Drake, Bieber to battle Beyoncé, Adele, Kanye for top MTV video award
Two Canadian stars have their eyes on MTV's top award to be handed out Sunday as they battle some of the other biggest names in pop music.
Justin Bieber's catchy tune Sorry and Drake's highly spoofed Hotline Bling are both competing in the Video of the Year category at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards in New York City.
Beyoncé, who leads the pack with 11 nominations, is also in contention for her Formation video, as is Kanye West's controversial short film full of celebrity look-alikes, Famous.
Adele's Hello, a stylish, moody video directed by Quebec filmmaker Xavier Dolan, rounds out the list. And there's more homegrown talent where that came from.
The British soul singer's seven nominations for the song (she has an eighth for Send My Love (To Your New Lover)) include nods to Canadians for Best Direction (Dolan) and Best Cinematography, by Quebec's André Turpin.
Turpin has previously been noted for his cinematography on Dolan's 2014 film Mommy and Denis Villeneuve's acclaimed 2010 movie Incendies.
Alessia Cara, who was born in Brampton, Ont., is nominated in the Best Pop Video category for Wild Things and Toronto's The Weeknd is up for Best Male Video with Can't Feel My Face.
Drake's multiple nominations include a nod for his appearance on Rihanna's Work, which is up for Best Collaboration. Rihanna, who is opening the show with a highly anticipated performance, is receiving this year's lifetime achievement award, called the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard. Drake took out a billboard in L.A. to congratulate her.
The MTV Video Music Awards air live from Madison Square Garden at 9 p.m. ET and have become known for bizarre and unscripted moments. Think Kanye West hijacking Taylor Swift's acceptance speech in 2009, saying Beyoncé should have won instead. Or Miley Cyrus's eyebrow-raising twerking alongside Robin Thicke in 2013 that sparked a public conversation about female exploitation.
"The culture around the show is that every artist has the latitude to express themselves in whichever way they want to, and we sort of light that candle and hold on for dear life," said VMA executive producer Garrett English.
See below for a list of this year's MTV VMA nominations.
Video of the Year
Adele, Hello
Beyoncé, Formation
Drake, Hotline Bling
Justin Bieber, Sorry
Kanye West, Famous
Best Female Video
Adele, Hello
Beyoncé, Hold Up
Sia, Cheap Thrills
Ariana Grande, Into You
Rihanna feat. Drake, Work
Best Male Video
Drake, Hotline Bling
Bryson Tiller, Don't
Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna, This Is What You Came For
Kanye West, Famous
The Weeknd, Can't Feel My Face
Best Collaboration
Beyoncé feat. Kendrick Lamar, Freedom
Fifth Harmony feat. Ty Dolla $ign, Work From Home
Ariana Grande feat. Lil Wayne, Let Me Love You
Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna, This Is What You Came For
Rihanna feat. Drake, Work
Best Hip-Hop Video
Drake, Hotline Bling
Desiigner, Panda
Bryson Tiller, Don't
Chance The Rapper feat. Saba, Angels
2 Chainz, Watch Out
Best Pop Video
Adele, Hello
Beyoncé, Formation
Justin Bieber, Sorry
Alessia Cara, Wild Things
Ariana Grande, Into You
Best Rock Video
All Time Low, Missing You
Coldplay, Adventure of a Lifetime
Fall Out Boy feat. Demi Lovato, Irresistible
twenty one pilots, Heathens
Panic! At The Disco, Victorious
Best Electronic Video
Calvin Harris & Disciples, How Deep Is Your Love
99 Souls feat. Destiny's Child & Brandy, The Girl Is Mine
Mike Posner, I Took a Pill in Ibiza
Afrojack, SummerThing!
The Chainsmokers feat. Daya, Don't Let Me Down
Breakthrough Long-Form Video
Florence + The Machine, The Odyssey
Beyoncé, Lemonade
Justin Bieber, Purpose: The Movement
Chris Brown, Royalty
Troye Sivan, Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy
Best New Artist
Bryson Tiller
Desiigner
Zara Larsson
Lukas Graham
DNCE
Best Art Direction
Beyoncé, Hold Up
Fergie, M.I.L.F. $
Drake, Hotline Bling
David Bowie, Blackstar
Adele, Hello
Best Choreography
Beyoncé, Formation
Missy Elliott feat. Pharrell, WTF (Where They From)
Beyoncé, Sorry
FKA twigs, M3LL155X
Florence + The Machine, Delilah
Best Direction
Beyoncé, Formation
Coldplay, Up&Up
Adele, Hello
David Bowie, Lazarus
Tame Impala, The Less I Know The Better
Best Cinematography
Beyoncé, Formation
Adele, Hello
David Bowie, Lazarus
Alesso, I Wanna Know
Ariana Grande, Into You
Best Editing
Beyoncé, Formation
Adele, Hello
Fergie, M.I.L.F. $
David Bowie, Lazarus
Ariana Grande, Into You
Best Visual Effects
Coldplay, Up&Up
FKA twigs, M3LL155X
Adele, Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
The Weeknd, Can't Feel My Face
Zayn, Pillowtalk
