MTV Announces VMA Nominees

The annual MTV Video Music Awards have released their full list of this year's nominees. Who's got what, you ask? Let us fill you in on the surprising and not so surprising candidates. Firstly, Rihanna, Drake and Katy Perry each picked up five nominations for their consistently epic videos. No surprise there. Another well-deserving contender (who cleaned up in the nominations department) is director/photographer (and friend of Oyster) Nabil Elderkin, who created the equally awesome videos for Kanye West's twice-nominated 'Mercy' and Frank Ocean's thrice-nominated 'Swim Good'. Go Nabil! You might also know the Australian creative from his work on such gems as Bon Iver's 'Towers' and 'Holocene' videos,  as well as Frank Ocean's 'Novacane', Kanye's 'Welcome to the Heartbreak' and 'Paranoid', as well as shooting Adidas Originals x Jeremy Scott's latest lookbook. What a prolific dude.

Beyonce, M.I.A, Gotye and Lana Del Rey also made the list of nominees, as did videos for One Direction, Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jespen and Selena Gomez. While we remain impartial observers, we're rooting for the former contenders there. Surprisingly absent from the nominations are past top dogs like Adele and Lady Gaga, who were totally snubbed... not to mention Beyoncé's 'Countdown'. Controversial! Special mention goes to The Black Keys, nominated in the Best Rock Video category for 'Lonely Boy' — which just goes to show that sometimes, simple is best.  

The Full List:

Video of the Year

Katy Perry, "Wide Awake"
Gotye, "Somebody That I Used To Know"
Rihanna, "We Found Love"
Drake feat. Rihanna, "Take Care"
M.I.A., "Bad Girls"

Best New Artist
Fun. feat. 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 Hip-Hop Video
Childish Gambino, "Heartbeat"
Drake feat. Lil Wayne, "HYFR"
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean & 2 Chainz, "Mercy"
Watch the Throne, "Paris"
Nicki Minaj feat. 2 Chainz, "Beez in the Trap"

Best Male Video
Justin Bieber, "Boyfriend"
Frank Ocean, "Swim Good"
Drake feat. Rihanna, "Take Care"
Chris Brown, "Turn Up the Music"
Usher, "Climax"

Best Female Video
Rihanna, "We Found Love"
Katy Perry, "Part of Me"
Beyonce, "Love on Top"
Nicki Minaj, "Starships"
Selena Gomez & The Scene, "Love You Like a Love Song"

Best Pop Video
One Direction, "What Makes You Beautiful"
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, "We Are Young"
Rihanna, "We Found Love"
Justin Bieber, "Boyfriend"
Maroon 5 feat. 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 Electronic Dance Music 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 feat. Nelly Furtado, "Is Anybody Out There?" 
Lil Wayne, "How to Love"

Best Art Direction
Katy Perry, "Wide Awake"
Drake feat. 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"
Beyonce, "Countdown"
Avicii, "Le7els"
Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull, "Dance Again"

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

Best Direction
M.I.A., "Bad Girls"
Duck Sauce, "Big Bad Wolf" 
Coldplay feat. Rihanna, "Princess of China"
Frank Ocean, "Swim Good"
Watch the Throne, "Otis"

Best Editing
Beyonce, "Countdown"
A$AP Rocky, "Goldie"
Gotye, "Somebody That I Used to Know"
Watch the Throne, "Paris"
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean and 2 Chainz, "Mercy"

Best Visual Effects
Katy Perry, "Wide Awake"
Rihanna, "Where Have You Been"
David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, "Turn Me On"
Linkin Park, "BURN IT DOWN"

Jerico Mandybur