The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Cardi B leads VMA nods; Beyonce, Jay-Z close
NEW YORK — The year of Cardi B continues — this time with 10 MTV Video Music Award nominations.
MTV announced Monday the white-hot rapper is the most nominated act at this year’s show, which returns to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on Aug. 20.
Five of Cardi B’s nominations are thanks to her collaboration with Bruno Mars on the upbeat anthem, “Finesse (Remix).” The song’s video, inspired by ’90s sketch comedy series “In Living Color,” will compete for video of the year along with Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” Drake’s “God’s Plan,” Beyonce and Jay-Z’s “Apes**t,” Camila Cabello’s “Havana” and Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left to Cry.”
Beyonce and Jay-Z — who recently released a collaborative album as The Carters — are nominated for eight awards with “Apes**t,” which was filmed at the Louvre museum in Paris.
Gambino’s “This Is America,” which tackles racism and gun violence, earned him seven nominations. Drake, who gave away $1 million to Miami residents in his “God’s Plan” clip, also scored seven nods.
Mars, who has six nominations, is up for artist of the year alongside Cardi B, Drake, Post Malone, Cabello and Grande.
Taylor Swift was shut out of the major categories, but got three nods for technical awards: Her No. 1 hit, “Look What You Made Me Do,” is up for best art direction, best visual effects and best editing.
Justin Timberlake, whose “Man of the Woods” album has underperformed, earned nominations for best direction (“Say Something” with Chris Stapleton) and best choreography (“Filthy”).
Cardi B gave birth to her first child last week and recently became the first female rapper to have two No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Her other nominations include best new artist, best hip-hop video for “Bartier Cardi” and best Latin video for “Dinero” with Jennifer Lopez and DJ Khaled.