Nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards were just announced, with Megan Thee Stallion and Justin Bieber leading the way with six and seven nominations respectively. 

Mark your calendars, the fan-voted award show is set to take place on September 12, and will be one of the first fan-filled award shows to take place in New York since the beginning of the pandemic. It will take place live from the Barclays centre, starting at 8 PM. 

Megan and Bieber have both dominated the charts over the past year, staking claims with iconic songs of the summer, in 2020 with ‘WAP’ by Meg, and this year with ‘Peaches’ by Biebs. Other big time summer artists are also nominated for the biggest awards at the show, with names like Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, and Doja Cat getting a ton of play. 

Both are also competing in the ‘Artist of the Year category’ alongside stalwarts Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, as well as youngbloods Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat. 

The ‘Video of the Year’ category is set to be a heated battle, with 2020 song of the year ‘WAP’ going up against ‘Save Your Tears’ by the Weeknd, and 2021 mega-hit ‘Kiss Me More’ by Doja Cat and SZA. 

An interesting shift in the nominees for ‘Best Director’ has been just how many musicians are beginning to direct their own music videos. The ability to carve a name and personality for yourself over all the different mediums has been a big trend over the past year. 

Travis Scott and his song/video ‘Franchise’ is a standout in that respect, with talk of the rapper potentially working on a feature length film. 

Voting opened for the awards on Wednesday, and if you want your favourite artist to get the recognition they deserve, make sure you let your voice be heard. 

Sources: BILLBOARD.COM, PITCHFORK.COM, MTV.COM, SPIN.COM