When you drop a video for every song on your album, you have a good shot at getting recognition. And it helps if you're Beyonce.
Beyonce leads all contenders with eight nominations for the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, followed by Eminem and Iggy Azalea with seven each.
And if you're disappointed by the omission of the pelvic-smashing masterpiece "Turn Down For What" for Video Of The Year — it's my personal favorite — keep in mind that there's never been a music video to win Best Video of the Year that hasn't featured the recording artists in it. And music videos on a mass mainstream level are traditionally about imaging an artist. That said, the video gets recognition in four categories, including a Best Direction nod.
See below for the full list of general award nomination categories, and read more for a recap of our of the technical slate — which we exclusively announced earlier this morning. And, PS: Fan voting is allowed, so get clicking.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR:
- Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX "Fancy" (Director X, dir.)
- Beyoncé f/ JAY Z "Drunk In Love" (Hype Williams, dir.)
- Pharrell Williams "Happy" (We Are From L.A., dir.)
- Sia "Chandelier" (Sia & Daniel Askill, dir.)
- Miley Cyrus "Wrecking Ball" (Terry Richardson, dir.)
BEST HIP HOP:
- Eminem "Berzerk" (Syndrome, dir.)
- Drake f. Majid Jordan "Hold On, We’re Going Home" (Bill Pope, dir.)
- Childish Gambino "3005" (Hiro Murai, dir.)
- Kanye West "Black Skinhead" (Nick Knight, dir.)
- Wiz Khalifa "We Dem Boyz" (Ethan Lader, dir.)
BEST MALE:
- Pharrell Williams "Happy" (We Are From L.A., dir.)
- John Legend "All Of Me" (NABIL, dir.)
- Ed Sheeran f/ Pharrell "Sing" (Emil Nava, dir.)
- Sam Smith "Stay With Me" (Jamie Thraves, dir.)
- Eminem f/ Rihanna "Monster" (Rich Lee, dir.)
BEST FEMALE:
- Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX "Fancy" (Director X, dir.)
- Beyonce "Partition" (Jake Nava, dir.)
- Lorde "Royals" (Joel Kefali, dir.)
- Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea "Problem" (The Young Astronauts, dir.)
- Katy Perry "Dark Horse" (Mathew Cullen, dir.)
BEST POP:
- Pharrell Williams "Happy" (We Are From L.A., dir.)
- Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX "Fancy" (Director X, dir.)
- Jason Derulo f/ 2 Chainz "Talk Dirty" (Colin Tilley, dir.)
- Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea "Problem" (The Young Astronauts, dir.)
- Avicii f/ Aloe Blacc "Wake Me Up" (Mark Seliger & CB Miller, dir.)
BEST ROCK:
- Imagine Dragons "Demons" (Isaac Halasima, dir.)
- Arctic Monkeys "Do I Wanna Know?" (David Wilson, dir.)
- The Black Keys "Fever" (Theo Wenner, dir.)
- Lorde "Royals" (Joel Kefali, dir.)
- Linkin Park "Until It's Gone" (Joe Hahn, dir.)
MTV ARTIST TO WATCH:
- Sam Smith "Stay With Me" (Jamie Thraves, dir.)
- 5 Seconds of Summer "She Looks So Perfect" (Frank Borin, dir.)
- Charli XCX "Boom Clap" (Sing J. Lee, dir.)
- Schoolboy Q "Man Of The Year" (Dave Free, Scott Fleishman, Fredo Tovar, dir.)
- Fifth Harmony "Miss Moving On" (Hannah Lux Davis, dir.)
BEST COLLABORATION:
- Beyoncé f/ JAY Z "Drunk In Love" (Hype Williams, dir.)
- Ariana Grande f/ Iggy Azalea "Problem" (The Young Astronauts, dir.)
- Pitbull f/ Ke$ha "Timber" (David Rousseau, dir.)
- Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne and Tyga "Loyal" (Chris Brown, dir.)
- Eminem f/ Rihanna "Monster" (Rich Lee, director)
- Katy Perry "Dark Horse" (Mathew Cullen, dir.)
MTV CLUBLAND AWARD:
- DJ Snake & Lil Jon "Turn Down For What" (Daniels, dir.)
- Zedd f/ Hayley Williams "Stay The Night" (Daniel Cloud Campos, dir.)
- Calvin Harris "Summer" (Emil Nava, dir.)
- Martin Garrix "Animals" (Mark Loonen, dir.)
Disclosure "Grab Her" (Emile Sornin, dir.)
BEST VIDEO WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE
- Angel Haze f/ Sia “Battle Cry" (Frank Borin, dir.)
- Avicii "Hey Brother" (Jesse S, dir.)
- Beyonce “Pretty Hurts” (Melina Matsoukas, dir.)
- J.Cole f/ TLC "Crooked Smile" (Sheldon Candis, dir.)
- Kelly Rowland "Dirty Laundry" (Sarah McColgan, dir.)
- David Guetta f/ Mikky Ekko "One Voice" (Michael Jurkovac, dir.)
Tech Categories (below or click read more)
BEST DIRECTION
- DJ SNAKE & LIL JON "Turn Down For What" Daniels, director
- OK GO "The Writing's On The Wall" Damian Kulash, Aaron Duffy & Bob Partington, director
- MILEY CYRUS "Wrecking Ball" Terry Richardson, director
- BEYONCE "Pretty Hurts" Melina Matsoukas, director
- EMINEM f/ RIHANNA "The Monster" Rich Lee, director
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- 30 SECONDS TO MARS "City of Angels" David Devlin, DP
- BEYONCE "Pretty Hurts" Darren Lew & Jackson Hunt, DP
- ARCADE FIRE "Afterlife" Evan Prosofsky, DP
- GESAFFELSTEIN "Hate or Glory" Michael Ragen, DP
- LANA DEL REY "West Coast" Evan Prosofsky, DP
BEST EDITING
- EMINEM "Rap God" Ken Mowe, editor
- MGMT "Your Life is a Lie" Erik Laroi, editor
- ZEDD f/ HALEY WILLIAMS "Stay The Night" Daniel "Cloud" Campos, editor
- BEYONCE "Pretty Hurts" Jeff Selis, editor
- FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS "The Walker" James Fitzpatrick, editor
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
- SIA "Chandelier" Ryan Heffington, choreographer
- BEYONCE "Partition" Svetlana Kostantinova/Philippe Decouflé, Additional choreography: Danielle Polanco, Frank Gatson, choreographer
- USHER "Good Kisser" Jamaica Kraft & Todd Sams, choreographer
- MICHAEL JACKSON f/ JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE "Love Never Felt So Good" Rich + Tone Talauega, choreographer
- JASON DERULO f/ 2 CHAINZ "Talk Dirty" Amy Allen, choreographer
- KIESZA "Hideaway" Ljuba Castot, choreographer
BEST ART DIRECTION
- DJ SNAKE & LIL JON "Turn Down For What" Jason Kisvarday, art director
- IGGY AZALEA f/ CHARLI XCX "Fancy" David Courtemarche, art director
- EMINEM "Rap God" Alex Pacion, art director
- ARCADE FIRE "Reflektor" Anastasia Masaro, art director
- TYLER THE CREATOR "Tamale" Tom Lisowski, art director
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- DJ SNAKE & LIL JON "Turn Down For What" Daniels + Zak Stoltz, vfx
- OK GO "The Writing's On The Wall" 1stAveMachine, vfx
- DISCLOSURE "Grab Her!" Mathematic & Émile Sornin, vfx
- EMINEM "Rap God" Rich Lee, Louis Baker, Mammal Studios, Laundry!, and Sunset Edit, vfx
- JACK WHITE "Lazaretto" Mathematic and Jonas & François, vfx
Tune into MTV on Sunday, August 24 @ 9pm e/p, for the live broadcast of The MTV Video Music Awards from The Forum, in Inglewood, CA.
