MTV has officially unveiled their full list of nomination for the 2021 VMAs, with Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion leading the pack. Thanks to his successful Justice release, Bieber holds seven nominations, including nods for Video Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, and Best Pop. Megan follows behind him with six nominations for categories like Video Of The Year and Song Of The Year.
This year’s MTV VMAs is set to return to Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the first time since 2013. It kicks off September 12 and organizers expect to invite musicians and fans to join the event in-person.
See the full list of 2021 VMA nominations below.
Video Of The Year
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
DJ Khaled Feat. Drake — “Popstar” (Starring Justin Bieber)
Doja Cat Feat. SZA — “Kiss Me More”
Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records
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 Feat. Iann Dior — “Mood”
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic — “Leave the Door Open”
BTS — “Dynamite”
Cardi B Feat. 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
Wallows — “Are You Bored Yet?”
Ashnikko — “Daisy”
Saint Jhn — “Gorgeous”
24kGoldn — “Coco”
JC Stewart — “Break My Heart”
Latto — “Sex Lies”
Madison Beer — “Selfish”
The Kid Laroi — “Without You”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”
Girl in Red — “Serotonin”
Fousheé — “My Slime”
Jxdn — “Think About Me”
Best Collaboration
24kGoldn Feat. Iann Dior — “Mood”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
Doja Cat Feat. SZA — “Kiss Me More”
Drake Feat. Lil Durk — “Laugh Now Cry Later”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Miley Cyrus Feat. Dua Lipa — “Prisoner”
Best Pop
Ariana Grande — “Positions”
Billie Eilish — “Therefore I Am”
BTS — “Butter”
Harry Styles — “Treat People With Kindness”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Good 4 U”
Shawn Mendes — “Wonder”
Taylor Swift — “Willow”
Best Hip-Hop
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”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
Drake Feat. Lil Durk — “Laugh Now Cry Later”
Lil Baby Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “On Me (remix)”
Moneybagg Yo – “Said Sum”
Polo G — “Rapstar”
Travis Scott Feat. 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 Feat. Blackbear — “My Ex’s Best Friend”
Twenty One Pilots — “Shy Away”
Willow Feat. Travis Barker — “Transparent Soul”
Best Latin
Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez — “Dákiti”
Billie Eilish & Rosalía — “Lo Vas A Olvidar”
Black Eyed Peas and Shakira — “Girl Like Me”
Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy — “Un Die (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”
HER Feat. 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”
Video For Good
Billie Eilish — “Your Power”
Demi Lovato — “Dancing With The Devil”
HER — “Fight For You”
Kane Brown — “Worldwide Beautiful”
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
Pharrell Williams Feat. Jay-Z — “Entrepreneur”
Best Direction
Billie Eilish — “Your Power” Directed by Billie Eilish
DJ Khaled Feat. 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 Feat. 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 Feat.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 Feat. 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
Pink — “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 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”
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”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Miley Cyrus Feat. Dua Lipa — “Prisoner”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.