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The MTV VMA nominations are here and the gender categories have gone

It's the first time for the VMAs

Ed Sheeran / Ariana Grande / Justin Bieber
Published 26th Jul 2017
Last updated 25th Oct 2021

The MTV VMAs nominations are here and for the first time they are removing the Best Male and Best Female categories, instead replacing them with Best Artist. This change means that the likes of Ed Sheeran will be up against Ariana Grande.

Although it is the first time the VMAs have removed the gender specific categories, MTV have done it before with the MTV Movie and TV awards earlier this year. The removal of the gender specific categories meant Emma Watson and Millie Bobby Brown took away the winning actor awards.

The change to the categories has been welcomed by critics and music fans. These new categories see rapper Kendrick Lamar lead the field with a massive eight nominations, including Video of the Year, Best Hip Hop, and Best Cinematography, all for his single 'HUMBLE'.

Katy Perry is trailing behind Kendrick with five nominations including Best Collaboration, with Calvin Harris on 'Feels', Best Pop and Best Direction for 'Chained To The Rhythm'. Meanwhile Canadian singer The Weeknd also has five nods including Artist of the Year which sees him up against Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Lorde.

Check out the full list of nominations and the new categories below:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

  • Kendrick Lamar – 'HUMBLE.'
  • Bruno Mars – '24K Magic'
  • Alessia Cara – 'Scars To Your Beautiful'
  • DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – 'Wild Thoughts'
  • The Weeknd – 'Reminder'

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • Bruno Mars
  • Kendrick Lamar
  • Ed Sheeran
  • Ariana Grande
  • The Weeknd
  • Lorde

BEST NEW ARTIST (Presented by Taco Bell®)

  • Khalid
  • Kodak Black
  • SZA
  • Young M.A
  • Julia Michaels
  • Noah Cyrus

BEST COLLABORATION

  • Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez – 'We Don’t Talk Anymore'
  • DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – 'Wild Thoughts'
  • D.R.A.M. ft. Lil Yachty – 'Broccoli'
  • The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – 'Closer'
  • Calvin Harris ft. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean – 'Feels'
  • Zayn & Taylor Swift – 'I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)'

BEST POP

  • Shawn Mendes – 'Treat You Better'
  • Ed Sheeran – 'Shape Of You'
  • Harry Styles – 'Sign Of The Times'
  • Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane – 'Down'
  • Katy Perry ft. Skip Marley – 'Chained To The Rhythm'
  • Miley Cyrus – 'Malibu'

BEST HIP HOP

  • Kendrick Lamar – 'HUMBLE.'
  • Big Sean – 'Bounce Back'
  • Chance the Rapper – 'Same Drugs'
  • D.R.A.M. ft. Lil Yachty – 'Broccoli'
  • Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert – 'Bad & Boujee'
  • DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper & Lil Wayne – 'I’m The One'

BEST DANCE

  • Zedd and Alessia Cara – 'Stay'
  • Kygo x Selena Gomez – 'It Ain’t Me'
  • Calvin Harris – 'My Way'
  • Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber and MØ – 'Cold Water'
  • Afrojack ft. Ty Dolla $ign – 'Gone'

BEST ROCK

  • Coldplay – 'A Head Full Of Dreams'
  • Fall Out Boy – 'Young And Menace'
  • Twenty One Pilots – 'Heavydirtysoul'
  • Green Day – 'Bang Bang'
  • Foo Fighters – 'Run'

BEST FIGHT AGAINST THE SYSTEM

  • Logic ft. Damian Lemar Hudson – 'Black SpiderMan'
  • The Hamilton Mixtape – 'Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)'
  • Big Sean – 'Light'
  • Alessia Cara – 'Scars To Your Beautiful'
  • Taboo ft. Shailene Woodley – 'Stand Up / Stand N Rock #NoDAPL'
  • John Legend – 'Surefire'

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Kendrick Lamar – 'HUMBLE.' (Cinematographer: Scott Cunningham)
  • Imagine Dragons – 'Thunder' (Cinematographer: Matthew Wise)
  • Ed Sheeran – 'Castle On The Hill' (Cinematographer: Steve Annis)
  • DJ Shadow ft. Run The Jewels – 'Nobody Speak' (Cinematographer: David Proctor)
  • Halsey – 'Now Or Never' (Cinematographer: Kristof Brandl)

BEST DIRECTION

  • Kendrick Lamar – 'HUMBLE.' (Directors: Dave Meyers, The Little Homies)
  • Katy Perry ft. Skip Marley – 'Chained To The Rhythm' (Director: Mathew Cullen)
  • Bruno Mars – '24K Magic' (Directors: Cameron Duddy, Bruno Mars)
  • Alessia Cara – 'Scars To Your Beautiful' (Director: Aaron A)
  • The Weeknd – 'Reminder' (Director: Glenn Michael)

BEST ART DIRECTION

  • Kendrick Lamar – 'HUMBLE.' (Production Designer: Spencer Graves)
  • Bruno Mars – '24K Magic' (Production Designer: Alex Delgado)
  • Katy Perry ft. Migos – 'Bon Appetit' (Production Designer: Natalie Groce)
  • DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – 'Wild Thoughts' (Production Designer: Damian Fyffe)
  • The Weeknd – 'Reminder' (Production Designers: Lamar C Taylor, Christo Anesti)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

  • Kendrick Lamar – 'HUMBLE.' (Company: Timber/Lead: Jonah Hall)
  • A Tribe Called Quest – 'Dis Generation' (Company: Bemo/Lead: Brandon Hirzel)
  • KYLE ft. Lil Yachty – 'iSpy' (Company: Gloria FX/Leads: Max Colt & Tomash Kuzmytskyi)
  • Katy Perry ft. Skip Marley – 'Chained To The Rhythm' (Company: MIRADA)
  • Harry Styles – 'Sign Of The Times' (Company: ONE MORE/Lead: Cédric Nivoliez)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

  • Kanye West – 'Fade' (Choreographers: Teyana Taylor, Guapo, Jae Blaze, Derek ‘Bentley’ Watkins)
  • Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj – 'Side To Side' (Choreographers: Brian & Scott Nicholson)
  • Kendrick Lamar – 'HUMBLE.' (Choreographer: Dave Meyers)
  • Sia – 'The Greatest' (Choreographer: Ryan Heffington)
  • Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane – 'Down' (Choreographer: Sean Bankhead)

BEST EDITING

  • Future – 'Mask Off' (Editor: Vinnie Hobbs of VHPost)
  • Young Thug – 'Wyclef Jean' (Editors: Ryan Staake, Eric Degliomini)
  • Lorde – 'Green Light' (Editor: Nate Gross of Exile Edit)
  • The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – 'Closer' (Editor: Jennifer Kennedy)
  • The Weeknd – 'Reminder' (Editor: Red Barbaza)

The MTV VMAs take place on 27th August at The Forum in Inglewood, California.