Doesn't it feel like just yesterday that everyone was up in arms about Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke's twerking fest at the 2013 MTV VMAs? It's almost time for the next installment, the 2014 MTV Music Video Award are broadcasting on MTV on August 24, and today MTV announced the nominations.
There is a new category this year - the MTV Clubland Award, which recognizes EDM videos. Considering the amazing music video work being done in the EDM category right now, this is a long overdue addition.
Leading the pack on the video side is a three way tie between "Fancy" by Iggy Azaela ft. Charlie XCX (Director X), "Turn Down For What" by DJ Snake ft. Lil Jon (DANIELS), and "Pretty Hurts" by Beyonce (Melina Matsoukas). They each have four nominations apiece. On the individual side, Beyonce leads with 8 nominations, spread between nominations for "Drunk In Love" (Hype Williams), "Pretty Hurts" (Melina Matsoukas), and "Partition" (Jake Nava).
The wide variety of nominations is a reflection on how great music videos have been over the last few years. How can you complain when a video like "Turn Down For What" is leading the nominations along with a massive pop video like "Fancy." It's a great sign that the pop videos on the list are so enjoyable as well, with genuinely great videos being released for huge pop hits like "Problem" and "Chandelier."
On the "professional awards" side, DP Evan Prosofsky nabbed two Best Cinematography awards (for "West Coast" by Lana Del Rey and "Afterlife" by Arcade Fire). One of our favorites of the year, "Grab Her" by Disclosure, is up for Best Visual Effects and the MTV Clubland Award. OK Go's latest video for "The Writing's On The Wall" is up for two awards: Best Direction and Best Visual Effects.
Of course, MTV has nominations for things like Best Editing and Best Cinematography but doesn't actually tell you who did those things. You can find a complete list of people involved with the nominated videos on our list here.
See you in August!
