D'banj and Wizkid slug it out for MTV EMA Nomination

MTV has unveiled the nominees for its annual celebration of the biggest musical artists from all over the globe, with reigning pop princesses Rihanna and Taylor Swift topping the list with six and five nods each, respectively.

Africa’s hottest contemporary artists could also be in the frame for an EMA award, as Sarkodie, Camp Mulla, Wizkid, Mi Casa and D'Banj fight it out for a slot in the Worldwide Act category, where they will compete against their peers in India and the Middle East (from Monday 15 October). The final Worldwide Act nominees from each region (Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa/India/Middle East) will be announced the week of 30 October and the winner will be named at the show in Frankfurt.

The full list of nominees for the 2012 MTV EMA ......

BEST SONG

Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Call Me Maybe’

Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’

Gotye – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’

Pitbull feat. Chris Brown – 'International Love'

fun. feat. Janelle Monáe – ‘We Are Young’

BEST NEW

Rita Ora

fun.

One Direction

Lana Del Rey

Carly Rae Jepsen

BEST FEMALE

Rihanna

Katy Perry

P!nk

Taylor Swift

Nicki Minaj

BEST MALE

Justin Bieber

Kanye West

Flo Rida

Pitbull

Jay Z

BEST POP

Justin Bieber

No Doubt

Katy Perry

Taylor Swift

Rihanna

BEST LIVE

Taylor Swift

Lady Gaga

Jay Z & Kanye West

Green Day

Muse

BEST HIP HOP

Jay Z & Kanye West

Nas

Rick Ross

Drake

Nicki Minaj

BEST ROCK

Linkin Park

Green Day

Muse

The Killers

Coldplay

BEST ELECTRONIC

David Guetta

Swedish House Mafia

Avicii

Skrillex

Calvin Harris

BEST ALTERNATIVE

Jack White

The Black Keys

Arctic Monkeys

Florence + The Machine

Lana Del Rey

BEST VIDEO

M.I.A. – ‘Bad Girls’

Lady Gaga – ‘Marry The Night’

Katy Perry – 'Wide Awake'

Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris – 'We Found Love'

PSY – ‘Gangnam Style’

BEST LOOK

Nicki Minaj

Rihanna

Jack White

Taylor Swift

A$AP Rocky

BIGGEST FANS

Justin Bieber

One Direction

Lady Gaga

Rihanna

Katy Perry

BEST WORLD STAGE

Arcade Fire

Arctic Monkeys

B.o.B

Evanescence

Flo Rida

Jason Derulo

Joe Jonas

Justin Bieber

Kasabian

Ke$ha

LMFAO

Maroon 5

Nelly Furtado

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sean Paul

Snoop Dogg

Snow Patrol

Taylor Swift

BEST PUSH

Nov – Foster The People

Dec – Lana Del Rey

Jan – Mac Miller

Feb – Michael Kiwanuka

March – Gotye

April – Rebecca Ferguson

May – fun.

June – Rita Ora

July – Conor Maynard

August – Of Monsters And Men

September – Carly Rae Jepsen

WORLDWIDE ACT

Sarkodie

Camp Mulla

Wizkid

Mi Casa

D'Banj

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Lady Gaga set to dominate MTV awards

Lady Gaga looks set to dominate the MTV Europe Music Awards later, with six prize nominations and a show-stopping performance in Belfast's Odyssey Arena.

The US star goes up against the likes of Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber at the annual awards show.

It all takes place at three venues across Northern Ireland's capital, with local band Snow Patrol playing a free gig to 15,000 people outside City Hall.

"The city is literally vibrating with joy," said frontman Gary Lightbody.

The singer, whose hits include Chasing Cars and Run, added: "It's kind of a dream to stop the traffic in Belfast.

"Very often Northern Ireland in the past has been in the news for other reasons and this is a really, really amazingly positive reason to be in the news."

Adele absent

Lady Gaga, 25, is up for the night's two biggest prizes, best song and best video - both for Born This Way, the title track of her current album.

In the best song category, she goes up against Bruno Mars's Grenade, Jennifer Lopez's On The Floor, Katy Perry's Firework and Adele's Rolling In The Deep.

Her competitors for best video include the Beastie Boys, whose star-studded short film for the single Make Some Noise features cameos from Steve Buscemi, Ted Danson, Elijah Wood, Chloe Sevigny and Kirsten Dunst.

French dance act Justice are also nominated for the apocalyptic video to Civilisation, alongside Beyonce, for Run The World (Girls) and Adele, again for Rolling In The Deep.


Teen stars Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are both performing at the event
London-born Adele, who is also up for best female, is unable to attend the ceremony as she prepares for throat surgery to repair her damaged vocal cords.

"That's really rough, man," said US R&B star Jason Derulo, who will perform on the outdoor stage at the ceremony.

"As a vocalist myself, there's been times in my life where there's been a big scare, so for that to be actually happening to her is very sad."

Other performers at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast include Coldplay, Jessie J and Queen - who will pick up the Global Icon accolade.

Funk-punk band Red Hot Chili Peppers, meanwhile, will play a concert at the nearby Ulster Hall as part of the ceremony.

But Belfast's most fervent fans seem to be waiting for just one performer - teen star Justin Bieber.

Despite bracing temperatures, scores of girls have been waiting outside the arena and several local hotels from 04:30 in the hopes of glimpsing their 17-year-old idol.

"He's just tweeted to say he's arrived in Belfast," said Cara Hunter, prompting piercing screams from the fans around her.


Katy Perry, who managed 12 costume changes at the 2008 show, is up for four awards
The singer has been keeping a low profile, however, after a young woman alleged he had fathered her child last year.

Bieber denied the allegations on US TV on Friday, saying: "I know that I'm going to be a target, but I'm never going to be a victim."

His girlfriend, Disney star Selena Gomez, is hosting the MTV awards. She appeared before the press on Saturday, but answered only scripted questions from MTV red carpet host Tim Kash.

"I was nervous coming over here," she said, "because this is a really big show. But once I read the script a couple of times and went over the skits, I felt much better."

The European branch of the MTV Awards is generally more relaxed and off-the-cuff than the bigger, American version.

The ceremony lands at a different destination every year, from Berlin to Madrid. Belfast is so far the smallest host city.


Organisers said there had been a "10-year courtship" between the council and MTV.

Previously, it had been felt that Belfast's infrastructure could not cope with the demands of a show that requires 39 separate hotels to house personnel from production crews to celebrity entourages.

"It's a multi-million dollar event," MTV's Richard Godfrey said. "It's the most ambitious show we've done for a long time."

Belfast City Council believes the ceremony could generate £10 million in tourism revenues, while a specially organised Belfast Music Festival in the run-up to the show has seen several local bands sign management and record deals.

"People in London and LA and all around the world are going to see bands that they wouldn't have seen without the awards being here," said Lightbody.

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WIZKID, FALLY IPUPA, CABO SNOOP NOMINATED AT MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS 2011

The 18th annual MTV Europe Music Awards is around the corner and show organizers have released a full list of nominees for this year’s awards.

A new addition to this year’s awards is the ‘World Wide Act‘ category. Nigerian pop sensation Wizkid has been nominated in this year’s category. Other nominees in that group are Congo DR’s Fally Ipupa, Egyptian Abdelfattah Grini, Angolan Cabo Snoop,  South African Black Coffee and Scribe.

Fans will be able to vote for an artist/group within five different regions (Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Africa/India/Middle East and Europe).  The nominee from each region with the most votes will then battle for the ‘World Wide Act’ distinction

Wizkid in recent times has risen to fame with the release of his album ‘Superstar‘. Despite the multiple controversies surrounding him, he still has been the toast of fans home and abroad. A few weeks ago, he was nominated at the MOBO Awards  for ‘Best African Act‘ category.

The awards will hold at the Belfast’s Odyssey Arena on Sunday 6 November.

Check out the full list below…

BEST SONG


Adele – ‘Rolling In The Deep’


Bruno Mars – ‘Grenade’


Jennifer Lopez ft Pitbull – ‘On The Floor’


Katy Perry – ‘Firework’
Lady Gaga – ‘Born This Way’


BEST LIVE


Coldplay


Foo Fighters
Katy Perry


Lady Gaga
Red Hot Chili Peppers


BEST POP


Britney Spears


Justin Bieber


Katy Perry


Lady Gaga
Rihanna

BEST NEW


Bruno Mars


Far EastMovement


Jessie J
LMFAO
Wiz Khalifa


BEST FEMALE


Adele


Beyoncé


Jennifer Lopez


Katy Perry


Lady Gaga


BEST MALE


Bruno Mars


David Guetta


Eminem
Justin Bieber
Kanye West


BEST HIP HOP


Eminem


Lil Wayne


JAY Z & Kanye West
Pitbull


Snoop Dogg
BEST ROCK


Coldplay


Foo Fighters


Linkin Park


Kings of Leon
Red Hot Chili Peppers


BEST VIDEO


Adele – ‘Rolling In The Deep’


Beastie Boys – ‘Make Some Noise’


Beyoncé – ‘Run The World (Girls)’


Justice – ‘Civilization’


Lady Gaga – ‘Born This Way’


BEST ALTERNATIVE


Arcade Fire


Arctic Monkeys


My Chemical Romance


The Strokes


Thirty Seconds To Mars


BEST WORLD STAGE


Arcade Fire


The Black Eyed Peas


Diddy Dirty Money


Enrique Iglesias


Kings of Leon


Linkin Park


My Chemical Romance
Ozzy Osborne
Snoop Dogg


Thirty Seconds To Mars


BEST PUSH


Alexis Jordan


Big Time Rush


Bruno Mars


Far East Movement


Jessie J


Katy B


LMFAO


Neon Trees


Theophilus London


Wiz Khalifa


BIGGEST FANS


Justin Bieber


Lady Gaga


Paramore


Selena Gomez


Thirty Seconds To Mars


AFRICA/INDIA/MIDDLE EAST (Top vote-getter will represent Africa/India/Middle East in the World Wide Act category)


Abdelfattah Grini


Cabo Snoop


Fally Ipupa


Black Coffee


Wizkid


Scribe

Read more »