Last On July 20, the nominees were announced. Katy Perry received ten nominations, followed by Adele and Kanye West, who both received seven nominations. Various nominations came after that. Among the most watched nominees are Justin Bieber — "U Smile" for Best Male Video, Bruno Mars — "Grenade" for video of the year, and Beyoncé — "Run the World (Girls)" for best female video.
Other categories that are up for grab will be Best New Artist, Best Pop Video, Best Rock Video, Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Collaboration, Best Direction in a Video, Best Choreography in a Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, Best Art Direction in a Video, Best Editing in a Video, Best Cinematography in a Video, Best Video with a Message, and Best Latino Artist of 2011. Performances to shine will be from Adele, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, and Young the Giant