2019 MTV VMAs Performers, Nominees, Predictions And Host
The 2019 MTV Video Music Awards will undeniably boast a particularly stellar lineup of performers packing plenty of surprises. Taylor Swift is one of the big names promising new material. An alleged tracklist leaked from her upcoming album set off rumors that her VMA performance could include a possible collaboration with the Dixie Chicks or other special guests. Audiences will also get to see history in the making when this year's Vanguard Award recipient takes the stage for the first time in 16 years!
There's much to discuss as the big show on Aug. 26, 2019 approaches. Who's hosting? Where's this shindig going down? What are our predictions for this year's winners? The nominees are an eclectic mix of new faces and veteran superstars, and the venue is a fist-pumping first. We've got the answers to all of your questions and more as we prepare for one of the music industry's wildest nights of the year.
Who's performing at the 2019 MTV VMAs?
The 2019 MTV VMAs boasts a particularly stellar lineup of performers. The first formally announced artist taking the stage at the annual MTV blockbuster show was Taylor Swift. The VMAs have held an important place in Swift's pop culture relevance: The 2009 VMAs transformed her from a teen country crooner to instant cross-genre icon status when Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech for best female video, launching a decade-long feud with the rapper and all of his associates. Swift's first performance at the VMAs was that same year, and she's gone on to perform five more times, most recently in 2015.
Swift has kept mum about the details of her 2019 performance but noted that it will be a "world premiere." Since she's already showcased "ME!" and "You Need to Calm Down," that means she could debut "The Archer" or another track from her Lover album, which hits shelves Aug. 23, 2019.
Other performers include nominees J. Balvin, Lizzo, Rosalia, Lil Nas X, and Bad Bunny, and Video Vanguard honoree Missy Elliott. Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes will perform together. The PDA-addicted couple's recent duet, "Senorita," is up for multiple Moon Men.
Where are the 2019 MTV VMAs being held?
For the first time in MTV Video Music Awards history, the VMAs will be held in New Jersey at the Prudential Center in Newark. Previous shows have been held at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the American Airlines Arena in Miami, and at the Staples Center, Nokia Theatre, and The Forum in Los Angeles.
Insiders associated with the show said the Garden State's rich musical heritage inspired this year's decision, which is also expected to give a tourism boost to Newark's local economy. "We are here in the home state of so many iconic musicians," VMA Executive Producer Bruce Gillmer told WPIX 11. "The Boss; Bon Jovi; Queen Latifah, from right here in Newark; the late incomparable Whitney Houston; Sarah Vaughn; Franki Valli."
Government officials couldn't be happier to play host. "We're so grateful that Newark was on their radar. That they choose to land the moon guy right here in the city of Newark," said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said, "The fact that the VMAs are going to be here, it acknowledges and celebrates the enormous entertainment and specifically music tradition in this state."
Who are the 2019 MTV VMAs nominees?
Taylor Swift is tied with Ariana Grande for the most nominations at the 2019 MTV VMAs with 10 each. The songstresses are followed by Billie Eilish with nine nods and Lil Nas X with eight. With voting officially open to music fanatics everywhere, the complete list of nominations, per E! News, is as follows:
Video of the Year
21 Savage (featuring J. Cole) — "A Lot"
Billie Eilish — "Bad Guy"
Ariana Grande — "Thank U, Next"
Jonas Brothers — "Sucker"
Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) — "Old Town Road (Remix)"
Taylor Swift — "You Need to Calm Down"
Artist of the Year
Cardi B
Jonas Brothers
Song of the Year
Drake – "In My Feelings"
Ariana Grande — "Thank U, Next"
Jonas Brothers — "Sucker"
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"
Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) — "Old Town Road (Remix)"
Taylor Swift — "You Need to Calm Down"
Best New Artist
Ava Max
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Rosalía
Best Collaboration
BTS (featuring Halsey) – "Boy with Luv"
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"
Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) — "Old Town Road (Remix)"
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello – "Señorita"
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber – "I Don't Care"
Taylor Swift (featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco) – "Me!"
Push Artist of the Year
Bazzi
CNCO
Billie Eilish
H.E.R.
Lauv
Lizzo
Best Pop Video
5 Seconds of Summer – "Easier"
Cardi B and Bruno Mars – "Please Me"
Billie Eilish — "Bad Guy"
Ariana Grande — "Thank U, Next"
Jonas Brothers — "Sucker"
Khalid — "Talk"
Taylor Swift — "You Need to Calm Down"
Best Hip Hop Video
2 Chainz (featuring Ariana Grande) – "Rule the World"
21 Savage (featuring J. Cole) — "A Lot"
Cardi B — "Money"
DJ Khaled (featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend) — "Higher"
Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) — "Old Town Road (Remix)"
Travis Scott (featuring Drake) — "Sicko Mode"
Best R&B Video
Childish Gambino — "Feels Like Summer"
H.E.R. (featuring Bryson Tiller) – "Could've Been"
Alicia Keys – "Raise a Man"
Ella Mai – "Trip"
Normani (featuring 6lack) – "Waves"
Anderson .Paak (featuring Smokey Robinson) — "Make It Better"
Best K-Pop Video
Blackpink – "Kill This Love"
BTS (featuring Halsey) – "Boy with Luv"
Exo – "Tempo"
Monsta X (featuring French Montana) – "Who Do You Love?"
NCT 127 – "Regular"
TXT – "Cat & Dog"
Best Latin Video
Anuel AA and Karol G – "Secreto"
Bad Bunny (featuring Drake) – "Mia"
Benny Blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez and J Balvin – "I Can't Get Enough"
Daddy Yankee (featuring Snow) – "Con Calma"
Maluma – "Mala Mía"
Rosalía and J Balvin (featuring El Guincho) – "Con Altura"
Best Dance Video
The Chainsmokers (featuring Bebe Rexha) – "Call You Mine"'
Clean Bandit (featuring Demi Lovato) – "Solo"
DJ Snake (featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B) – "Taki Taki"
David Guetta, Bebe Rexha and J Balvin – "Say My Name"
Marshmello and Bastille – "Happier"
Silk City and Dua Lipa – "Electricity"
Best Rock Video
The 1975 — "Love It If We Made It"
Fall Out Boy — "Bishops Knife Trick"
Imagine Dragons — "Natural"
Lenny Kravitz — "Low"
Panic! At The Disco — "High Hopes"
Twenty One Pilots — "My Blood"
Video for Good
Jamie N Commons and Skylar Grey (featuring Gallant) – "Runaway Train"
Halsey – "Nightmare"
The Killers – "Land of the Free"
John Legend – "Preach"
Lil Dicky – "Earth"
Taylor Swift — "You Need to Calm Down"
Best Direction
Billie Eilish — "Bad Guy" (Director: Dave Meyers)
FKA Twigs – "Cellophane" (Director: Andrew Thomas Huang)
Ariana Grande — "Thank U, Next" (Director: Hannah Lux Davis)
Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) — "Old Town Road (Remix)" (Director: Calmatic)
LSD – "No New Friends" (Director: Dano Cerny)
Taylor Swift — "You Need to Calm Down" (Director: Taylor Swift and Drew Kirsch)
Best Visual Effects
DJ Khaled (featuring SZA) – "Just Us" (Visual Effects: GloriaFX, Sergii Mashevskyi and Anatolli Kuzmytskyi)
Billie Eilish – "When the Party's Over" (Visual Effects: Ryan Ross and Andres Jaramillo)
FKA Twigs – "Cellophane" (Visual Effects: Analog)
Ariana Grande – "God Is a Woman" (Visual Effects: Fabrice Lagayette at Mathematic)
LSD – "No New Friends" (Visual Effects: Ethan Chancer)
Taylor Swift (featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco) – "Me!" (Visual Effects: Loris Paillier and Lucas Salton for BUF VFX)
Best Editing
Billie Eilish — "Bad Guy" (Editor: Billie Eilish)
Ariana Grande – "7 Rings" (Editor: Hannah Lux Davis and Taylor Walsh)
Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) — "Old Town Road (Remix)" (Editor: Calmatic)
Anderson .Paak (featuring Kendrick Lamar) – "Tints" (Editor: Vinnie Hobbs)
Solange – "Almeda" (Editors: Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs and Jonathon Proctor)
Taylor Swift — "You Need to Calm Down" (Editor: Jarrett Fijal)
Best Art Direction
BTS (featuring Halsey) – "Boy with Luv" (Art Directors: JinSil Park and BoNa Kim (MU:E))
Ariana Grande – "7 Rings" (Art Director: John Richoux)
Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) — "Old Town Road (Remix)" (Art Director: Christian Zollenkopf for Prettybird)
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello – "Señorita" (Art Director: Tatiana Van Sauter)
Taylor Swift — "You Need to Calm Down" (Art Director: Brittany Porter)
Kanye West and Lil Pump (featuring Adele Givens) – "I Love It" (Art Director: Tino Schaedler)
Best Choreography
BTS (featuring Halsey) – "Boy with Luv" (Choreographers: Son Sungdeuk and Quick Crew)
FKA Twigs – "Cellophane" (Choreographer: Kelly Yvonne)
LSD – "No New Friends" (Choreographer: Ryan Heffington)
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello – "Señorita" (Choreographer: Calvit Hodge)
Rosalía and J Balvin (featuring El Guincho) – "Con Altura" (Choreographer: Charm La'Donna)
Solange – "Almeda" (Choreographers: Maya Taylor and Solange Knowles)
Best Cinematography
Billie Eilish – "Hostage" (Director of Photography: Pau Castejón)
Ariana Grande — "Thank U, Next" (Director of Photography: Christopher Probst)
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello – "Señorita" (Director of Photography: Scott Cunningham)
Anderson .Paak (featuring Kendrick Lamar) – "Tints" (Director of Photography: Elias Talbot)
Solange – "Almeda" (Directors of Photography: Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant and Justin Hamilton)
Taylor Swift (featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco) – "Me!" (Director of Photography: Starr Whitesides)
MTV Fashion Trailblazer Award
Marc Jacobs
Who's hosting the 2019 MTV VMAs?
Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco is set to host the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. "Sebastian is on FIRE right now and his comedic spin on relatable topics will make this year's show truly unforgettable," Executive Producer Bruce Gillmer said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Maniscalco has a number of Comedy Central stand-up specials to his name, as well as a 2019 Netflix special called Stay Hungry. He was Billboard's comedian of the year in 2018, and Forbes named him one of the highest-paid comedians of 2017 and 2018. Oh, and he'll complete an arena tour by the end of 2019. This industry vet has also appeared on the big screen in films such as Tag, Green Book, and the upcoming Martin Scorsese Mafia epic The Irishman, alongside Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. Vulture called Maniscalco's "Doorbell Joke" one of the best of the past decade, and he co-hosts SiriusXM's The Pete and Sebastian Show weekly with comedian Pete Correale.
If Maniscalco seems like an unlikely bet for a host, that's kind of the point. "I didn't really grow up with pop culture music," he told The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "But I think this is gonna be fun, 'cause MTV wants kind of an unfiltered look of the VMAs through my eyes."
Predictions: 2019 MTV VMA winners and losers
Between the two ladies leading the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards with 10 nods each, Taylor Swift may take home more Moon People than Ariana Grande, who tweeted that she likely won't be able to attend due to her touring schedule. "MTV likes to give awards to bodies in the building," a source told Page Six. "I think MTV is in a tough spot [with Grande]."
That said, Lil Nas X was a downright phenomenon throughout 2019. He was the only artist able to keep Swift's singles, "ME!" and "You Need to Calm Down," from the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. He even broke Mariah Carey's singles record. Lil Nas X's chart success, combined with his unique backstory — he recently came out and was previously blocked from the country charts for supposedly not being "country" enough — may improve his odds of winning a well-deserved VMA.
However, "A Lot" from 21 Savage and J. Cole dropped shortly before Savage's ICE detention, so a potentially profound and moving acceptance speech from the rapper may be reason enough to give him a trophy. While the Jonas Brothers have only been nominated for a VMA twice before, "Sucker" is one of their biggest mainstream hits, so they could take home an award as well.
Of course, we'll all have to tune in to the MTV VMAs at 8 p.m. EST on Monday, Aug. 26 to see how everyone's early predictions fare.
Missy Elliott will take home a long-awaited honor
Missy Elliott will receive the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2019 MTV VMAs. She will also perform at the show live for the first time in a whopping 16 years, reported Variety. Previous recipients of the Vanguard Award include Jennifer Lopez, Pink, Kanye West, and Rihanna. "Missy's impact on the music landscape is indelible," said MTV co-brand head and Viacom music head Bruce Gillmer in a statement. "Her creative vision across production, performance and songwriting is unmatched."
Elliott, the first female rapper to win the award, tweeted that she was "crying happy tears." She added, "Thank you all again over 2 decades of support! If my heart could speak you would know how grateful I am. God knows I am humbled." She also tagged her longtime producing partner, Timbaland, in her post.
Elliott has two previous VMA victories to her name. She took home a Moon Man in 2001 for producing Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink, and Lil' Kim's epic "Lady Marmalade" cover for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack and was also recognized for her solo smash "Work It" in 2003.