The 2018 VMAs are right around the corner and HC San Francisco is excited to see what’s in store for the night. We can’t wait to see performances, red carpet outfits, and witness Jennifer Lopez receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. We’re most excited to see who will win awards!
This year Cardi B leads the nominations list with 10 awards followed by The Carters with eight awards. Childish Gambino and Drake are nominated for seven awards and Bruno Mars is nominated for six awards. Lastly, Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello are both nominated for five awards. Here are HC San Francisco’s predictions for the 2018 MTV VMAs:
Video of the Year
Nominees:
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‘No Tears Left To Cry’ – Ariana Grande
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‘Finesse (Remix)’- Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B
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‘Havana’- Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug
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‘APES**T’- THE CARTERS
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‘This Is America’- Childish Gambino
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‘God’s Plan’- Drake
Predicted winner: ‘This Is America’- Childish Gambino
Reason: Gambino’s ‘This Is America’ was the most talked about music video on social media when it was released on May 5, 2018. The music video was filmed in single shot style and shows Gambino dancing around a warehouse while there is chaos happening in the background. The chaos in the background reflects on events that happened in America which include: gun violence and police brutality. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. ‘This Is America’ is also nominated for Best Video with a Message.
Artist of the Year
Nominees:
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Ariana Grande
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Bruno Mars
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Camila Cabello
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Cardi B
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Drake
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Post Malone
Predicted winner: Drake
Reason: 2018 has been a record breaking year for Drake so far. The hip-hop artist has released singles and has been featured on numerous tracks prior to his most anticipated album, Scorpion. In January, Drake released his EP, Scary Hours, which includes the song, ‘God’s Plan.’ The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed at the number one spot for 11 weeks until it was knocked down by another song of his, ‘Nice For What.’ On June 29, his album, Scorpion, was released and instantly broke records. According to The Verge, Scorpion broke a record of 1 billion streams, globally. After the release of his album, seven of his songs reached the top 10 on the charts beating the Beatles’ 54 year record of having the most songs in the top 10. His song, ‘In My feelings’ gained popularity after the Kiki Challenge went viral on social media. Drake’s chart topping music, creative music videos, and influence on pop culture is why he is our predicted Artist of the Year.
Song of the Year
Nominees:
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‘Finesse (Remix)’- Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B
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‘Havana’- Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug
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‘God’s Plan’- Drake
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‘New Rules’- Dua Lipa
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‘Perfect’- Ed Sheeran
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‘rockstar’- Post Malone
Predicted winner: ‘Perfect’- Ed Sheeran
Reason: Sheeran wrote and produced the song, ‘Perfect’ for his fiancé, Cherry Seaborn. The romantic love song comes from his third album, Divide. Both the original and Beyoncé feature of ‘Perfect’ went number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song instantly became a popular wedding song of 2017 and 2018.
Best New Artist
Nominees:
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Bazzi
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Cardi B
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Chloe x Halle
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Hayley Kiyoko
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Lil Pump
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Lil Uzi Vert
Predicted winner: Cardi B
Reason: It has been quite a year for the hip-hop artist. Cardi B broke the record for being the second female hip-hop artist to have a number one song on the Hot 100 chart with ‘Bodak Yellow.’ Since her rise to fame, she has been in numerous features of different genres that have reached the top of the charts. During her rise to fame, Cardi was featured in music videos, released her first album (Invasion of Privacy), performed at the Grammys, and performed at Coachella all while being pregnant. She didn’t stop doing what she was doing all throughout her pregnancy and slowly conquered the music world as a new artist. Last year Cardi B performed at the VMAs pre-show party and this year leads with 10 nominations. What a badass.
Best Collab
Nominees:
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‘Meant To Be’- Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line
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‘Finesse (Remix)’- Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B
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‘APES**T’- THE CARTERS
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‘Dinero’- Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled and Cardi B
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‘1-800-273-8255’- Logic ft. Alessia Cara, and Khalid
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‘Lemon’- N.E.R.D and Rihanna
Predicted winner: ‘Finesse (Remix)’- Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B
Reason: 2018 started with a bang when Bruno Mars released this Cardi B collab in January. The ‘Finesse (Remix)’ music video played an homage to the 90s sketch sitcom, In Living Color. The music video set up was similar to the intro of the TV show. Same stage, colorful paint, fly girls, and 90s clothes. The film format of the music video stuck to the 90s aesthetic with the standard ratio format but kept it new school with 60 frames per second. The new jack swing inspired song and music video mesh well together and received praise by fans and the cast members of the 90s TV show. It charted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
Best Pop
Nominees:
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‘No Tears Left To Cry’ – Ariana Grande
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‘Havana’- Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug
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‘Sorry Not Sorry’- Demi Lovato
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‘Perfect’- Ed Sheeran
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‘What About Us’- P!nk
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‘In My Blood’- Shawn Mendes
Predicted winner: ‘Perfect’- Ed Sheeran
Reason: The song made us fall for Ed Sheeran but the music video made us fall for him even more. The music video is a love story between Sheeran and a girl while they are on vacation with friends at a ski resort in Austria. The bond between Sheeran and his leading lady in the music video is too cute especially when the two slow dance in the snowfall in their pajamas.
Best Hip-Hop
Nominees:
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‘Bartier Cardi’- Cardi B ft. 21 Savage
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‘APES**T’- THE CARTERS
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‘God’s Plan’- Drake
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‘ATM’- J. Cole
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‘Walk It Talk It’- Migos ft. Drake
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‘Chun-Li’- Nicki Minaj
Predicted winner: ‘Bartier Cardi’- Cardi B ft. 21 Savage
Reason: ‘Bartier Cardi’ is one of Cardi B’s many hot 100 singles. The music video shows a glammed up Cardi rapping while living the lavish life by wearing her best lingerie and fur coats. The female extras in the music video are counting money (shmoney moves?) and are partying it up while shirtless men wait on the women. The music video gives us a female perspective of a typical hip-hop music video. The song title, ‘Bartier Cardi’ is a play on the popular jewelers, Cartier, who are known for their luxurious diamonds. The music video features a cameo appearance of Cardi’s husband, Offset, who is in the hip-hop group, Migos.
Best Latin
Nominees:
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‘Dura’- Daddy Yankee
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‘Mi Gente’- J Balvin and Willy William
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‘Dinero’- Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled and Cardi B
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‘Échame La Culpa’- Luis Fonsi and Demi Lovato
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‘Felices Los 4’- Maluma
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‘Chantaje’- Shakira ft. Maluma
Predicted winner: ‘Mi Gente’- J Balvin and Willy William
Reason: The ‘Mi Gente’ music video has an urban reggaeton vibe with the use of colors, neons, and dancing. The diversity of the dancers in the music video shows how music can connect everyone around the world. The Latin song charted on the U.S. charts along with the remix which features Beyoncé. Queen Bey announced on her Instagram that the proceeds for the remix would go towards “hurricane relief charities for Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the other affected Caribbean islands.”
Best Dance
Nominees:
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‘Lonely Together’- Avicii ft. Rita Ora
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‘One Kiss’- Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa
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‘Everybody Hates Me’- The Chainsmokers
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‘Flames’- David Guetta and Sia
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‘Silence’- Marshmello ft. Khalid
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‘Get Low’- Zedd and Liam Payne
Predicted winner: ‘One Kiss’- Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa
Reason: ‘One Kiss’ could easily be part of the soundtrack of summer 2018. Calvin Harris creates a retro dance track with Dua Lipa that’s sure to play at the club. The 90s house music inspired tune reached number one in the Billboard US Dance Club Songs chart. The trippy and tropical music video contains old VHS elements and edits similar to those in the 90s.
Best Rock
Nominees:
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‘Champion’- Fall Out Boy
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‘The Sky Is A Neighborhood’- Foo Fighters
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‘Whatever It Takes’- Imagine Dragons
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‘One More Light’- Linkin Park
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‘Say Amen (Saturday Night)’- Panic! At The Disco
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‘Walk On Water’- Thirty Seconds To Mars
Predicted winner: ‘Whatever It Takes’- Imagine Dragons
Reason: ‘Whatever It Takes’ music video shows the band performing the song in the a room while rains falls in from the crumbling roof. The room keeps on flooding while the band is still performing showing that the band will do whatever it takes to keep on playing their music. The dark lyrics of the song mesh well with what is happening with the music video. The song charted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Video with a Message
Nominees:
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‘This Is America’- Childish Gambino
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‘Liberated’- Dej Loaf and Leon Bridges
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‘God’s Plan’- Drake
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‘Pynk’- Janelle Monáe ft. Grimes
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‘Gatekeeper’- Jessie Reyez
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‘1-800-273-8255’- Logic ft. Alessia Cara, and Khalid
Predicted winner: ‘This Is America’- Childish Gambino
Reason: As mentioned in the beginning of the article, Childish Gambino’s ‘This Is America’ music video trended all over Twitter due to the content in the video. Fans and celebrities on social media have praised Gambino for his work in the music video. The music video reflects gun violence and police brutality in the black community. Since the video was released, there has been a lot of analysis on what every little thing shown in the music video means. There’s a lot going on in the music video that you have to watch it more than once to better understand it. With everything happening in the United States with gun violence, ‘This Is America’ is our predicted winner for Video with a Message.
The 2018 MTV VMAs will take place on Aug. 20, 2018 at 5 p.m. PST.