Nigerian international sensation, Tems has earned an MTV VMAs nomination for Best Hip Hop Video for her contributions to Future’s ‘Wait For U’.
The single is one of the songs on Future’s 9th solo studio album ‘I Never Liked You’ and it features Drake and also samples vocals from Tems’ ‘Higher’.
‘Wait For U’ debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 thus earning Tems her third Billboard Hot 100 entry and made her only the second Afrobeats act to reach number one on the chart.
Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow & Kendrick Lamar Lead 2022 MTV VMA Nominations
Lil Nas X has seven nods, which puts him in a tie for the lead with Jack Harlow and Kendrick Lamar.
These three hip-hop stars are followed closely by Doja Cat -the year’s top female nominee- and Harry Styles, each of whom received six nods. Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd received five nods each. BTS is the most nominated group or duo, with four nods.
MTV expanded the number of nominees for its top award, video of the year, to seven for the first time in the show’s 39-year history. This is in keeping with the recent awards show trend of larger fields of nominees. There are also seven nominees here for artist of the year, best collaboration and best alternative.
Lil Nas X, who won last year’s video of the year award for ‘Montero (Call Me by Your Name), is defending his title with ‘Industry Baby’, his collab with Harlow that they premiered on last year’s VMAs. The video is nominated in six categories. Should it win the top award, Lil Nas X will become the first artist to win back-to-back video of the year awards.
The competition in that category includes Swift’s ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)’. Swift is a two-time winner in the category, for ‘Bad Blood’ (a collab with Lamar) and ‘You Need to Calm Down’. If Tyler Swift wins, she’ll become the first three-time winner in the category.
The other nominees for video of the year are Doja’s ‘Woman’, Drake featuring Future & Young Thug’s ‘Way 2 Sexy’, Sheeran’s ‘Shivers’, Styles’ ‘As It Was’, and Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘brutal’.
Bad Bunny is the first Latin artist to be nominated for artist of the year. Sheeran, who was the first winner in the category when it was introduced in 2017, is nominated again. Should he win, he’ll be the first two-time winner in the category. The other artist of the year nominees are Drake, Styles, Harlow, Lil Nas X and Lizzo.
Elton John, who became a major star 11 years before MTV went on the air in 1981, is nominated for song of the year for ‘Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)’, his hit collab with Lipa. The other nominees in the category are Adele’s ‘Easy on Me’, Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever’, Doja’s ‘Woman’, Lizzo’s ‘About Damn Time’ and The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber’s ‘Stay’.
The nominees for best new artist are Baby Keem, Dove Cameron, GAYLE, Latto, Måneskin and Seventeen. Voting in that category will remain active into the telecast on Sunday, Aug. 28.
Madonna, who is second only to Beyoncé as the most-awarded artist in MTV history with 20 wins, is nominated in the revived best longform video category with ‘MADAME X’.
The other nominees for best longform video are Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles’, Foo Fighters’ ‘Studio 666’, Kacey Musgraves’ ‘star-crossed’, Rodrigo’s ‘driving home 2 u’ and Swift’s ‘All Too Well’
There are 26 first-time nominees this year, including Baby Keem, GAYLE, Musgraves and Måneskin, all of whom received multiple nods, as well as Anitta, Becky G, Dove Cameron, Karol G, ITZY, JID, Muni Long, Tems and Wet Leg, among others.
The 2022 VMAs will be held on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022 live from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The show was first broadcast from that venue three years ago.
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