Pop divas Taylor & Ariana lead VMA noms

Pop divas Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande lead the nominations with 10 nods each for the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. The girls got them for You Need To Calm Down, Taylor’s candy-colored reconciliation video with Katy Perry and for thank u next, Ariana’s flippant last word to her ex-boyfriends.

Both videos are in hot contention for Video of the Year with 21 Savage ft. J. Cole, a lot; Billie Eilish, Bad Guy; Jonas Brothers, Sucker; and that upstart from Tik Tok, Lil Nas X with his Old Town Road Remix with Billy Ray Cyrus which is still holding on to No. 1 in the Hot 100 after a record 16 weeks. Lil Nas X got eight nominations while the sensational Billie Eilish got nine.

Meanwhile, it was a surprise to find a new category at the VMAs this year. Best K-Pop which has hits from South Korea as nominees. Monsta X ft. French Montana, Who Do You Love; TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Cat & Dog; NCT 127, Regular; EXO, Tempo. Can it be true that there is really no stopping the Koreans from taking over the leadership in popular music all over the world?   

Here is the list of nominees:

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 ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, Old Town Road (Remix); Taylor Swift, You Need To Calm Down.

New Artist: Ava Max; Billie Eilish; H.E.R.; Lil Nas X; Lizzo; ROSALIA.

Best Collaboration: Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, Old Town Road (Remix); Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello, Señorita; Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie, ME; Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber, I Don’t Care; BTS ft. Halsey, Boy With Luv.

Push Artist of the Year: Bazzi; CNCO; Billie Eilish; H.E.R.; Lauv; Lizzo.

Pop: 5 Seconds of Summer, Easier; Cardi B & Bruno Mars, Please Me; Billie Eilish, Bad Guy; Khalid, Talk; Ariana Grande, thank u, next; Jonas Brothers, Sucker; Taylor Swift, You Need To Calm Down.

Hip-Hop: 2 Chainz ft. Ariana Grande, Rule The World; 21 Savage ft. J. Cole, a lot; Cardi B, Money; DJ Khaled ft. Nipssey Hussle & John Legend, Higher; Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, Old Town Road (Remix); Travis Scott ft. Drake, SICKO MODE.

R&B: Anderson. Paak ft. Smokey Robinson, Make It Better; Childish Gambino, Feels Like Summer; H.E.R. ft. Bryson Tiller, Could’ve Been; Alicia Keys, Raise A Man; Ella Mai, Trip; Normani ft. 6lack, Waves.

Ariana Grande gets 10 nods, including Artist of the Year, in the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs)

Latin: Anuel AA, Karol G, Secreto; Bad Bunny ft. Drake, MIA; benny blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, J. Balvin, I Can’t Get Enough; Daddy Yankee ft. Snow, Con Calma; Maluma, Mala Mia; ROSALIA & J. Balvin ft. El Guincho, Con Altura.

Dance: The Chainsmokers ft. Bebe Rexha, Call You Mine; Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato, Solo; DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B, Taki Taki; David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J. Balvin, Say My Name; Marshmello & Bastille, Happier; Silk City & Dua Lipa, Electricity.

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 ft. Gallant, Runaway Train; John Legend, Preach; Lil Dicky, Earth; Taylor Swift, You Need To Calm Down.

Direction: Billie Eilish, Bad Guy by Dave Meyers; Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, Old Town Road (Remix) by Calmatic; LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo, No New Friends by Dano Cerny; Taylor Swift, You Need To Calm Down by Drew Kirsch & Taylor Swift.

Visual Effects: Billie Eilish, when the party’s over by Ryan Ross and Andres Jaramillo; FKA Twigs, Cellophane by Matt Chandler, Fabio Zavetti for Analog; Arianna Grande, God Is A Woman by Fabrice Lagayette; Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic; DJ Khaled ft. SZA, Just Us by Sergii Mashevsky; LSA ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo, No New Friends by Ethan Chancer; Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie, ME by Loris Pailier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX.

Editing: Anderson.Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar, Tints by Elias Talbot; Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, Old Town Road (Remix) by Calmatic; Billie Eilish, Bad Guy by Billie Eilish; Ariana Grande, 7 Rings by Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh; Solange, Almeda by Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs and Jonathon Proctor; Taylor Swift, You Need To Calm Down by Jarrett Fijal.

Art Direction: BTS ft. Halsey, Boy With Luv by JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E); Ariana Grande, 7 Rings by Art Richoux; Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, (Remix) Old Town Road by Itaru Dela Vegas; Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello, Señorita by Tatiana Van Sauter; Taylor Swift, You Need To Calm Down by Brittany Porter; Kanye West and Lil Pump ft. Adele Givens, I Love It by Tino Schaedler.

Cinematography: Anderson. Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar, Tints by Elias Talbot; Billie Eilish, Hostage by Pau Castejon; Ariana Grande, thank you next, by Christopher Probst; Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello, Señorita by Scott Cunningham; Solange, Almeda by Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton; Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie, ME by Starr Whitesides.

Hosted by comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Aug. 26, at 9 p.m. I guess this means we will be getting it on Tuesday from the local MTV Channel.