The VMAs Add Doja Cat, Chloe Bailey, And Shawn Mendes To Their 2021 Performance Lineup

Last week, MTV unveiled a handful of the artists who will be performing at their 2021 ceremony, and the list included Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde, Machine Gun Kelly, and Camila Cabello. Those roster would certainly be enough, but the VMAs tend to go bigger than that, so there were surely more artists to be added. Indeed, more have been: MTV unveiled a handful of new performers, and they are Doja Cat, Chloe Bailey, Shawn Mendes, and Twenty One Pilots.

This is a big one for Bailey (of Chloe x Halle), since it going to be her solo debut. She’ll be performing her single “Have Mercy” from her upcoming solo album. Meanwhile, Mendes is set to perform his recent single “Summer Of Love,” and Twenty One Pilots will perform “Saturday,” It’s not clear what song(s) Doja will perform yet, but what we do know is that she’s up for five awards this year.

The nominees for this year’s show (which is set for September 12, by the way) are led by Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion, who have seven and six nominations this year, respectively.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde, Machine Gun Kelly, And More Are Performing At The 2021 VMAs

MTV has announced the first run of performers coming to the 2021 VMAs. On your screen this year will be Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde, Machine Gun Kelly, and Camila Cabello, with more likely to be announced in the weeks ahead. This will be Rodrigo’s debut VMAs performance after snagging five nominations this year. Meanwhile, Lil Nas X last performed at the VMAs in 2019, performing “Panini.”

Lorde, meanwhile, will do a world-premiere performance from her upcoming album Solar Power, and Machine Gun Kelly will give his new single “Papercuts” its live debut. Cabello will reportedly perform her single “Don’t Go Yet.”

The news comes just days after the network released this year’s nominees for the 2021 VMAs, with Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion leading the pack. Thanks to his successful Justice release, Bieber holds seven nominations, including nods for Video Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, and Best Pop. Megan follows behind him with six nominations for categories like Video Of The Year and Song Of The Year. This year’s MTV VMAs is set to return to Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the first time since 2013. It kicks off September 12 and organizers expect to invite musicians and fans to join the event in-person.

Check out the full nominees list here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Megan Thee Stallion And Justin Bieber Lead The Full List Of 2021 VMAs Nominations

MTV has officially unveiled their full list of nomination for the 2021 VMAs, with Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion leading the pack. Thanks to his successful Justice release, Bieber holds seven nominations, including nods for Video Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, and Best Pop. Megan follows behind him with six nominations for categories like Video Of The Year and Song Of The Year.

This year’s MTV VMAs is set to return to Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the first time since 2013. It kicks off September 12 and organizers expect to invite musicians and fans to join the event in-person.

See the full list of 2021 VMA nominations below.

Video Of The Year

Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
DJ Khaled Feat. Drake — “Popstar” (Starring Justin Bieber)
Doja Cat Feat. SZA — “Kiss Me More”
Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits” – Atlantic Records
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – Columbia Records
The Weeknd — “Save Your Tears”

Artist Of The Year

Ariana Grande
Doja Cat
Justin Bieber
Megan Thee Stallion
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift

Song Of The Year

24kGoldn Feat. Iann Dior — “Mood”
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic — “Leave the Door Open”
BTS — “Dynamite”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
Dua Lipa — “Levitating”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Best New Artist

24kGoldn
Giveon
The Kid Laroi
Olivia Rodrigo
Polo G
Saweetie

Push Performance Of The Year

Wallows — “Are You Bored Yet?”
Ashnikko — “Daisy”
Saint Jhn — “Gorgeous”
24kGoldn — “Coco”
JC Stewart — “Break My Heart”
Latto — “Sex Lies”
Madison Beer — “Selfish”
The Kid Laroi — “Without You”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”
Girl in Red — “Serotonin”
Fousheé — “My Slime”
Jxdn — “Think About Me”

Best Collaboration

24kGoldn Feat. Iann Dior — “Mood”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
Doja Cat Feat. SZA — “Kiss Me More”
Drake Feat. Lil Durk — “Laugh Now Cry Later”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Miley Cyrus Feat. Dua Lipa — “Prisoner”

Best Pop

Ariana Grande — “Positions”
Billie Eilish — “Therefore I Am”
BTS — “Butter”
Harry Styles — “Treat People With Kindness”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Good 4 U”
Shawn Mendes — “Wonder”
Taylor Swift — “Willow”

Best Hip-Hop

Evanescence — “Use My Voice”
Foo Fighters — “Shame Shame”
John Mayer — “Last Train Home”
The Killers — “My Own Soul’s Warning”
Kings Of Leon — “The Bandit”
Lenny Kravitz — “Raise Vibration”
Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
Drake Feat. Lil Durk — “Laugh Now Cry Later”
Lil Baby Feat. Megan Thee Stallion — “On Me (remix)”
Moneybagg Yo – “Said Sum”
Polo G — “Rapstar”
Travis Scott Feat. Young Thug & M.I.A. — “Franchise”

Best Rock

Evanescence — “Use My Voice”
Foo Fighters — “Shame Shame”
John Mayer — “Last Train Home”
The Killers — “My Own Soul’s Warning”
Kings Of Leon — “The Bandit”
Lenny Kravitz — “Raise Vibration”

Best Alternative

Bleachers — “Stop Making This Hurt”
Glass Animals — “Heat Waves”
Imagine Dragons — “Follow You”
Machine Gun Kelly Feat. Blackbear — “My Ex’s Best Friend”
Twenty One Pilots — “Shy Away”
Willow Feat. Travis Barker — “Transparent Soul”

Best Latin

Bad Bunny x Jhay Cortez — “Dákiti”
Billie Eilish & Rosalía — “Lo Vas A Olvidar”
Black Eyed Peas and Shakira — “Girl Like Me”
Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, Tainy — “Un Die (One Day)”
Karol G — “Bichota”
Maluma — “Hawái”

Best R&B

Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Saint Jhn, WizKid — “Brown Skin Girl”
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic — “Leave the Door Open”
Chris Brown and Young Thug — “Go Crazy”
Giveon — “Heartbreak Anniversary”
HER Feat. Chris Brown — “Come Through”
SZA — “Good Days”

Best K-pop

(G)I-DLE — “Dumdi Dumdi”
Blackpink and Selena Gomez — “Ice Cream”
BTS – “Butter”
Monsta X — “Gambler”
Seventeen — “Ready To Love”
Twice — “Alcohol-Free”

Video For Good

Billie Eilish — “Your Power”
Demi Lovato — “Dancing With The Devil”
HER — “Fight For You”
Kane Brown — “Worldwide Beautiful”
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
Pharrell Williams Feat. Jay-Z — “Entrepreneur”

Best Direction

Billie Eilish — “Your Power” Directed by Billie Eilish
DJ Khaled Feat. Drake — “Popstar (Starring Justin Bieber)” Directed by Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Directed by Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino
Taylor Swift — “Willow” Directed by Taylor Swift
Travis Scott Feat. Young Thug & M.I.A — “Franchise” Directed by Travis Scott
Tyler, The Creator — “Lumberjack” Directed by Wolf Haley

Best Cinematography

Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, SAINt JHN, WizKid — “Brown Skin Girl” Cinematography by Benoit Soler, Malik H. Sayeed, Mohammaed Atta Ahmed, Santiago Gonzalez, Ryan Helfant
Billie Eilish — “Therefore I Am” Cinematography by Rob Witt
Foo Fighters — “Shame Shame” Cinematography by Santiago Gonzalez
Justin Bieber Feat.Chance The Rapper — “Holy” Cinematography by Elias Talbot
Lady Gaga — “911” Cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth
Lorde — “Solar Power” Cinematography by Andrew Stroud

Best Art Direction

Beyoncé, Shatta Wale, Major Lazer — “Already” Art Direction by Susan Linns, Gerard Santos
Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits” Art Direction by Alison Dominitz
Lady Gaga — “911” Art Direction by Tom Foden, Peter Andrus
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Art Direction by John Richoux
Saweetie Feat. Doja Cat — “Best Friend” Art Direction by Art Haynes
Taylor Swift — “Willow” Art Direction by Ethan Tobman, Regina Fernandez

Best Visual Effects

Bella Poarch — “Build a Bitch” Visual Effects by Andrew Donoho, Denhov Visuals, Denis Strahhov, Rein Jakobson, Vahur Kuusk, Tatjana Pavlik, Yekaterina Vetrova
Coldplay — “Higher Power” Visual Effects by Mathematic
Doja Cat & The Weeknd – “You Right” Visual Effects by La Pac, Anthony Lestremau, Julien Missaire, Petr Shkolniy, Alexi Bailla, Micha Sher, Antoine Hache, Mikros MPC, Nicolas Huget, Guillaume Ho Tsong Fang, Benjamin Lenfant, Stephane Pivron, MPC Bangalore, Chanakya Chander, Raju Ganesh, David Rouxel
Glass Animals — “Tangerine” Visual Effects by Ronan Fourreau
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Visual Effects by Mathematic
Pink — “All I Know So Far” Visual Effects by Dave Meyers, Freenjoy Inc

Best Choreography

Ariana Grande — “34+35” Choreography by Brian Nicholson & Scott Nicholson
BTS — “Butter” Choreography by Son Sung with BHM Performance Directing Team
Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits” Choreography by Natricia Bernard
Foo Fighters — “Shame Shame” Choreography by Nina McNeely
Harry Styles — “Treat People With Kindness”
Marshmello & Halsey — “Be Kind” Choreography by Dani Vitale

Best Editing

Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic — “Leave the Door Open” Editing by Troy Charbonnet
BTS — “Butter” Editing by Yong Seok Choi from Lumpens
Drake — “What’s Next” Editing by Noah Kendal
Harry Styles — “Treat People With Kindness”
Justin Bieber Feat. Daniel Caesar, Giveon — “Peaches”
Miley Cyrus Feat. Dua Lipa — “Prisoner”

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

MTV VMAs Plan A Live Audience Return To NYC’s Barclays Center In 2021

It was looking hopeful last June when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave the MTV VMAs the go-ahead to take place at the Barclays Center in 2020 with a “limited” audience. However, following an uptick in COVID cases, the VMAs instead opted to host the event at an outdoor space, invite only a virtual audience, and have just a handful of in-person performances. But now as large-scale events eye a late summer return, the VMAs are looking to host their 2021 event indoors.

The VMAs announced Tuesday that the awards show will make an in-person return this year. It’s slated to take place September 12 at the Barclays Center once again, and organizers say they plan to allow fans to attend. According to press materials, the event will “feature epic performances from the biggest names in music and bring fans together from across the globe to celebrate the return of live entertainment.”

Though organizers are feeling confident about gathering indoors, they are still making sure to take safety protocols seriously. “The health and safety of artists, fans, staff, and partners remain the number one priority, and MTV and Barclays Center are working closely with state and local officials to implement best practices in order to safely bring together music fans from around the globe,” organizers wrote in a statement.

The VMAs have yet to announce which artists are set to take the stage in September. Last year’s ceremony saw some showstopping performances by The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, BTS, and Lady Gaga, whose various eye-catching masks stole the show.