Video stars: 2023’s MTV Video Music Awards make history
The 39th annual MTV Video Music Awards show is set to broadcast live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, celebrating music from all genres and videos from some of the most talented players in the industry when it airs Tuesday, Sept. 12, on MTV. The event began in 1984 with a show held at the Radio City Music Hall. Since then, many categories have been added, changing the industry and making history along the way. This year, for example, all nomi- nees for Artist of the Year are women – this will be the first time any one gender has dominated the category since it was first introduced in 2017. This year’s nominees were announced on Aug. 8, 2023, seeing Taylor Swift (“Midnights,” 2022) in the lead with eight total nominations, followed by SZA (“SOS,” 2022) at six and Doja Cat (“Scarlet,” 2023), Kim Petras (“Feed the Beast,” 2023), Miley Cyrus (“Endless Summer Vacation,” 2023), Nicki Minaj (“Pink Friday 2,” 2023), Olivia Rodrigo (“GUTS,” 2023) and Sam Smith (“Gloria,” 2023) all following with five. Unlike some award shows, the “VMAs” allows viewers to vote for their favorite artists and videos from the comfort of their own homes, putting power in the hands of fans. While a full list of nominees (and further voting procedures) can be found on MTV’s website, nominations for a few top categories have been listed below. Video of the Year: Doja Cat for “Attention”; Miley Cyrus for “Flowers”; Nicki Minaj for “Super Freaky Girl”; Olivia Rodrigo for “Vampire”; Sam Smith and Kim Petras for “Unholy”; SZA for “Kill Bill” and Taylor Swift for “Anti-Hero.” Song of the Year: Miley Cyrus (“Flowers”); Olivia Rodrigo (“Vampire”); Rema and Selena Gomez (“Calm Down”); Sam Smith and Kim Petras (“Unholy”); Steve Lacy (“Bad Habit”); SZA (“Kill Bill”) and Taylor Swift (“Anti-Hero”). Best New Artist: GloRilla (“Anyways, Life’s Great,” 2022); Ice Spice (“Like…?,” 2023); Kaliii (“Toxic Chocolate,” 2022); Peso Pluma (“Génesis,” 2023); PinkPantheress (“Take me home,” 2022) and Reneé Rapp (“Snow Angel,” 2023).