SZA, Nicki Minaj among leaders in MTV VMA nominations

SZA, Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj are each up for video of the year at the annual ceremony, airing live on Sept. 12.

MTV announced the annual MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) nominations Tuesday with SZA, Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj among the leading nominees.

SZA received six nominations, second only to Taylor Swift’s eight for 2023. Five of the six nods are for her video “Kill Bill,” including for video of the year and song of the year. Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj each got five nominations, including for video of the year for “Attention” and “Super Freaky Girl,” respectively.

Metro Boomin, GloRilla, and Ice Spice are among the 35 first-time VMA nominees this year. Metro received three nominations, two for his “Creepin'” video featuring The Weeknd and 21 Savage. Both GloRilla and Ice Spice have two nods, including for best new artist. Drake, The Weeknd, Yung Miami, Alicia Keys, Ashanti, Bryson Tiller, Diddy and Kendrick Lamar are notable nominees.

MTV will introduce its new category, best Afrobeats, at the 2023 ceremony. Burna Boy, Davido, WizKid and Ayra Starr are among the nominees in that category.

The 2023 MTV VMAs are slated to air live at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 12 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Full nominations list for the 2023 MTV VMAs:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Doja Cat – “Attention”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl” 
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
SZA – “Kill Bill” 
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Beyoncé 
Doja Cat
KAROL G
Nicki Minaj
Shakira
Taylor Swift

SONG OF THE YEAR

Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy”
Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit”
SZA – “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”

BEST NEW ARTIST

GloRilla
Ice Spice
Kaliii
Peso Pluma
PinkPantheress
Reneé Rapp

PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

August 2022: Saucy Santana – “Booty”
September 2022: Stephen Sanchez – “Until I Found You”
October 2022: JVKE – “golden hour” – AWAL
November 2022: Flo Milli – “Conceited”
December 2022: Reneé Rapp – “Colorado”
January 2023: Sam Ryder – “All The Way Over”
February 2023: Armani White – “GOATED”
March 2023: FLETCHER – “Becky’s So Hot”
April 2023: TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride”
May 2023: Ice Spice – “Princess Diana”
June 2023: FLO – “Losing You”
July 2023: Lauren Spencer Smith – “That Part”

BEST COLLABORATION

David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – “I’m Good (Blue)”
Post Malone, Doja Cat – “I Like You (A Happier Song)”
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
KAROL G, Shakira – “TQG”
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”

BEST POP

Demi Lovato – “Swine”
Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)”
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed”
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire”
P!NK – “TRUSTFALL”
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero”

BEST HIP-HOP

Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On”
DJ Khaled ft. Drake & Lil Baby – “STAYING ALIVE”
GloRilla & Cardi B – “Tomorrow 2”
Lil Uzi Vert – “Just Wanna Rock”
Lil Wayne ft. Swizz Beatz & DMX – “Kant Nobody”
Metro Boomin ft Future – “Superhero (Heroes and Villains)”
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl”

BEST R&B

Alicia Keys ft. Lucky Daye – “Stay”
Chlöe ft. Chris Brown – “How Does It Feel”
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)”
SZA – “Shirt”
Toosii – “Favorite Song”
Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj – “Love In The Way”

BEST ALTERNATIVE

blink-182 – “EDGING”
boygenius – “the film”
Fall Out Boy – “Hold Me Like A Grudge”                                                           
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace”
Paramore – “This Is Why”
Thirty Seconds To Mars – “Stuck”

BEST ROCK

Foo Fighters – “The Teacher”
Linkin Park – “Lost (Original Version)”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Tippa My Tongue”
Måneskin – “THE LONELIEST”
Metallica – “Lux Æterna”
Muse – “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”

BEST LATIN

Anitta – “Funk Rave”
Bad Bunny – “WHERE SHE GOES”
Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma – “Ella Baila Sola”Frontera
Bad Bunny – “un x100to”
KAROL G, Shakira – “TQG”
ROSALÍA – “DESPECHÁ”
Shakira – “Acróstico”

BEST K-POP

aespa – “Girls”
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom”
FIFTY FIFTY – “Cupid”
SEVENTEEN – “Super”
Stray Kids – “S-Class”
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride”

BEST AFROBEATS

Ayra Starr – “Rush”
Burna Boy – “It’s Plenty”
Davido ft. Musa Keys – “UNAVAILABLE”
Fireboy DML & Asake – ”Bandana”
Libianca – “People”
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down”
Wizkid ft Ayra Starr– “2 Sugar”

VIDEO FOR GOOD

Alicia Keys – If I Ain’t Got You (Orchestral)
Bad Bunny – “El Apagón – Aquí Vive Gente”
Demi Lovato – “Swine”
Dove Cameron – “Breakfast”
Imagine Dragons – “Crushed”
Maluma – “La Reina”

BEST DIRECTION

Doja Cat – “Attention” – Directed by Tanu Muiño
Drake – “Falling Back” – Director X (Julien Christian Lutz)
Kendrick Lamar – Directed by Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – Directed by Colin Tilley
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Directed by Floria Sigismondi
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Directed by Christian Breslauer
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Directed by Taylor Swift

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Adele – “I Drink Wine” – Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed” – Cinematography by Natasha Baier
Janelle Monae – “Lipstick Lover” – Cinematography by Allison Anderson
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” – Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers” – Cinematography by Marcell Rev
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” – Cinematography by Russ Fraser
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Cinematography by Rina Yang

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Fall Out Boy – “Love From The Other Side” – Visual Effects by Thomas Bailey and Josh Shaffner
Harry Styles – “Music For A Sushi Restaurant” – Visual Effects by Chelsea Delfino and Black Kite Studios
Melanie Martinez – “VOID” – Visual Effects by Carbon
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl” – Visual Effects by Max Colt and Sergio Mashevskyi
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” — Visual Effects by Max Colt / FRENDER
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Visual Effects by Parliament

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Choreography by Kiel Tutin, Sienna Lalau, Lee Jung (YGX), Taryn Cheng (YGX)
Dua Lipa – “Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album)” – Choreography by Charm LaDonna 
Jonas Brothers – “Waffle House” – Choreography by Jerry Reece
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – Choreography by Sean Bankhead
Panic! At The Disco – “Middle Of A Breakup” – Choreography by Monika Felice Smith
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Choreography by (LA)HORDE – Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, Arthur Harel

BEST ART DIRECTION

boygenius – “the film” – Art Direction by Jen Dunlap
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Art Direction by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT)
Doja Cat – “Attention” – Art Direction by Spencer Graves
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – Art Direction by Brandon Mendez
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – Art Direction by Niko Philipides
SZA – “Shirt” – Art Direction by Kate Bunch

BEST EDITING 

BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – Editing by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT)
Kendrick Lamar – “Rich Spirit” – Edited by Grason Caldwell
Miley Cyrus – “River” – Edited by Brandan Walter
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” – Edited by Sofia Kerpan and David Checel
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Edited by Luis Caraza Peimbert
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Edited by Chancler Haynes

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