With the show exactly one month away on Sunday, August 30, the 2020 VMA nominee list is finally here — and it’s massive.
Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga lead the pack with nine noms each, while Billie Eilish and The Weeknd follow closely behind with six each. All four appear in the highly coveted Video of the Year category, which finds Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” going toe-to-toe with Eminem and Juice WRLD’s “Godzilla,” Future and Drake’s “Life Is Good,” Gaga and Grande’s “Rain on Me,” Taylor Swift’s “The Man,” and The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.”
In keeping with the year that 2020 has been, the VMAs have introduced two brand-new categories, Best Music Video From Home and Best Quarantine Performance, that spotlight the creative ways artists adapted to the shifting landscape. Voting in each of the 15 gender-neutral categories begins today over at vma.mtv.com.
MTV announced the nominees in its biggest categories via Twitter’s new Voice Tweets feature today (July 30). Last week, MTV unveiled the 17 nominees for PUSH Best New Artist, which have now been whittled down to six.
The 2020 VMAs will air live at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday, August 30 across MTV’s linear and digital platforms from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as well as from various iconic locations throughout New York City’s five boroughs.
Find the full 2020 VMAs nominees list below.
Video of the Year
Billie Eilish: “Everything I Wanted”
Eminem ft. Juice WRLD: “Godzilla”
Future ft. Drake: “Life Is Good”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande: “Rain on Me”
Taylor Swift: “The Man”
The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights”
Artist of the Year
DaBaby
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Megan Thee Stallion
Post Malone
The Weeknd
PUSH Best New Artist
Doja Cat
Jack Harlow
Lewis Capaldi
Roddy Ricch
Tate McRae
Yungblud
Song of the Year
Billie Eilish: “Everything I Wanted”
Doja Cat: “Say So”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande: “Rain on Me”
Megan Thee Stallion: “Savage”
Post Malone: “Circles”
Roddy Ricch: “The Box”
Best Collaboration
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber: “Stuck With U”
Black Eyed Peas ft. J Balvin: “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)”
Ed Sheeran ft. Khalid: “Beautiful People”
Future ft. Drake: “Life Is Good”
Karol G ft. Nicki Minaj: “Tusa”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande: “Rain on Me”
Best Pop
BTS: “On”
Halsey: “You Should Be Sad”
Jonas Brothers: “What a Man Gotta Do”
Justin Bieber ft. Quavo: “Intentions”
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande: “Rain on Me”
Taylor Swift: “Lover”
Best Hip-Hop
DaBaby: “Bop”
Eminem ft. Juice WRLD: “Godzilla”
Future ft. Drake: “Life Is Good”
Megan Thee Stallion: “Savage”
Roddy Ricch: “The Box”
Travis Scott: “Highest in the Room”
Best R&B
Alicia Keys: “Underdog”
Chloe x Halle: “Do It”
H.E.R. ft. YG: “Slide”
Khalid ft. Summer Walker: “Eleven”
Lizzo: “Cuz I Love You”
The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights”
Best K-Pop
BTS: “On”
EXO: “Obession”
(G)I-DLE: “Oh My God”
Monsta X: “Someone’s Someone”
Red Velvet: “Psycho”
Tomorrow X Together: “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)”
Best Latin
Anuel AA ft. Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, Karol G, J Balvin: “China”
Bad Bunny: “Yo Perreo Sola”
Black Eyed Peas ft. Ozuna, J. Rey Soul: “Mamacita”
J Balvin: “Amarillo”
Karol G ft. Nicki Minaj: “Tusa”
Maulma ft. J Balvin: “Qué Pena”
Best Rock
Blink-182: “Happy Days”
Coldplay: “Orphans”
Evanescence: “Wasted on You”
Fall Out Boy ft. Wyclef Jean: “Dear Future Self (Hands Up)”
Green Day: “Oh Yeah!”
The Killers: “Caution”
Best Alternative
The 1975: “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)”
All Time Low: “Some Kind of Disaster”
Finneas: “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night”
Lana Del Rey: “Doin’ Time”
Machine Gun Kelly: “Bloody Valentine”
Twenty One Pilots: “Level of Concern”
Best Music Video From Home
5 Seconds of Summer: “Wildflower”
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber: “Stuck With U”
Blink-182: “Happy Days”
Drake: “Toosie Slide”
John Legend: “Bigger Love”
Twenty One Pilots: “Level of Concern”
Best Quarantine Performance
Chloe x Halle: “Do It (from MTV Prom-Athon)”
CNCO: MTV Unplugged At Home
DJ D-Nice: Club MTV Presents: #DanceTogether
John Legend: #TogetherAtHome Concert Series
Lady Gaga: “Smile” from One World: Together At Home
Post Malone: Nirvana Tribute
Video For Good
Anderson .Paak: “Lockdown”
Billie Eilish: “All the Good Girls Go to Hell”
Demi Lovato: “I Love Me”
H.E.R.: “I Can’t Breathe”
Lil Baby: “The Bigger Picture”
Taylor Swift: “The Man”
Best Direction
Billie Eilish: “xanny” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – Directed by Billie Eilish
Doja Cat: “Say So” – Kemosabe / RCA Records – Directed by Hannah Lux Davis
Dua Lipa: “Don’t Start Now” – Warner Records – Directed by Nabil
Harry Styles: “Adore You” – Columbia Records – Directed by Dave Meyers
Taylor Swift: “The Man” – Republic Records – Directed by Taylor Swift
The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights” – XO / Republic Records – Directed by Anton Tammi
Best Cinematography
5 Seconds of Summer: “Old Me” – Interscope Records – Cinematography by Kieran Fowler
Camila Cabello ft. DaBaby: “My Oh My” – Syco Music / Epic Records – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham
Billie Eilish: “all the good girls go to hell” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – Cinematography by Christopher Probst
Katy Perry: “Harleys In Hawaii” – Capitol Records – Cinematography by Arnau Valls
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande: “Rain On Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records – Cinematography by Thomas Kloss
The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights” – XO / Republic Records – Cinematography by Oliver Millar
Best Art Direction
A$AP Rocky: “Babushka Boi” – Polo Grounds Music / RCA Records – Art Direction by A$AP Rocky & Nadia Lee Cohen
Dua Lipa: “Physical” – Warner Records – Art Direction by Anna Colomé Nogu ́
Harry Styles: “Adore You” – Columbia Records – Art Direction by Laura Ellis Cricks
Miley Cyrus: “Mother’s Daughter” – RCA Records – Art Direction by Christian Stone
Selena Gomez: “Boyfriend” – Interscope Records – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter
Taylor Swift: “Lover” – Republic Records – Art Direction by Ethan Tobman
Best Visual Effects
Billie Eilish: “all the good girls go to hell” – Darkroom / Interscope Records – Visual Effects by Drive Studios
Demi Lovato: “I Love Me” – Island Records – Visual Effects by Hoody FX
Dua Lipa: “Physical” – Warner Records – Visual Effects by EIGHTY4
Harry Styles: “Adore You” – Columbia Records – Visual Effects by Mathematic
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande: “Rain On Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records – Visual Effects by Ingenuity Studios
Travis Scott: “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” – Epic Records / Cactus Jack – Visual Effects by ARTJAIL, SCISSOR FILMS & FRENDER
Best Choreography
BTS: “On” – Big Hit Entertainment – Choreography by Son Sung Deuk, Lee Ga Hun, Lee Byung Eun
CNCO & Natti Natasha: “Honey Boo” – Sony Music Latin / RCA Records – Choreography by Kyle Hanagami
DaBaby: “BOP” – SCMG / Interscope Records – Choreography by Dani Leigh and Cherry
Dua Lipa: “Physical” – Warner Records – Choreography by Charm La’Donna
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande: “Rain On Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records – Choreography by Richy Jackson
Normani: “Motivation” – Keep Cool / RCA Records – Choreography by Sean Bankhead
Best Editing
Halsey: “Graveyard” – Capitol Records – Edited by Emilie Aubry, Janne Vartia & Tim Montana
James Blake: “Can’t Believe the Way We Flow” – Republic Records – Edited by Frank Lebon
Lizzo: “Good As Hell” – Atlantic Records – Edited by Russell Santos & Sofia Kerpan
Miley Cyrus: “Mother’s Daughter” – RCA Records – Edited by Alexandre Moors, Nuno Xico
ROSALÍA: “A Palé” – Columbia Records – Edited by Andre Jones
The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights” – XO / Republic Records – Edited by Janne Vartia & Tim Montana
The 2020 MTV VMAs will air live on Sunday, August 30 across MTV’s linear and digital platforms. Find everything you need to know at vma.mtv.com.
