AP Rocky, “Goldie”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean and 2 Chainz, “Mercy”
Best Visual Effects
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Rihanna, “Where Have You Been”
David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, “Turn Me On”
Linkin Park, “BURN IT DOWN”
Skrillex, “First of the Year (Equinox)”