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Your 2012 MTV VMAs Nominees Are… Mostly Rihanna and Drake

Drake and Rihanna perform at the 2011 Grammys / Photo by Getty Images

Cementing the fact Rihanna seems to have been everywhere over the past year or so, the pop star has tied Drake as the most-nominated artist for the 28th installment of MTV’s Video Music Awards. Both artists received five nods each, but if you count the vids Rihanna is featured in, including “Take Care” with Drake, she’s nominated 11 times. Katy Perry comes in just behind them with four nominations. Other than pop-star ubiquity, the trend the network is spotlighting this year is the rise of dubstep and EDM music, including for the first time an Electronic Dance Music category that features videos by Skrillex, Avicii and more. Check out the full list of nominees below.

As for the show itself, Alicia Keys and boy band One Direction are the first two artists the network has announced as performers, and the former will be debuting a new track on the show. The event will air live from Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Thursday, September 6, at 8 p.m. EST, across all of MTV’s networks worldwide. Viewers can vote in all but the professional categories right now at vma.mtv.com.

Notable nods: M.I.A. picked up three for her awesome “Bad Girls” clip, including Video of the Year. Jack White’s “Sixteen Saltines” video will be competing for Best Rock Video. Frank Ocean received three nominations. Lana Del Rey scored two. And Lady Gaga got… none. MTV’s been relying on Gaga (alongside Britney Spears, of course) to bring in the ratings over the past few years, but maybe her stinker of a performance as her male alter ego Jo Calderone turned everyone off last year. Hey, it’s never too late to give Britney another lifetime achievement award. She is only 30.

Video of the Year
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Drake, featuring Rihanna, “Take Care”
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”

Best Pop Video
fun., featuring Janelle Monáe, “We Are Young”
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Maroon 5, featuring Wiz Khalifa, “Payphone”

Best Rock Video
Coldplay, “Paradise”
The Black Keys, “Lonely Boy”
Linkin Park, “Burn It Down”
Jack White, “Sixteen Saltines”
Imagine Dragons, “It’s Time”

Best Hip-Hop Video
Childish Gambino, “Heartbeat”
Drake, featuring Lil Wayne, “HYFR”
Kanye West, featuring Pusha T, Big Sean & 2 Chainz, “Mercy”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Nicki Minaj, featuring 2 Chainz, “Beez in the Trap”

Best New Artist
fun., featuring Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
The Wanted, “Glad You Came”

Best Female Artist
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Katy Perry, “Part of Me”
Beyoncé, “Love on Top”
Nicki Minaj, “Starships”
Selena Gomez & the Scene, “Love You Like a Love Song”

Best Male Artist
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Drake, featuring Rihanna, “Take Care”
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Usher, “Climax”

Best Electronic Dance Video
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
Calvin Harris, “Feel So Close”
Skrillex, “First of the Year (Equinox)”
Martin Solveig, “The Night Out”
Avicii, “Le7els”

Best Video With a Message
Demi Lovato, “Skyscraper”
Rise Against, “Ballad of Hollis Brown”
Kelly Clarkson, “Dark Side”
Gym Class Heroes, “The Fighter”
K’Naan, featuring Nelly Furtado, “Is Anybody Out There?”
Lil Wayne, “How to Love”

Professional Categories

Best Art Direction
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Drake, featuring Rihanna, “Take Care”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die”
Regina Spektor, “All the Rowboats”
Of Monsters & Men, “Little Talks”

Best Choreography
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Rihanna, “Where Have You Been”
Beyoncé, “Countdown”
Avicii, “Le7els”
Jennifer Lopez, featuring Pitbull, “Dance Again”

Best Cinematography
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
Adele, “Someone Like You”
Drake, featuring Rihanna, “Take Care”
Coldplay, featuring Rihanna, “Princess of China”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die”

Best Direction
M.I.A., “Bad Girls” (director: Romain Gavras)
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf” (director: Keith Schofield)
Coldplay, featuring Rihanna, “Princess of China” (director: Adria Petty)
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good” (director: Nabil Elderkin)
Watch the Throne, “Otis” (director: Spike Jonze)

Best Editing
Beyoncé, “Countdown”
A$AP Rocky, “Goldie”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Kanye West, featuring Pusha T, Big Sean and 2 Chainz, “Mercy”

Best Visual Effects
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Rihanna, “Where Have You Been”
David Guetta, featuring Nicki Minaj, “Turn Me On”
Linkin Park, “Burn It Down”
Skrillex, “First of the Year (Equinox)”