Drake And Rihanna Lead MTV Video Music Awards Nominations

[NelsonG]

It's about that time again. The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from Los Angeles on September 6, and this morning the full list of nominations was announced. Drake and Rihanna, not surprisingly, are both tied in the lead with five nods each.

Rihanna, in fact, has two chances to take home the night's biggest prize, as she's up for Video of the Year for her solo hit "We Found Love" and her duet with Drizzy on his "Take Care." This year's show will air live on September 6 at 8 p.m. EST from the Staples Center in Los Angeles and feature performances from four-time VMA veteran Alicia Keys and VMA first-timers One Direction.

Last year's big winner, Katy Perry, is not far behind with four nominations on a show that will also shine a light on the global EDM explosion with a Best Electronic Dance Music Video category featuring such bold-faced names as Avicii, Martin Solveig, Skrillex, Calvin Harris and Duck Sauce.

Rihanna will also duke it out for Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and possibly get on the board in a number of professional categories, including Best Choreography and Best Visual Effects.

Drake's nominations include bids for Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Male Video, as well as Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

What are you waiting for? Start voting for the 2012 VMAs now!

A bumper crop of acts are in the running with three nominations, among them Beyoncé, Coldplay, Frank Ocean, M.I.A. and the Throne. A couple of VMA newbies also got multiple nominations, including Gotye, Lana Del Rey, Fun., Avicii, and Skrillex. Among the fresh faces getting on the board with one bid are: A$AP Rocky, Childish Gambino, Imagine Dragons, Of Monsters & Men and the Wanted.

The video of the year category is super tight, with Perry's gothic sleepwalk "Wide Awake" and Rihanna's love on the edge clip "We Found Love" facing off against Gotye's inescapable, paint-splattered clip for "Somebody That I Used To Know," M.I.A.'s desert ghost riding "Bad Girls" and Drake and Rih's atmospheric "Take Care." The Best New Artist race is a MTV Summer Jam Olympics-style stroll through the songs that have defined the year, from Fun.'s "We Are Young," to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," Frank Ocean's "Swim Good," One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" and the Wanted's "Glad You Came."

For photos of the nominated videos, click here.

Kanye West has two shots at the Best Hip-Hop Video crown, one on his own for "Mercy," and another as part of the Throne for the flashy "Paris." Those two will go up against Childish Gambino's "Heartbeat," Drake and Lil Wayne's "HYFR" and Nicki Minaj's "Beez in the Trap."

Justin Bieber is among a number of double nominees, with love in the Best Male Video race (where he'll face Ocean, Drake and Rihanna's "Take Care," Chris Brown and Usher) and the Best Pop Video (One Direction, Fun., Rihanna and Maroon 5).

The Best Video With a Message category is back, led by Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper," Rise Against's "Ballad of Hollis Brown," Kelly Clarkson's "Dark Side," Gym Class Heroes' "The Fighter," Lil Wayne's "How to Love" and K'Naan's "Is Anybody Out There?"

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/07/31/mtv-video-music-awards-nominations-drake-rihanna-lead/]View the full article[/url]