NEW YORK— The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) would abandon scripts this year and let the artists be free to express themselves.
The VMAs, to be broadcast to more than 120 countries, would be held for the first time in Madison Square Garden on Sunday, August 28, at 9:00 pm. MTV producers shared that they have simply selected the artists for Sunday’s extravaganza and will leave it to them to decide what to do.
“Last year we took a bit more of a playful approach. This year it’s like this is a canvas for artists — not just for their art but for their statements, what they believe is going on in the world,” said Erik Flannigan, an executive producer of the show, as quoted by Agence France-Presse. “You’ve got to strike a balance between topicality and being heavy — and this is also a gigantic party. We kind of want to do both.”
Scheduled performers include R&B chart-topper Rihanna, who will receive the Video Vanguard Award for lifetime achievement, as well as pop idols Ariana Grande and Britney Spears and rappers Nicki Minaj, Common and Future.
Pop icon Beyonce tops the nominations at 11 amid acclaim for “Lemonade,” her intertwined film and album. She is followed by Adele, who was nominated in eight categories, all but one for her blockbuster ballad “Hello,” the first music video in the high-resolution IMAX format.
Other nominees for Video of the Year include West’s controversial “Famous.”
Taylor Swift — the key winner both at last year’s VMAs and the latest Grammys — is not scheduled to come.
Beyonce was also nominated for Video of the Year for “Formation,” the most politically charged single of her career. The video shot in New Orleans features solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality with officers depicted raising their arms as if under arrest.
Danish band Lukas Graham is nominated for Best New Artist for their viral global hit, “7 Years.”
“Our art in a sense is quite revolutionary,” he said, also quoted by Agence France-Presse. “We’re talking about growing up in regular families, dreaming about better things, instead of popping bottles in the club and spending a lot of money that you don’t have while living in your mother’s basement.”
