HOLLYWOOD—It looks like Taylor Swift is the person to beat at the 2023 Video Music Awards. The singer who is currently on her Eras tour earned 8 nominations including Video of the Year on Tuesday, August 8th. I seriously don’t get all the hype behind Taylor Swift, but to each their own. Followed close behind was SZA with 6 nominations, while Kim Petras, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo and Sam Smith picked up five nominations each.

I am baffled that Beyonce is not nominated for Video of the Year, with her glorious album “Renaissance”, something just doesn’t seem right there. Then I have to think about it, I don’t think Beyonce released a video for that song. Let’s just be honest, the MTV Video Music Awards have taken a dive since the 00s, as they are no longer entertaining or as surprising as they once were.

A partial list of this year’s nominees can be viewed below:

Video of the Year

-Doja Cat “Attention”

-Miley Cyrus “Flowers”

-Nicki Minaj “Super Freaky Girl”

-Olivia Rodrigo “Vampire”

-Sam Smith, Kim Petras “Unholy”

-SZA “Kill Bill”

-Taylor Swift “Anti-Hero”

Artist of the Year

-Beyonce

-Doja Cat

-KAROL G

-Nicki Minaj

-Shakira

-Taylor Swift

Song of the Year

-Miley Cyrus “Flowers”

-Olivia Rodrigo “Vampire”

-Rema & Selena Gomez “Calm Down”

-Sam Smith, Kim Petras “Unholy”

-Steve Lacy “Bad Habit”

-SZA “Kill Bill”

-Taylor Swift “Anti-Hero”

Best New Artist

-GloRilla

-Ice Spice

-Kaliii

-Peso Pluma

-PinkPantheress

-Renee Rapp

Best Pop

-Demi Lovato “Swine”

-Dua Lipa “Dance The Night”

-Ed Sheeran “Eyes Closed”

-Miley Cyrus “Flowers”

-Olivia Rodrigo “Vampire”

-P!NK “TRUSTFALL”

-Taylor Swift “Anti-Hero”

Best Hip-Hop

-Diddy feat. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami “Gotta Move On”

-DJ Khaled feat Drake and Lil Baby “STAYING ALIVE”

-GloRilla and Cardi B “Tomorrow 2”

-Lil Uzi Vert “Just Wanna Rock”

-Lil Wayne feat Swizz Beatz and DMX “Kant Nobody”

-Metro Boomin feat Future “Superhero (Heroes and Villains)”

-Nicki Minaj “Super Freaky Girl”

Best R&B

-Alicia Keys feat Lucky Daye “Stay”

-Chloe feat Chris Brown “How Does It Feel”

-Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage and Diddy “Creepin’ (Remix)”

-SZA “Shirt”

-Toosii “Favorite Song”

-Yung Bleu and Nicki Minaj “Love in The Way”

Best Rock

-Foo Fighters “The Teacher”

-Linkin Park “Lost (Original Version)”

-Red Hot Chili Peppers “Tippa My Tongue”

-Maneskin “The LONELIEST”

-Metallica “Lux Eterna”

-Muse “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”

Best Collaboration

-David Guetta and Bebe Rexha “I’m Good (Blue)”

-Post Malone, Doja Cat “I Like You (A Happier Song)”

-Diddy feat Bryson Tiller, Ashanti and Yung Miami “Gotta Move On”

-KAROL G, Shakira “TQG”

-Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage and Diddy “Creepin’ (Remix)”

-Rema and Selena Gomez “Calm Down”

The ceremony is slated to air on Tuesday, September 12th (odd day to host an awards show) at 8 p.m. on MTV live from the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Since the fans will be voting for the winners, I think it’s safe to say we know who will be winning, which takes the fun out of the actual ceremony.