Ariana Grande & Taylor Swift Lead 2019 MTV VMA Nominations

Mike Nied | July 23, 2019 1:44 pm

The nominations are out for the 2019 MTV VMAs, and the lineup is seriously star-studded. Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift lead the field with 10 nods a piece. Both are in the running for some of the show’s highest honors including Video Of The Year (Ari for “thank u, next” and Taylor for “You Need To Calm Down”). There they face stiff competition. Also in the running for Video Of The Year are Jonas Brothers (“Sucker”), Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus (“Old Town Road”), Billie Eilish (“bad guy”) and 21 Savage and J. Cole (“a lot”).

Meanwhile, Cardi B, Halsey, Jonas Brothers, Shawn Mendes and Billie face off against Ari for the title of Artist Of The Year. The “bad guy” hitmaker trails closely behind with nine nominations to her name. She’s also in the running for the coveted Best New Artist. There she faces off against Ava Max, H.E.R., Lil Nas X, Lizzo and ROSALÍA. MTV introduced two new categories this year: Best K-Pop and Video For Good. BTS (who landed a total of 4 nods) is in the running for the former with their Halsey collab “Boy With Luv.” Others nominees include the likes of Monsta X (“WHO DO U LOVE”) and BLACKPINK (“Kill This Love”).

Meanwhile Halsey’s “Nightmare” faces off against the likes of John Legend’s “Preach” and Taylor’s “YNTCD” in the latter. Other notable entries include Normani’s “Waves” for Best R&B, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” for Song Of The Year and Selena Gomez in Best Latin on Benny Blanco’s “I Can’t Get Enough” and Best Dance on DJ Snake’s “Taki Taki.” The 2019 MTV VMAs will take place on August 26 at 9pm ET/PT. This year’s show will be hosted by Sebastian Maniscalco in New Jersey’s Prudential Center. Fans are able to vote for their favorites in several categories here.

While we wait to see who comes out on top, dive into the nominations below.

Video Of The Year

21 Savage ft. J. Cole – “a lot”

Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”

Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”

Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”

Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”

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”

Best New Artist, presented by Taco Bell®

Ava Max

Billie Eilish

H.E.R.

Lil Nas X

Lizzo

ROSALÍA

Best Collaboration

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”

Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow”

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita”

Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “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

Best Pop

5 Seconds of Summer – “Easier”

Cardi B & Bruno Mars – “Please Me”

Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy”

Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”

Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”

Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”

Best Hip Hop

2 Chainz ft. Ariana Grande – “Rule the World”

21 Savage ft. J. Cole – “a lot”

Cardi B – “Money”

DJ Khaled ft. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend – “Higher”

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”

Travis Scott ft. Drake – “SICKO MODE”

Best 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”

Best K-Pop

BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv”

BLACKPINK – “Kill This Love”

Monsta X ft. French Montana – “WHO DO U LOVE”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Cat & Dog”

NCT 127 – “Regular”

EXO – “Tempo”

Best 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 Mía”

ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – “Con Altura”

Best 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”

Best 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”

Best Direction

Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy” – Directed by Dave Meyers

FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang

Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” Directed by Hannah Lux Davis

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Directed by Calmatic​

LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Directed by Dano Cerny​

Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Directed by Drew Kirsch & Taylor Swift

Best Visual Effects

Billie Eilish – “when the party’s over” – Visual Effects by Ryan Ross, Andres Jaramillo

FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Visual Effects by Matt Chandler, Fabio Zaveti for Analog

Ariana Grande – “God is a Woman” – Visual Effects by Fabrice Lagayette, Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic

DJ Khaled ft. SZA – “Just Us” – Visual Effects by Sergii Mashevskyi​

LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Visual Effects by Ethan Chancer​

Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX​

Best Editing

Anderson .Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Tints” – Editing by Elias Talbot

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Editing by Calmatic​

Billie Eilish – “Bad Guy” – Editing by Billie Eilish

Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Editing by Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh

Solange – “Almeda” – Editing by Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor

Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Editing by Jarrett Fijal​

Best Art Direction

BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Art Direction by JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E)

Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Art Direction by John Richoux​

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Art Direction by Itaru Dela Vegas

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter​

Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Art Direction by Brittany Porter

Kanye West and Lil’ Pump ft. Adele Givens – “I Love It” – Art Direction by Tino Schaedler​

Best Choreography

FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Choreography by Kelly Yvonne

ROSALÍA & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – “Con Altura” – Choreography by Charm La’Donna​

LSD ft. Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Choreography by Ryan Heffington​

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Choreography by Calvit Hodge, Sara Biv

Solange – “Almeda” – Choreography by Maya Taylor, Solange Knowles

BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Choreography by Rie Hata​

Best Cinematography

Anderson .Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Tints” – Cinematography by Elias Talbot

Billie Eilish – “hostage” – Cinematography by Pau Castejon

Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” – Cinematography by Christopher Probst​

Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham

Solange – “Almeda” – Cinematography by Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton

Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Cinematography by Starr Whitesides

Did your fav land a nomination? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!