Stars, spectacle and the 'Song of Summer' at the MTV VMAs
ON SUNDAY, the MTV Video Music Awards will air live from Los Angeles. Here's a look at what to expect.
The line-up
Hosting this year's event is Katy Perry, who is also set to perform at the show. Also on the star-studded roster of performers is Pink, winner of this year's Video Vanguard Award recognizing her full body of work.
Kendrick Lamar, Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Fifth Harmony, and Shawn Mendes are in the line-up. Gucci Mane will join Fifth Harmony to perform their hit Down, rapper Logic will perform with Khalid, and rising stars Julia Michaels and Post Malone will also take to the stage.
This week MTV revealed the latest round of major performers set to appear at Sunday's show, with a catch: these stars will perform remotely from Las Vegas. They include Demi Lovato and DNCE, the Joe Jonas-fronted band. DNCE will be joined by Rod Stewart to perform a reimagined version of Stewart's classic hit Da Ya Think I'm Sexy.
The awards
As for the awards themselves, a major change has been made this year: following MTV's Movie & TV Awards, the VMAs have eliminated gendered categories. Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, and Lorde are all in the running for the Best Artist of the Year award, which replaces the Best Female Video and Best Male Video categories.
Kendrick Lamar leads this year's nominees with eight nods, while Katy Perry and The Weeknd follow with five nominations each.
The Song of Summer
One final category, Song of Summer, will be revealed during the VMA pre-show, which starts at 3pm PT (6am Malaysia) on Sunday. Voting opened Thursday for that prize, whose nominees include the earworms Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, Despacito (Remix) by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, XO Tour Llif3 by Lil Uzi Vert, There's Nothing Holding Me Back by Shawn Mendes and Down by Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane.
Keep up to date and find social media links to the VMAs at www.mtv.com/vma. — AFP Relaxnews