This year’s MTV VMA nominations have come out, and guess who came out ahead? Surprisingly, not Adele. Adele got the second-most nominations with eight noms, but Beyonce got 11 nominations, a career-best. Not only that, but Beyonce and Adele are up against each other in several categories, including the big one, Video of the Year. The good news is that other artists really love and respect Adele, so if Adele wins, there won’t be hard feelings. And if Beyonce wins, Adele won’t be mad because she absolutely adores Queen Bey and Lemonade. Here are some of the big noms (you can see the full list here):
Video of the Year
•”Hello” – Adele
•”Formation” – Beyoncé
•”Hotline Bling” – Drake
•”Sorry” – Justin Bieber
•”Famous” – Kanye WestBest Female Video
•”Hello” – Adele
•”Hold Up” – Beyoncé
•”Cheap Thrills” – Sia
•”Into You” – Ariana Grande
•”Work” – Rihanna ft. DrakeBest Male Video
•”Hotline Bling” – Drake
•”Don’t” – Bryson Tiller
•”This Is What You Came For” – Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna
•”Famous” – Kanye West
•”Can’t Feel My Face” – The Weeknd
Best Collaboration
•”Freedom” – Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar
•”Work From Home” – Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign
•”Let Me Love You ” – Ariana Grande ft. Lil Wayne
•”This Is What You Came For – Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna
•”Work” – Rihanna ft. DrakeBest Hip Hop Video
•”Hotline Bling” – Drake
•”Panda” – Desiigner
•”Don’t” – Bryson Tiller
•”Angels ” – Chance the Rapper ft. Saba
•”Watch Out ” – 2 ChainzBest Pop Video
•”Hello” – Adele
•”Formation” – Beyoncé
•”Sorry” – Justin Bieber
•”Wild Things” – Alessia Cara
•”Into You” – Ariana GrandeBreakthrough Long Form Video
•The Odyssey – Florence + The Machine
•Lemonade – Beyoncé
•PURPOSE: The Movement – Justin Bieber
•Royalty – Chris Brown
•Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy – Troye Sivan
I think it’s more than likely that Beyonce will take home the most awards, including Video of the Year, and absolutely Best Collaboration, because OMG “Freedom” is one of her best songs ever and Kendrick Lamar is everything too. I predict Adele will win one or two. I predict Kanye West won’t win anything for “Famous,” but the fact that he was nominated for that song and video in particular is pretty interesting, isn’t it? More analysis to come on the Taylor Swift side of things.
This year’s VMAs are going down on Sunday, August 28th at 9 pm. And in case anyone is keeping track, this year the Emmys are scheduled for September 18th. So we won’t have some crazy scheduling conflict.
Last thing: These are some photos of Beyonce out in Paris yesterday. Her ensemble… my God. I like Beyonce, I think she’s amazing, but her style is just bad. The polka dots, the lucite chunky heel, the front slit… it’s awful.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
I guess I’m out of touch. I never hear anyone singing her songs from that album. Not like her old music.
That album was Never going to be as mainstream as the previous ones. I mean it is about b and jay, tina, her dad but mainly it is about black feminism and black women. Mainstream America has shown time and time again That they are not interested in black women overall.
Tee hee I haven’t either. I tried with my HBO but it’s no longer on there and it seems to be behind a pay wall on Tidal. I’m officially a fuddy duddy.
I hear that album referenced on mainstream outlets all the time. The other day during that banter news readers have in between stories, one of them declared that she “slays” and the white middle aged male news anchor she was speaking to knew it was a Beyonce reference. It could just be that because its not available for free streaming on sites like Youtube, the people around you havent paid attention to it.
Rocking out to #Lemonade album now. It’s a really great album
I sing it to myself all the time still. I had it on repeat in my car but have moved on.
I can’t get Hold Up out of my head. ever.
Personally im partial to riding to work with Formation>6 inch>Don’t Hurt Yourself>Hold Up, this I do weekly at least once, great for my soul and my edges
This is very very very deserving, I say this as someone who owns NONE of her music before self titled
(also No one? lol you really know no one listening to Lemonade?? LOLOL I actually could pull maybe 5 people if I scourge my fb /twitter/phone list that is not listening STILL to it!)
@QQ – RE: “This is very very very deserving, I say this as someone who owns NONE of her music before self titled” >>> Agree. Also, glad someone is relatively new to the Beyonce train with me. It’s not that I disliked her prior. Despite enjoying a couple of hits here and there, Beyonce, I wasn’t a fan. But I enjoy this new evolution in her music/self.
It’s like her last album. People went absolutely nuts over it for a couple of weeks, then it just sort of faded away. I heard it at a lot of parties and events a week after it’s release, but once the initial hype went down everyone just went back to Drake and Rihanna. ANTI isn’t radio friendly either but I’m still hearing Needed Me and Sex on the Brain and Kiss It Better all over the place.
Lemonade really, really works with the film. Without it only a couple of songs have major replay potential.
I agree. The visuals that went with her previous album made the songs so much better IMO.
But they were playing “Sorry” in a club in P-town when I went for a bachelorette party and everyone seemed to love it.
@Pepper
Girl speak for yourself. I live in Atlanta, EVERY club and party I’ve been to this summer plays “Sorry”, “Hold Up” and “6 inch”.
Outside of “Work”, haven’t heard much of Rihanna though and I wish I heard less of Drake.
I think Lemonade works just fine without the film, but it does work best as a full album. The songs tells a story about betrayal, reconciliation, and forgiveness, and the flow of the music works consecutively with that story line.
I actually find myself singing snippets of “Freedom” under my breath every now and then (full disclosure: I’ve not seen the HBO film, I got the tracks via iTunes) and it is SUCH a great song! It’s true that Lemonade is not as mainstream as some of her earlier work, but it is still a fantastic album. She definitely deserves the nominations.
I think Lemonade is pure art, a masterpiece, and for me the proof of that is that no matter how much I play it (nearly every day since the day it dropped), it never gets old because I find new revelations and new truths as a woman every time I do. I love that Bey featured the words of Warsan Shire, a brilliant 27-year-old Somali-British poet, in Lemonade. This is a work full of courage and meaning, and it shows Beyonce as a serious and true artist. If she doesn’t win, it will be incomprehensible to me.
Might just be your circles.
It’s become one of my all time favorite albums. I love the songs, but the whole thing together is just art. My 4 year old is getting sick of it, though he still likes to mutter about Becky with the good hair.
Interesting how this plays out since she is being sued for copyright infringement. I usually laugh off these lawsuits but the visual parallels between the original work and Lemonade are undeniable. Someone, maybe the director, is guilty of poaching.
She does. Lemonade is visually a masterpiece.
I don’t get why Hello was nominated. The video was quite low quality 90s-esque. The video for Send My Love was much better.
I think Send My Love is a better song and video, but I think “Hello” got nominated because the video and single broke crazy records across the board!
I also think Bey’s “Freedom” is a stronger song overall, but “Formation” got most of the noms.
Agreed. I wasn’t even much of a Beyoncé fan prior to Lemonade; she always struck me as a pretty typical pop star. Lemonade is just amazing; every track is brilliant and the videos perfectly compliment the album.
Well, they nominated Kanye’s ‘Famous’ so the standards are pretty low.
I didn’t find Hello impressive either but it’s decent.
In ‘Send my love’ my impression was that Adele wanted to puke for the entire duration of the video, that’s the expression she had on her face.
Beyonce will clean house.
Deserving? Absolutely!
“Breakthrough Long Form Video”
is that a new category for the mini-movies that are videos now?
I like longer videos, it’s an event in a way, and shorter music videos aren’t what they used to be. I remember the ‘making of’ show on MTV when music videos for a song were HUGE! I feel they’re not that big of a deal anymore, you watch 1/2 of a new video online or you just see the gifs…
If this is a new category to represent things like what Beyonce did with Lemonade, I’m all for it. I love the art of a long video/movie like that.
Very deserving. She did a visual album. That is art.
But the VMAs aren’t important anymore. It’s just a popularity contest. Many who make brilliant videos don’t even get nominated because they aren’t the “it” people of the year in the music field. So you see many subpar music videos nominated. But Beyonce’s would be totally deserving this year. I don’t think anyone would disagree.
LOL. Basically, yeah.
And does MTV actually air any of these?
I’m not a fan of Beyonce’s music at all, so I have no idea if she’s actually good or not. Her voice and style just don’t do anything for me. People seem to like her, so hey.
How is it that my local top 40 radio stations never play the new Beyoncé songs or Kanye’s “Famous” but yet they are supposedly so popular? I also listen to Hits 1 and the Pulse on satellite radio and they don’t play them on there either. Is Beyoncé no longer considered pop music – because “Single Ladies” and her other songs were always top 40 station music….
Lainey was talking about this the other day in one of her opening articles – the difference between the reception of Beyonce’s albums and actual radio play. The issue is probably multi-faceted, but it does speak to some extent about the divide between black art and mainstream acceptance. As her style moved closer to R&B and hip hop, the less we started hearing her on the billboard 100.
This being said, the album sold over two million copies without a radio hit, which is impressive no matter how you look at it.
Oh that goes to a long history of radio stations not wanting to play black music that is in anyway controversial.
I listen to a radio station that intentionally removes the ral portion from every song containing it and doesn’t play any rap songs. These aren’t hardcore or dangerous raps either, they removed Snoop Dog’s verse in Katy Perry’s ‘California Girls’ just to play an empty melody until she starts singing again.
so why listen to them? why support a station that is clearly anti-black?
I’m not a fan of her music so I haven’t seen/heard Lemonade, but culturally it was a huge deal, and apparently very unique as it is a visual album, so it definitely deserves that recognition!
Happy to see Sia got a little love. Exceedingly disgusted that the Famous video is being celebrated in any way.
Adele is absolutely wonderful and so talented, but am I the only one who finds the “Hello” video kinda weird?
Most definitely deserving. I’m not a Beyoncé fan, but even I recognize the amazing visuals and quality of the videology.
Not a member of the Beyhive BUT Beyoncé, in terms of creating visual art in the context of music videos, is miles ahead of every other artist.
And in terms of her fashion…I guess we should just be happy she has advanced somewhat beyond her House of Dereon(sp?) days. Still awful but baby steps…
even with Beyonce wearing her stuff, Tina couldn’t get off the ground with her designs going mainstream or making any money.
The best I have ever seen her look was in jeans and a white tee shirt. Please please Bey, stop trying to be fashionable, and embrace your jeans and tee shirts…
Does it bother anyone that Beyonce has become this female empowerment spokesperson on one hand and a Pepsi/Topshop/Loriel/whatever shill on the other? It bothers me. These companies have huge problems with underpaid/aged labor, environmental issues, etc. Why do all those people’s right not rate?
Nope! She can do both.
Many of us women work in well paid jobs, buy designer clothes and never once worry about who makes them. And yes, we are feminists too!
I pretty much love all the vids nominated this go round, which is a first. It was just a bumper crop of great videos and songs. I think Bey takes the most, but not counting Kanye out. The video is “experimental” (ha) but the song is great. Considering that most modern “stars” protect their visual image I’m betting the people (Trump’s rump!) portrayed each gave consent. At least, I’ve not heard of any lawsuits.
All I can say is Thank God for Classic Rock
I’m sure the guy who’s suing her for allegedly stealing the Lemonade concept is seething right now. As for Formation, the indie director who was upset he didn’t get the initial recognition when her people used a bunch of footage had filmed for his own documentary is probably feeling some type of way too. Hope he got well compensated for it.
Beyoncé’s team got the footage used in Formation from the original owner.
They originally asked permission from the director of the documentary but he wasn’t the owner of the footage. Once he turned them down, her team went around it. The guy is mad because Bey’s team outsmarted him.
This is what, the 100th time she stole someone elses idea? That’s quite sad because Lemonade is amazing.
Sigh, she didn’t steal it from anyone. As the poster said above it was revealed abey once got and paid the original OWNER of the footage and the director had to issue an apology. These receipts have been out for a while.
And water is wet. For as much as people want to act like Beyonce is an innovator, she’s backed by a well oiled machine that scours the internet and entertainment industry to cherry pick a lot the material, concepts/intellectual property from other lesser-known individuals. And only if/when the artists ever exposes it or complains, her people then throw money at the problem to make it go away.
White woman here- I loved her last album, and Lemonade is AMAZING. It’s one of those albums that really is an ALBUM- in that it makes more sense together, telling a story- either with the movie or a full listening… But each song taken on its own, out of context? Maybe harder to understand, or get into. But even though lots of this album has messages for black women, and as I white woman I really can’t totally relate to that experience, there are messages that any woman would get, or anyone who has been in a relationship or struggled or doubted or wondered or fought. Beyonce is not talking to black women at the exclusion of everybody else.
But that’s what I love about this album- it does not follow the pop- formula where there’s two or three really made for radio, and the rest are filler. This is meant to be swallowed whole, and I miss that about albums- where you bought a record or a tape or a CD and really got into the whole thing- reading the album cover and the lyrics and the info, the dedications, listening to it all the way through….
I’m a fuddy duddy, and maybe that’s WHY i love this album. Was never a big fan before her last two albums, but really, her music and message has matured and is complex and beautiful compared to her more popular earlier stuff. If you haven’t done so yet, try it.
Also, if you haven’t seen her in concert, please try to make it this fall! Saw her in Chicago and she blew. My. Mind. I’ve seen lots of big shows- she beat them all hands down. Raining, pouring (Chicago), freezing (when she played earlier this spring in Minnesota? I think) sweltering, whatever, she was flawless, a force of nature, and I can’t imagine many of today’s ‘hot’ bands or acts performing like this under difficult conditions. Up and comers today are too whiny, too entitled. I’m going to see her again in Philly and I’m trying to drag my husband with me so he can ‘get it.’ too.
Now, get off my lawn.
Yes. She deserves all the awards.
Claps till my hands start to hurt!!!
Cosign this.
Not a fan of her music and admittedly haven’t listened to Lemonade yet (though this post makes me want to give it a try!). That said, I completely agree with your sentiment about albums being experiences, rather than a couple hits and filler. So few albums come out that are truly meant to be taken in all at once, no interruptions. I love cohesive albums like that, and they’re rare these days.
Generally speaking, I’m really missing rock ‘n’ roll from pop culture these days. That’s what I primarily listen to, and it’s a shame it isn’t getting much mainstream recognition these days. I don’t recall rock getting much attention in the mainstream since maybe ’05, ’06? Eek. Of course things like the VMAs are more about popularity than substance, typically, so that’s fair. I only wish award ceremonies like the Grammy’s didn’t follow suit.
There’s a new rock band Dorothy out on the scene. I’m not sure if they’ve been out on the radio yet, but they’ve been steadily moving up underground and on streaming sites. Their song “Wicked Ones” is really good!
Well Done, Queen Bey!
SLAY
Lemonade was a horrible cd , good videos but horrible music.
I guess I need to give Lemonade another good, long listen because I didn’t think it was as amazing as everyone else does. I also couldn’t get through Lemonade when it dropped on HBO Now a few months ago. Black women have been singing about intersectional feminism and racism for years now, see Jazmine Sullivan, Jill Scott, India.Arie, etc. and, frankly, I think they all did it better than Beyonce did.
I haven’t heard this album so I’m not going to comment on it. But in general I tend to agree that what Beyoncé has done (in general) isn’t new and I also think people tend to overstate her as an artist. Beyoncé is a pop star and mostly about her image and her cult of celebrity. There is nothing wrong with that. She is a master of what she does and a great performer but there are a lot of people who musically and artistically surpass her.
@Luca It is VERY unpopular to dislike Beyonce, so I never voice that opinion publicly, haha. But I agree. I think she’s a reasonably talented woman who has had a great career, but there’s an odd phenomenon with her where people DO look at her as more of an “artist” than a “pop star,” when I think it’s the opposite. I don’t mean to put her down at all, because clearly she’s awesome at what she does. But I don’t think she’s as innovative as some would suggest, perhaps.
Erykah Badu is another one that comes to mind. But let the mainstream tell it, Beyonce is the Alpha and Omega of it all.
And there was another song called “Freedom” from way back in the 90’s that was a collaboration of some of the most powerful Black female voices at the time, which IMO was 100% better than anything I heard off of Lemonade. The lyrics the music, everything about that song was powerful and enjoyable.
Erykah Badu is musically so far and above anything I’ve ever heard from Beyoncé.
Erykah Badu is one of the greatest artists I’ve ever heard or seen in my life. WORD.
Grant
I agree but isn’t the point that beyonce reaches the mainstream? All the people you mention are brilliant and i don’t think anyone would suggest Beyonce invented the wheel but she lent her voice to something important and with the power and wide audience she has thats great.
And yes Erykah Badu is far and beyond most R & B , I got into her back catalogue a few years ago and later went to one of her gigs and literally it was one of the best gigs i have ever been too. It was basically ART.
Well Thank God.
I like the concept of that polka dot dress more than I like the actual dress.
In her videos, Beyonce has amazing style. Maybe not so much on the street, but I’m not one to diss that; most days I look like a lumberjack.
Just like with Oscar nods, how you’re perceived by your peers affects the nominations. Beyoncé has a product a lot of people enjoyed, and I think a lot of people respect her focus on people of color being strong and proud. I agree Adele is also respected, and will win some awards too. Taylor Swift is at her lowest PR ebb, and she can’t “filter out” the news she received zero nominations… Karma’s come around for TS! I think Beyoncé is absolutely stunning, but that polka dot dress makes her look like a curvaceous colander: awful!
YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m glad her album was nominated. It has been in constant rotation in my car since it’s release. The visual album is breathtaking in all o the deeper symbolism, imagery, and allegories represented. It’s an actual album, an art piece. Also, it still influenced pop culture. Sorry is in steady rotation on the radio, and I hear younger kids sing the lyrics all the time. This as the cultural piece on the southern black woman’s experience. So many think pieces came out because of this album.
Her work was perfection. I hope she gets every award there is, because she deserves it. And for showcasing the gift of Shire’s poetry.
Beyonce and her music are over-rated and over-hyped, especially this last album.
Getting on the Swift bandwagon of dissing your man and his extramarital affairs smacks of desperate marketing and high school mean girl stunts. Idiotic and reveals the music for what it is, sub-par and the Emperors new set of clothes.
The end.