{"id":744604,"date":"2026-08-21T00:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:36:17","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-08-21T00:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:36:17","slug":"this-years-vmas-nominations-lean-pop-legacy-and-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-years-vmas-nominations-lean-pop-legacy-and-white\/","title":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s VMAs nominations lean pop, legacy, and white"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a881d5fea220\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a881d5fea220\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-years-vmas-nominations-lean-pop-legacy-and-white\/#5_takeaways_and_observations_about_this_years_VMAs_nominations\" >5 takeaways and observations about this year\u2019s VMAs nominations.<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-years-vmas-nominations-lean-pop-legacy-and-white\/#Madonna_dominates_with_11_nominations\" >Madonna dominates with 11 nominations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-years-vmas-nominations-lean-pop-legacy-and-white\/#The_top_categories_are_pop_legacy_and_overwhelmingly_white\" >The top categories are pop, legacy, and overwhelmingly white<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-years-vmas-nominations-lean-pop-legacy-and-white\/#Theres_more_country_music_representation\" >There\u2019s more country music representation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-years-vmas-nominations-lean-pop-legacy-and-white\/#GENER8ION_x_Yung_Leans_%E2%80%9CSTORM%E2%80%9D_is_an_outlier_in_Video_of_the_Year\" >GENER8ION x Yung Lean\u2019s \u201cSTORM\u201d is an outlier in Video of the Year<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-years-vmas-nominations-lean-pop-legacy-and-white\/#First-timers_are_punching_up\" >First-timers are punching up<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_takeaways_and_observations_about_this_years_VMAs_nominations\"><\/span>5 takeaways and observations about this year\u2019s VMAs nominations. <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-283620\" class=\"content_block paragraph image triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2171603262_qqwzay\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"60vw\" alt=\"This year\u2019s VMAs nominations lean pop, legacy, and white\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><\/p>\n<p>      Photo by Mike Coppola\/Getty Images for MTV<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-283619\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            The MTV Video Music Awards return Sunday, September 27, in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, the award show revealed this year&#8217;s long list of nominations featuring music&#8217;s most tenured stars alongside captivating new artists reshaping the mainstream. Madonna leads with an impressive 11 nominations this year, ahead of Taylor Swift&#8217;s nine, and 26 first-time nominees. Now in its 42nd year, the VMAs remain one of music&#8217;s most influential institutions, but a list this long does more than just maintain a headcount of pop\u2019s biggest names. We noticed some interesting patterns in the nominations this year, some surprising and some dis<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointing. Ahead, read our observations, both obvious and hidden, about this year\u2019s VMAs.\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/vote.mtv.com\/\">See the full list of nominations here<\/a>.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-283614\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<h5 class=\"headline\" style=\"margin-bottom: 30px;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Madonna_dominates_with_11_nominations\"><\/span>\n        Madonna dominates with 11 nominations<br \/>\n      <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            With her <i>CONFESSIONS II<\/i> short film, Madonna broomed in every technical category this year: Video of the Year, Best Dance, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing,  Best Choreography and Best Visual Effects. Her dancey concept album of the same name, meanwhile, pulled nominations in Artist of the Year, Song of the Year for \u201cBring Your Love\u201d (with Sabrina Carpenter), and Best Collaboration for \u201cBring Your Love\u201d (with Sabrina Carpenter) bringing her to 11 nominations. Deserved.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-283615\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<h5 class=\"headline\" style=\"margin-bottom: 30px;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_top_categories_are_pop_legacy_and_overwhelmingly_white\"><\/span>\n        The top categories are pop, legacy, and overwhelmingly white<br \/>\n      <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            It&#8217;s no surprise to see hallmark names like Taylor Swift, Madonna, Bruno Mars, and even Sabrina Carpenter populating the top categories of the VMAs, except this year, 80% of nominees in Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, and Best New Artist are white.\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Notably, zero Black artists are nominated in the awards\u2019 namesake category, Video of the Year, while Myles Smith is the only Black artist nominated in Best New Artist. (Meanwhile, Best Hip-Hop, Best R&amp;B are made up of almost completely Black artists.) Genre-wise, hip-hop and rap are largely absent from top fields, with pop music dominating. \u201cSong of the Year\u201d is the only marquee category that\u2019s seemingly more diverse with nominations for Olivia Dean, RAYE, PinkPantheress, BTS, and HUNTR\/X.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-283616\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<h5 class=\"headline\" style=\"margin-bottom: 30px;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Theres_more_country_music_representation\"><\/span>\n        There\u2019s more country music representation<br \/>\n      <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            From 2021 to 2023, no country music or artists were nominated in Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, or Best New Artist. Starting in 2024, however, country music has been increasingly bleeding into the main categories when Beyonc\u00e9 lit the torch with \u201cTexas Hold &#8216;Em\u201d for Song of the Year, and Shaboozey was tapped for Best New Artist. In 2025, the controversial singer Morgan Wallen was nominated for Artist of the Year and Ella Langley for Best New Artist. This year, Morgan Wallen is nominated once again for Artist of the Year, Ella Langley&#8217;s &#8220;Choosin&#8217; Texas&#8221; for Song of the Year (and Best Country),  and Stella Lefty for Best New Artist. \n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-283617\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<h5 class=\"headline\" style=\"margin-bottom: 30px;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"GENER8ION_x_Yung_Leans_%E2%80%9CSTORM%E2%80%9D_is_an_outlier_in_Video_of_the_Year\"><\/span>\n        GENER8ION x Yung Lean\u2019s \u201cSTORM\u201d is an outlier in Video of the Year<br \/>\n      <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Surprisingly, the underground is in the race for the VMAs top award Video of The Year. \u201cSTORM,\u201d the artistic short film starring Yung Lean by GENER8ION, the creative brainchild of French producer Surkin, is nominated for the trophy alongside Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Madonna. The Romain GAVRAS-directed video is a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a> through youthful chaos, set in a boarding school where Lean, dressed as a schoolboy, gallivants with his posse around campus and destroys stuff. Together with Lean\u2019s newly announced art exhibition in Stockholm, the nom reifies his standing as, not just a rapper, but a multimedium creative. \n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-283621\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GENER8ION - STORM starring Yung Lean\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x6_mbnsh6VU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-283618\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<h5 class=\"headline\" style=\"margin-bottom: 30px;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First-timers_are_punching_up\"><\/span>\n        First-timers are punching up<br \/>\n      <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            First-time nominees are landing multiple noms, most notably for non-pop awards. GENER8ION and Yung Lean rack up three nominations with Video of the Year, Best Direction, and Best Choreography; K-pop\u2019s CORTIS gets two with Best New Artist, Best K-Pop for \u201cREDREAD\u201d; meanwhile Stella Lefty receives two with Best New Artist and Best Country Video for &#8220;Boston&#8221;.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Drew Neiman<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2026\/08\/20\/vmas-2026-nominations-takeaways\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5 takeaways and observations about this year\u2019s VMAs nominations. Photo by Mike Coppola\/Getty Images for MTV The MTV Video Music Awards return Sunday, September 27, in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, the award show revealed this year&#8217;s long list of nominations featuring music&#8217;s most tenured stars alongside captivating new artists reshaping the mainstream. Madonna leads with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-744604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}