Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus will compete against Barack Obama. Eminem will do battle with a trio white rappers and a boy band. Gangnam Style gets the Harlem Shake.
Those are just a few of the nominees for YouTube’s first ever Music Awards show, which is set for Nov. 3. YouTube will hand out awards in six categories during a show hosted by Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts.
As promised, the nominees include mainstream recording stars and those unknown to older listeners but idolized by YouTube’s audience of more than one billion. Data determined the nominees, but fans can now vote online.
Nominees in two categories — Video of the Year and Artist of the Year – primarily consist of major stars like Gaga, Eminem and Justin Bieber that have also amassed large followings on YouTube.
Also read: YouTube Pioneer Phil DeFranco to Launch First New Channel for Discovery (Exclusive)
The main exception is YouTube stars Epic Rap Battles of History, one of four to earn nominations in both categories alongside One Direction, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Justin Bieber.
Nominees in two other categories – Response of the Year and YouTube Phenomenon – consist entirely of artists or memes that owe their popularity to YouTube, like Lindsey Stirling and the Harlem Shake.
As with most music awards shows, the main presentation will be the performances, some of which will be pre-recorded in cities across the globe and air before the live show begins. Avicii, M.I.A., Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator and Walk off the Earth will all perform live, YouTube announced on Monday, joining previously announced participants Eminem, Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire.
Spike Jonze is the creative director for the show, which Vice and Sunset Lane Entertainment are executive producing.
Here is the full list of nominees:
Video of the Year:
Epic Rap Battles Of History
– Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney
Demi Lovato – Heart Attack
Girls’ Generation – I Got A Boy
Justin Bieber (feat. Nicki Minaj) – Beauty And A Beat
Lady Gaga – Applause
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Mary Lambert) – Same Love
Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop
One Direction – Best Song Ever
PSY – Gentleman
Selena Gomez – Come & Get It
Artist of the Year:
Eminem
Epic Rap Battles of History
Justin Bieber
Katy Perry
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Nicki Minaj
One Direction
PSY
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
Response of the Year:
Boyce Avenue (feat. Fifth Harmony) – Mirrors
Jayesslee – Gangnam Style
Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix – Radioactive
ThePianoGuys – Titanium / Pavane
Walk Off the Earth (feat. KRNFX) – I Knew You Were Trouble
YouTube Phenomenon:
Diamonds
Gangnam Style
Harlem Shake
I Knew You Were Trouble
Thrift Shop
YouTube Breakthrough:
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Naughty Boy
Passenger
Rudimental
Innovation of the Year:
Anamanguchi — Endless Fantasy
Atoms For Peace – Ingenue
Bat For Lashes – Lilies
DeStorm – See Me Standing
Toro Y Moi –”Say That”
The post YouTube Unveils Music Award Nominees: It’s Lady Gaga vs. Miley Cyrus appeared first on TheWrap.