What to expect from the 2017 VMA Nominations

JB Bridgeman
Jul 20, 2017 · 7 min read

Hieeeeee! So the MTV Video Music Awards are on August 27th, and they will likely be announcing their nominees in the next few days. I thought I would break down what I feel to be some potential contenders for this years awards. Some things to know…

  • Before you knock the VMAs: they made the right call between Beyoncé and Adele last year (*cough cough* looking at you, the Grammys). Queen Bey took home 8 Moonmen, including Video of the Year for “Formation” and Breakthrough Longform Video, for the Lemonade visual album—and let’s be clear: that category was essentially created to reward Lemonade. All I’m saying is we need to give MTV some credit for recognizing excellence.
Beyoncé accepting the Moonman for Video of the Year at the 2016 VMAs
  • It’s not ENTIRELY clear, but it’s likely that the eligibility period for this year’s awards goes from July 1st, 2016 to June 30th, 2017. Some years they’re flexible, some years they stick to a window stringently.
  • Speaking as someone who has watched the VMAs…every year since 1997, I can tell you that MTV makes tweaks to the categories every year, sometimes minor and sometimes major. Something tells me the changes at this year’s MTV Movie Awards (now the MTV Movie & TV Awards) could be indicative of what’s to come from the VMAs. That awards show eliminated gender from their performance categories, which might signal an end to the Best Male Video and Best Female Video categories. Stay tuned.

So, I wanna crank through a few videos for songs that have made an impact in one way or another in the past ~year. I’ll give my take on them and an idea of where I think they could fit into this year’s slate of nominees.

“Side to Side” by Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj

Ariana Grande took us to SoulCycle with this one, and we ran in to Nicki Minaj in the sauna. The two of them performed “Side to Side” at last year’s VMAs and the song was a big hit in the second half of 2016. The video has over a billion views on YouTube. Ariana’s won one VMA in the past from 11 nominations, and Nicki has gone 3 for 9, but neither has ever been nominated for Video of the Year. Given the year Ariana has had, the number of times Nicki has been passed up in the top category, and how flat out fun this video is, I think they’d frankly be insane to not nominate “Side to Side” for Video of the Year.

“Bad Liar” by Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez has been nominated for four VMAs in the past, and won once in 2013 for Best Pop Video (“Come & Get It”). I think she has a good contender on her hands this year with “Bad Liar” which features her as several different characters, in different wigs and costumes. The video showcases Selena’s comedic chops as well, which doesn’t hurt her chances. I think she could be nominated for Video of the Year for the first time this year.

“Cranes In the Sky” and “Don’t Touch My Hair” by Solange

These videos served as an announcement that Solange was truly ARRIVING with her album, A Seat At the Table. The VMAs have artistic/technical awards for categories like Editing, Cinematography, and Art Direction. I think Solange’s videos are a shoe-in to make appearances in those categories. Every once in a while the VMAs nominate an artist in Video of the Year who is just left of the mainstream…if this is one of those years, my money is on Solange being that artist. Also how cool would it be for the Knowles sisters to win Video of the Year two years in a row?

“Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran

Ugh. All signs point to this being nominated for Video of the Year and I feel as good about it as I did about his Game of Thrones cameo. Do not want.

“Green Light” by Lorde

Lorde’s video for “Green Light” is so simple and colorful. The image of her leaning out the window of a car as the wind blows through her hair visually sums up the feeling of the song perfectly. This is personally one of my favorite songs and videos of the year, but I’m not sure it’s made enough of an impression to have a big showing at the VMAs. However, Lorde has won one VMA in the past for Best Rock Video for “Royals” in 2014, and I feel pretty confident this will turn up in that category because sometimes MTV uses the term “Rock” pretty loosely. It can’t hurt that this video represents Melodrama, one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2017 so far.

“HUMBLE.” by Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar’s first bona fide, Top 40 #1 hit single as a lead artist, “HUMBLE.” Comes from his chart-topping critical smash, DAMN. It also happens to have a really visually striking music video; but this is something anyone paying attention has come to expect from him. In 2015, Kendrick was a double nominee for Video of the Year. “Alright” was nominated, and ultimately his collaboration with Taylor Swift, “Bad Blood,” won the top honor. I think “HUMBLE.” is the closest thing to a lock to be nominated in the top category we have this year.

“Chained to the Rhythm” by Katy Perry f/ Skip Marley

The Witness album cycle has been a bag of mixed results for Katy Perry, but the video for “Chained to the Rhythm” was released earlier this year to relatively high praise. The retro-futurist theme park gave a compelling setting for Katy to call out complacency, even if the rest of what she’s done this year doesn’t exactly line up with the “woke pop” or “purposeful pop” we were promised. She has some serious history with the VMAs that has to be considered, having won Video of the Year in 2011 for “Firework” and getting a second nomination there in the category for “Wide Awake” in 2012. I expect this (or “Bon Appetit”) to receive a few nominations.

“Location” by Khalid

One thing that remains consistent about the VMAs is a Best New Artist or Artist to Watch category. Khalid has been slowly creeping toward mainstream status with “Location” throughout the summer, and I think he’s sure to turn up in the Artist to Watch category this year, and maybe pop up in a few other places as well.

“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” by Zayn & Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has a long and overwhelming history with the VMAs. It seems like every 2 or 3 years she finds herself at the center of VMA-related drama, usually involving Kanye West. She’s also won six Moonmen, including Video of the Year in 2015 for “Bad Blood” with Kendrick Lamar. Zayn has just one previous solo nomination, but four wins as a member of One Direction. Based solely on how popular this song was, I think it’s a lock for a Best Collaboration nomination, but the bland video makes me hesitate to predict much beyond that.

“Everything Now” by Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire has been largely overlooked by the VMAs in the past, with just one win from two nominations in technical categories in 2014. Their Everything Now album cycle shows they’re committed to making interesting music videos though, as they’ve already released four videos before the album’s release. In the video for “Everything Now” we see people connecting IRL in settings among physical remnants of what connects people virtually like fallen satellites and old telephone poles. Now that Arcade Fire find themselves at the center of Alternative Rock, I think they have to be considered a dark horse for a Video of the Year nomination.

“Despacito” by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee

So…this is a wild card. “Despacito” is the undisputed song of the summer, logging 10 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video has over 2.5 BILLION views on YouTube. But…there’s no video for the remix featuring Justin Bieber and the video for the original version, despite its massive popularity, isn’t much to write home about. If there’s a Song of the Summer category, this will assuredly pop up there.

“Praying” by Kesha

With this ballad that builds, Kesha made her long awaited return to pop music this summer after a long legal battle with producer/sex abuser, Dr. Luke. This song and this video make such a poignant statement, that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is wish peace upon the people who ruin your life. Kesha’s been nominated for five VMAs in the past, and unless they’re sticklers on release date this year (the video was released after July 1st) I expect this to make the cut for a few nominations, and I’d be ecstatic to see it make it into the Video of the Year field.

What I Would Nominate for Video of the Year…

  • “Everything Now” by Arcade Fire
  • “Side to Side” by Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj
  • “HUMBLE.” by Kendrick Lamar
  • “Praying” by Kesha
  • “Cranes in the Sky” by Solange
  • Alternate: “Green Light” by Lorde

My Predictions for the Video of the Year nominees…

  • “Side to Side” by Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj
  • “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran
  • “HUMBLE.” by Kendrick Lamar
  • “Bad Liar” by Selena Gomez
  • “Cranes in the Sky” by Solange
  • Alternate: “Everything Now” by Arcade Fire

Other Videos That Could Make It Into the Mix:

“Crying In the Club” by Camilla Cabello
“New Rules” by Dua Lipa
“I’m the One” by DJ Khaled, Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, & Lil Wayne
“Wild Thoughts” by DJ Khaled, Rihanna, & Bryson Tiller
“Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles
“It Ain’t Me” by Kygo & Selena Gomez
“Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga
“Lust For Life” by Lana Del Rey & The Weeknd
“Touch” by Little Mix
“Bad and Boujee” by Migos f/ Lil Uzi Vert
“Slow Hands” by Niall Horan
”No Frauds” by Nicki Minaj, Drake, & Lil Wayne
“Starboy” by The Weeknd f/ Daft Punk
“Stay” by Zedd & Alessia Cara

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