As far as mainstream pop music video performances go, of the things big enough to get the attention of the MTV VMAs, Beyoncé’s Lemonade is far and away the most towering achievement, aesthetically, thematically and duration-wise — to the point where it’s presumable that most people just wanted to see that filling up all of the categories at the awards ceremony (does it really even matter that Beyoncé doesn’t fit into the “Best Electronic Video” “Best Hip-Hop Video” or “Best Male Video” categories?), whose nominees were just announced.
Regardless, there are of course some other bits of visually compelling material from other artists (namely, very excited that two videos from Bowie’s Blackstar were nominated, and that FKA twigs’ M3LL155X was acknowledged in two categories, though neither category represents the excellently-conceived project as a whole), and then a lot of filler. Some will be into see ingKanye’s “Famous” video nominated, while Taylor Swift and anyone who didn’t think they needed to see a wax Donald Trump asleep naked in bed in a suggestively orgiastic frame might not. And so without further ado, here’s the combination of it all, via MTV:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR Adele – “Hello” Beyoncé – “Formation” Drake – “Hotline Bling” Justin Bieber – “Sorry” Kanye West – “Famous”
BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Adele – “Hello” Beyoncé – “Hold Up” Sia – “Cheap Thrills” Ariana Grande – “Into You” Rihanna ft. Drake – “Work” (short version)
BEST MALE VIDEO Drake – “Hotline Bling” Bryson Tiller – “Don’t” Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For” Kanye West – “Famous” The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
BEST COLLABORATIONBeyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Freedom” Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Work From Home” Ariana Grande ft. Lil Wayne – “Let Me Love You” Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – “This Is What You Came For” Rihanna ft. Drake – “Work” (short version)
BEST HIP HOP VIDEO Drake – “Hotline Bling” Desiigner – “Panda” Bryson Tiller – “Don’t” Chance The Rapper ft. Saba – “Angels” 2 Chainz – “Watch Out”
BEST POP VIDEO Adele – “Hello” Beyoncé – “Formation” Justin Bieber – “Sorry” Alessia Cara – “Wild Things” Ariana Grande – “Into You”
BEST ROCK VIDEO All Time Low – “Missing You” Coldplay – “Adventure Of A Lifetime” Fall Out Boy ft. Demi Lovato – “Irresistible” twenty one pilots – “Heathens” Panic! At The Disco – “Victorious”
BEST ELECTRONIC VIDEO Calvin Harris & Disciples – “How Deep Is Your Love” 99 Souls ft. Destiny’s Child & Brandy – “The Girl Is Mine” Mike Posner – “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” Afrojack – “SummerThing!” The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – “Don’t Let Me Down”
BREAKTHROUGH LONG FORM VIDEO Florence + The Machine – The Odyssey Beyoncé – Lemonade Justin Bieber – PURPOSE: The Movement Chris Brown – Royalty Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy
BEST NEW ARTIST Bryson Tiller Desiigner Zara Larsson Lukas Graham
BEST ART DIRECTION Beyoncé – “Hold Up” (Production Designer: Jason Hougaard) Fergie – “M.I.L.F. $” (Production Designer: Alexander Delgado) Drake – “Hotline Bling” (Production Designer: Jeremy MacFarlane) David Bowie – “Blackstar” (Production Designer: Jan Houllevigue) Adele – “Hello” (Production Designer: Colombe Raby)
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY Beyoncé – “Formation” (Choreographer: Chris Grant, JaQuel Knight, Dana Foglia) Missy Elliott ft. Pharrell – “WTF (Where They From)” (Choreographer: Hi-Hat) Beyoncé – “Sorry” (Choreographer: Chris Grant, JaQuel Knight, Dana Foglia, Anthony Burrell, Beyoncé Knowles Carter) FKA Twigs – “M3LL155X” (Choreographer: FKA Twigs) Florence + The Machine – “Delilah” (Choreographer: Holly Blakey)
BEST DIRECTION Beyoncé – “Formation” (Director: Melina Matsoukas) Coldplay – “Up&Up” (Director: Vania Heymann, Gal Muggia) Adele – “Hello” (Director: Xavier Dolan) David Bowie – “Lazarus” (Director: Johan Renck) Tame Impala – “The Less I Know The Better” (Director: Canada)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Beyoncé – “Formation” (Cinematographer: Malik Sayeed) Adele – “Hello” (Cinematographer: André Turpin) David Bowie – “Lazarus” (Cinematographer: Crille Forsberg) Alesso – “I Wanna Know” (Cinematographer: Corey Jennings) Ariana Grande – “Into You” (Cinematographer: Paul Laufer)
BEST EDITING Beyoncé – “Formation” (Editor: Jeff Selis) Adele – “Hello” (Editor: Xavier Dolan) Fergie – “M.I.L.F. $” (Editor: Vinnie Hobbs) David Bowie – “Lazarus” (Editor: Johan Söderberg) Ariana Grande – “Into You” (Editor: Hannah Lux Davis)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Coldplay – “Up&Up” (VFX Editor: Vania Heymann) FKA Twigs – “M3LL155X” (VFX Editor: Lewis Saunders, Jihoon Yoo) Adele – “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” (VFX Editor: Sam Sneade) The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face” (VFX Editor: Bryan Smaller) Zayn – “PILLOWTALK” (VFX Editor: David Smith)