The nominees for the 2011 MTV VMAs were announced last night, and, accordingly -- and just like an awards show itself (or the Miss America pageant) -- there were tears of joy and slight sighs of disappointment. On Twitter and in the Buzzworthy comments, I saw some not-so-oblique references to Lady Gaga's three nominations by fans who hoped she'd earn more. And many Britney Spears fans were gunning for her to earn a Video Of The Year nomination, though I think her Best Pop Video nomination and Best Choreography nomination for "Till The World Ends" aren't too shabby. Katy Perry fans, of course, had lots to celebrate with Katy picking up an astounding nine nominations. Some Rihanna fans were, how shall I say, nonplussed over the fact that despite her appearance on seven VMA-nominated songs and videos, her own solo material (like "California King Bed" or "Only Girl In The World" didn't earn a VMA nomination. And I saw Jennifer Lopez fans adamant that "On The Floor" should've shown up on the nominee list.
The 2011 VMAs also feature lots of never-before-nominated bands in the Best Rock Video category, including Mumford & Sons and Cage The Elephant! And how about the Best New Artist category? The Taylor Gang's probably getting their lighters up since Wiz Khalifa (crush time!) is nominated. And Kreayshawn? The Bay Area rapper and relative rookie came out of left field and made her way to the starting lineup, earning a slot on the Best New Artist (hi, extended sports metaphor!)
And then there were the names totally absent from the VMA ballot: No VMA nominations for major pop artists such as Ke$ha, Taylor Swift or Pink caused unending Twitter chatter. Oddly, there seemed to be no apparent backlash over Rebecca Black's name not appearing under any VMA category.
So, of all of the VMA nominees and categories, what surprised or shocked you the most? Let me know in the comments.
+ Check out the complete list of 2011 MTV VMA nominees, vote for the VMAs, and don't miss the 2011 MTV VMAs live from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Aug. 28, at 9 p.m.