roberthayne6: 2012 VMA Nominations Are Out, Rihanna and Drake Lead The Pack

The nominees for the 2012 MTV Music Awards are out, and Rihanna and Drake are leading the field with five nominations each. Both are up for the grand award of Video Of The Year, with Rihanna nominated for “We found Love” and Drake for “Take Care” – which actually features Rihanna. Also nominated in said category are Katy Perry‘s “Wide Awake,” as well as Gotye‘s “Somebody That I Use To Know” and M.I.A.‘s “Bad Girls.” Check out the complete list below.

Rihanna is also up for Best Pop Video and Best Female Video. Frank Ocean‘s “Swim Good” is nominated for Best Male Video, Best Direction and Best New Artist. Fun.‘s “We Are Young” is also included in the latter category, as well as Carly Rae Jepsen‘s “Call Me Maybe,” Wanted‘s “Glad You Came,” and One Direction‘s “What Makes You Beautiful.”

The Black Keys are up for Best Rock Video for “Lonely Boy,” as well as Jack White‘s “Sixteen Saltines” and Coldplay‘s “Paradise.”

Lana Del Rey surprisingly isn’t up for Best New Artist, but her “Born To Die” is nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Del Rey’s JFK, A$AP Rocky‘s “Goldie” is in the category for best editing. And Lil Wayne‘s “How To Love” is up for Best Video With A Message – the message being that is you learn how to love, you won’t end up a stripper.

Besides being up for Video of the Year, Drake’s “Take Care” is also up for Best Male Video. He’s up against Justin Bieber‘s “Boyfriend,” Frank Ocean‘s “Swim Good,” Usher‘s “Climax” and Chris Brown‘s “Turn Up the Music.”

The VMA’s have also added a new category into the mix – Best Electronic Dance Music Video. Nominees in that category include Duck Sauce‘s “Big Bad Wolf,” Calvin Harris‘ “Feel So Close,” Skrillex‘s “First of the Year (Equinox),” Martin Solveig‘s “The Night Out,” and Avicii‘s “Le7els.”

Alicia Keys and One Direction are set to perform at this year’s televised event. Keys said that she’ll be debuting a new song so if you’re a fan, you might wanna tune in. The VMA’s ceremony will air live on September 6 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Take a look at the full list of nominees below:

Video of the Year
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”

Best New Artist
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
The Wanted, “Glad You Came”

Best Hip-Hop Video
Childish Gambino, “Heartbeat”
Drake feat. Lil Wayne, “HYFR”
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean & 2 Chainz, “Mercy”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Nicki Minaj feat. 2 Chainz, “Beez in the Trap”

Best Male Video
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Usher, “Climax”

Best Female Video
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Katy Perry, “Part of Me”
Beyoncé, “Love on Top”
Nicki Minaj, “Starships”
Selena Gomez & The Scene, “Love You Like a Love Song”

Best Pop Video
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa, “Payphone”

Best Rock Video
Coldplay, “Paradise”
The Black Keys, “Lonely Boy”
Linkin Park, “Burn It Down”
Jack White, “Sixteen Saltines”
Imagine Dragons, “It’s Time”

Best Electronic Dance Music Video
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
Calvin Harris, “Feel So Close”
Skrillex, “First of the Year (Equinox)”
Martin Solveig, “The Night Out”
Avicii, “Le7els”

Best Video With a Message
Demi Lovato, “Skyscraper”
Rise Against, “Ballad of Hollis Brown”
Kelly Clarkson, “Dark Side”
Gym Class Heroes, “The Fighter”
K’Naan feat. Nelly Furtado, “Is Anybody Out There?”
Lil Wayne, “How to Love”

Best Art Direction
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die”
Regina Spektor, “All the Rowboats”
Of Monsters and Men, “Little Talks”

Best Choreography
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Rihanna, “Where Have You Been”
Beyoncé, “Countdown”
Avicii, “Le7els”
Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull, “Dance Again”

Best Cinematography
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
Adele, “Someone Like You”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Coldplay feat. Rihanna, “Princess of China”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die”

Best Direction
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
Coldplay feat. Rihanna, “Princess of China”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Watch the Throne, “Otis”

Best Editing
Beyoncé, “Countdown”
A$AP Rocky, “Goldie”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean and 2 Chainz, “Mercy”

Best Visual Effects
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Rihanna, “Where Have You Been”
David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, “Turn Me On”
Linkin Park, “Burn It Down”

What do you think?