Twitter is a silly place full of silly people. One avenue it offers for celebrities is the chance to complain, or to speak directly to their fans, without a publicist intervening. Such was the case when Nicki Minaj expressed rightful disappointment over not getting a Video of the Year nomination for Anaconda. It was nominated for Best Female Video and Best Hip Hop video but not the top prize. Weird because Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball won the previous year and Iggy Azalea’s Fancy was also nominated. There was no video more talked about last year than Anaconda. It sparked debate, infuriated many people, and was criticized for being an over-sexualized lap dance. I think, if the video wasn’t so funny, it could be considered a prick tease but as it is the video, and Minaj herself, are so empowered and confident she is clearly expressing HER OWN sexuality — most prominently her giant ass of which she is very proud. I love the video Anaconda, I have to admit. I was not thrilled with Miley’s own sexual coming out but have learned to appreciate it and her. To not name Anaconda as one of the biggest of the year is crazy.
Minaj called out MTV on Twitter, saying that she couldn’t understand how Wrecking Ball was picked but not her video. In so doing she made the accusation that if she had been slim she would have gotten attention. Taylor Swift, who WAS nominated, took her remarks personally and shot back that she couldn’t believe Minaj was pitting woman against woman and maybe it was a man who took her place. Minaj hadn’t been referring to Swift but it turned into a “thing” and has been reported as such. The media loves nothing more than a cat fight, especially when Taylor Swift is involved. It’s so high school.
If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
@NICKIMINAJ I've done nothing but love & support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 21, 2015
Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn't say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. @taylorswift13
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
I wanted to see if Minaj had a legit point about MTV – that if your video celebrates women with slim bodies you get nominated for Video of the Year. Well, Beyonce and Taylor Swift’s inclusion confirmed the accusation. Heading back through their history, Beyonce has been nominated three times and won once. Taylor Swift has been nominated twice but has never won. Although I haven’t watched every video nominated for Video of the Year (though some are truly bizarre choices) the only one I could find that did not celebrate “very slim women” was Adele’s Rolling in the Deep. The video depicts Adele seated the entire time with a solo ninja dancer doing martial arts ballet moves. Had Adele donned a g-string and shaken that thang would she still have been nominated?
I personally think they were fools not to nominate Anaconda but it wouldn’t be Taylor Swift’s truly awesome video I would toss. The one that doesn’t belong is Ed Sheeran for Thinking Out Loud. Sure, the video got 624 million views but it did not break a Vevo record like Anaconda did. And frankly, no offense, but it’s the world’s most boring video. It’s like if The Bachelorette had a video. He’s a nice enough person and it’s a pretty song but it didn’t have the same cultural impact as Anaconda did.
I asked MTV who voted on their nominations but as yet they have not responded. I asked Twitter and someone dug up a 2001 press release, the only thing I could find about who was behind the voting — probably because no one has ever taken these awards seriously enough to care:
[They are an] “exclusive industry group and viewers who determined the nominees for the telecast. Approximately 500 viewers and individuals representing record labels, music journalists and video producers, selected the nominees for awards categories encompassing such wide-ranging contemporary music forms as rap, dance, R&B and rock. Ballots are cast by fax and mail. Duplication is avoided through a special control number assigned to each ballot, which can only be tallied once.”
These awards are absurd in how many of the same names end up in different categories:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
BEST MALE VIDEO
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
The Weeknd – “Earned It”
Nick Jonas – “Chains”
BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Sia – “Elastic Heart”
Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
BEST HIP HOP VIDEO
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Big Sean ft. E-40 – “IDFWU”
BEST POP VIDEO
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
BEST ROCK VIDEO
Hozier – “Take Me To Church”
Fall Out Boy – “Uma Thurman”
Florence + the Machine – “Ship To Wreck”
Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
Arctic Monkeys – “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?”
ARTIST TO WATCH presented by Taco Bell®
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Vance Joy – “Riptide”
George Ezra – “Budapest”
James Bay – “Hold Back The River”
FKA Twigs – “Pendulum”
BEST COLLABORATION
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Ariana Grande & The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
VIDEO WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE
Jennifer Hudson – “I Still Love You”
Colbie Caillat – “Try”
Big Sean ft. Kanye West and John Legend – “One Man Can Change the World”
Rihanna – “American Oxygen”
Wale – “The White Shoes”
PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES
BEST ART DIRECTION
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Charles Infante)
Snoop Dogg – “So Many Pros” (Jason Fijal)
Jack White – “Would You Fight For My Love” (Jeff Peterson)
The Chemical Brothers – “Go” (Michel Gondry)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Chris Grant, Additional choreography: Gabriel Valenciano)
OK Go – “I Won’t Let You Down” (OK Go, air:man and Mori Harano)
Chet Faker – “Gold” (Ryan Heffington)
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Nappy Tabs)
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Keone and Mari Madrid)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Larkin Sieple)
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud” (Daniel Pearl)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Christopher Probst)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Justin Brown)
Alt-J – “Left Hand Free” (Mike Simpson)
BEST DIRECTION
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Joseph Kahn)
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” (Bruno Mars & Cameron Duddy)
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright” (Colin Tilley & The Little Homies)
Hozier – “Take Me To Church” (Brendan Canty and Conal Thomson of Feel Good Lost)
Childish Gambino – “Sober” (Hiro Murai)
BEST EDITING
Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Ed Burke, Jonathan Wing)
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Jacquelyn London)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Chancler Haynes at Cosmo Street)
A$AP Rocky – “L$D” (Dexter Navy)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Ingenuity Studios)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Gloria FX, Tomash Kuzmytskyi, and Max Chyzhevskyy)
Childish Gambino – “Telegraph Ave.” (Gloria FX)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
Tyler, The Creator – “F****** Young/Death Camp” (Gloria FX)
I don’t know if Minaj will win for Best Female Video — how do you beat Elastic Heart? Maybe she will win for Best Hip Hop video. Either way, I hope that she, like every other artist in the world, does not measure herself by these awards. The best artists in music history never won one of these things.
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” 865K
Nicki Minaj 488K
Ed Sheehan 624K
Beyonce 711 240K
Taylor Swift 362K
Kendrick Lamar
Iggy Azalea Fancy – 590K