New York, NY (Top40 Charts) MTV Announces 2020 "VMAs" Pre-Show Performers, Everyday Heroes:
Frontline Medical Workers, PUSH Best New Artist finalists and Social Categories:
Chloe x Halle, Jack Harlow, Lewis Capaldi,
Tate McRae and Machine Gun
Kelly featuring
Travis Barker and blackbear, are set to perform during the 2020 "VMAs" Pre-Show airing on Sunday, August 30th at 6:30pm ET/PT.
Hosted by Nessa and Jamila Mustafa, the 90-minute event will include jaw-dropping performances, celebrity interviews and coast-to-coast coverage from celebrity correspondents, Kevan Kenney and
Travis Mills.
This year's show will honor "Everyday Heroes:
Frontline Medical Workers," brought to you by EXTRA® Gum, celebrating the best performances by first responders - doctors, nurses, and other frontline medical workers - who kept everyone going with their impromptu and off-the-cuff performances.
Nominees include:
Dr. Elvis Francois and Dr.
William Robinson - 'Imagine'
Dr. Nate Wood - 'Lean On Me'
Jefferson University Hospital's Swab
Squad - 'Level Up'
Jason 'Tik Tok Doc' Campbell
Lori
Marie Key - 'Amazing Grace'
PUSH Best New Artist, presented by Chime Banking: The top three finalists include: Doja Cat,
Lewis Capaldi and YUNGBLUD. Fans can vote for their favorite artist by direct messaging @VMAs on Twitter until Friday, August 28th.
Social Categories:
BEST GROUP: Beginning today and for the next 48 hours, fans can vote for "Best Group" by swiping up on MTV's Instagram Story. Nominees include:
5 Seconds of Summer
The 1975
BLACKPINK
BTS
Chloe x Halle
CNCO
Little Mix
MONSTA X
Now United
twenty-one pilots
SONG OF THE SUMMER: Starting Wednesday, August 26th, fans can vote for the "Song Of Summer" in a bracket-style voting on MTV's Instagram Story. Nominees include:
BLACKPINK "
How You Like That"
Cardi B ft.
Megan Thee Stallion "WAP"
DaBaby ft.
Roddy Ricch "
Rockstar"
DJ Khaled ft.
Drake "
Popstar"
Doja Cat "
Say So"
Dua Lipa "
Break My Heart"
Harry Styles "
Watermelon Sugar"
Jack Harlow "
Whats Poppin"
Lil Baby ft.
42 Dugg "
We Paid"
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé "
Savage (Remix)"
Miley Cyrus "
Midnight Sky"
Pop Smoke ft.
50 Cent &
Roddy Ricch "
The Woo"
SAINt JHN "
Roses"
Saweetie "
Tap In"
Taylor Swift "cardigan"
The
Weeknd "
Blinding Lights"
Chloe x Halle: With their doe eyes and hypnotic harmonies,
Chloe x Halle brought a youthful insouciance to R&B with their honeyed melodies and empowering,
Black girl magic anthems. Their breakout, Grammy-nominated debut The Kids Are Alright wove bright tales of young adult love, sisterhood and self-acceptance over an adventurous infusion of jazz, indie rock, trap, synth-pop and soul.
Chloe x Halle's music—which they write, arrange, producer and engineer themselves—is uplifting and delightfully enchanting, but the ladies were eager to show a different side of themselves.
They are light years away from the child actors we met on the big and small screen before capturing our hearts with impressive YouTube covers of John Legend,
Alicia Keys and Beyoncé, who signed them to her Parkwood Entertainment imprint in 2015 and took them on tour. Ungodly Hour is a bold, sleekly produced statement that celebrates "the power and strength of being a woman" with music that's edgier, darker and sexier than anything
Chloe x Halle has done in the past, without sacrificing any of their signature sound.
It's more upbeat than previous releases—a conscious decision from
Chloe x Halle, who wanted the album to reflect the fun they had with each other as they laughed and exchanged the stories that provided the framework of the records. The album's surefire hit, "
Do It" (written by
Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey,
Victoria Monét and produced by Scott Storch,
Vincent Van Den Ende and Anton Kuhl), is an unabashed club record, which is a departure for them but judging from the instant viralness of the dance heavy visual that accompanies the record, the world is ready for this new era of
Chloe x Halle. After amassing a cult following with the homegrown music they crafted in their living room (their debut EP Sugar Symphony was released in 2016, followed by a critically acclaimed mixtape The Two of Usin 2017),
Chloe x Halle truly took off with 2018's The Kids Are Alright. The album catapulted the duo to R&B stardom as they were also getting buzz for their roles on the hit Freeform series Grown-ish (the show's theme song is a standout on The Kids Are Alright and their 2019 singles "
Who Knew" and "Thinkin Bout Me" was featured on this past season) and would go on to earn them Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album.
Like everyone else, they are navigating life in the time of COVID-19. Had the virus not upended life, Halle would be in London filming Disney's live action The
Little Mermaid, her first major project without her sister. As they step further into adulthood we can expect to see more solo projects from them (Chloe completed filming for Miramax's supernatural thriller The Georgetown Project before lockdown).
Chloe x Halle hope the new music brings a sense of comfort to their fans, especially the young women who look up to them, during these strange times. More than anything, though, they just want to be seen and heard for the women they are now.
Jack Harlow: The 22-year-old, Louisville, Kentucky native has seen a meteoric rise since the release of his 2x-Platinum single "WHATS POPPIN." Produced by Jetsonmade and Pooh Beatz, "WHATS POPPIN" is poised to be the first of many mainstream hits for the rapper. Inspired by his mom's love of hip-hop, André 3000, Missy Elliott, Drake, and more icons, the Generation Now/Atlantic Records artist's journey through hip-hop feels as if it has several start points.
We could look to 2015's Handsome Harlow EP, 2016's 18 or 2017's Gazebo mixtapes as the genesis of Harlow finding his voice and starting to define his honey-tongued sound. We could point specifically to his single, "Dark Knight," which will go down as the first of many watershed moments for Jack Harlow. Too, we could look at 2018 as the true turning point in Jack's career—the moment he went from stiff to imbued with swagger, releasing Loose to acclaim culminating in a Best Mixtape nomination during the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards. Growing his profile as prolific,
Jack Harlow released Confetti in 2019. Fanfare swirled around Harlow for tracks like the hard-hitting "ROTTEN," the Bryson Tiller-assisted "THRU THE NIGHT," and the heartfelt "RIVER ROAD." Confetti featured
Jack Harlow playing DJ, guiding the party with an attractive fervor.
Standouts like "WARSAW" and "HEAVY HITTER" showcased Jack's ability to drawl and sing and produce pristine club-ready smashes. A star with a heart of gold, to celebrate his birthday, Harlow released the Sweet Action EP in March of 2020. Including the massive "WHATS POPPIN" single, Sweet Action featured Jack honing in on his singing and ease of delivery with songs like "2STYLISH" and "OUT FRONT." In support of Sweet Action and "WHATS POPPIN," which Harlow performed on The
Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Harlow enlisted Tory Lanez, DaBaby, and the legendary
Lil Wayne to give fresh life to the already undeniable and inescapable hit single, solidifying the song's spot in the upper half of the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100, for most of Summer 2020. Finishing the Summer as strong as he started it, Harlow was revealed as part as this year's XXL Freshman cover and received a nomination for "Best New Artist" at the 2020 MTV Video
Music Awards.
Lewis Capaldi: GRAMMY Award nominated, multi-platinum Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi's new single "
Before You Go" has topped the UK Singles and Irish Singles charts, marking Capaldi's second No. 1 in the UK and third No. 1 in Ireland.
In the U.S. the song is currently in the Top 10 on the Hot 100 Chart and has amassed over one billion streams worldwide. "
Before You Go" is the both the most honest and personal song I've ever written," says Capaldi. "It's about loss, regrets and the fear that we sometimes never understand what someone is going through despite our best want to be everything that person needs." Capaldi's breakthrough hit "
Someone You Loved" topped the U.K. Official Singles chart for a nearly unprecedented seven weeks, the single held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks, marking the first No. 1 single from a debut U.K. artist on the tally since February 2016.
Capaldi was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award in the prestigious Song of the Year category and the track took Song of the Year honors at the 2020 BRIT Awards where Lewis was also named Best New Artist. "
Someone You Loved" is certified Platinum or greater in a total of 18 countries, including the U.S and has over one billion combined global streams on Spotify alone. Capaldi's debut album, Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, was the fastest selling U.K. debut of 2019. To date, it has sold over 4 million adjusted albums worldwide and combined global streams are now approaching 10 billion. Capaldi is nominated for the 2020 VMAs in the PUSH Best New Artist category.
Tate McRae: Most recently nominated for PUSH Best New Artist at the 2020 VMA's, singer/songwriter/dancer Tate McRae's current single, "you broke me first" has over 110 million streams worldwide and is making its rise up the Top 40 chart. Other tracks, "vicious" ft.
Lil Mosey and recent release "don't be sad" along with "you broke me first" will be featured on her upcoming EP due out this fall. Tate released her debut EP all the things i never said, in January and features her standout tracks "stupid" "tear myself apart," "all my friends are fake," and "that way." The EP has over 350 million streams worldwide and locked her a slot as one of YouTube's Artist On The Rise.
Machine Gun Kelly: Machine Gun
Kelly is a multi-hyphenate talent with an impressive career that started in Cleveland and has made him a globally known star in both music and film. Most recently, in April 2020, he released "Bloody Valentine," the first single off his forthcoming Tickets to My Downfall album, executive produced by
Travis Barker. The two appeared on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN to perform the song, and the official video starring Megan Fox garnered over 4,000,000 views in under 24 hours. He recently released two more singles off the forthcoming album, "concert for aliens" and "my ex's best friend" featuring blackbear. He can currently be seen in Netflix's PROJECT POWER from Henry
Joost and Ariel Shulman also starring
Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt which premiered globally August 14, 2020. He burst onto the music scene with the release of his first album Lace Up via EST 19XX/Bad Boy/Interscope Records, which debuted at number two on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. He won "US Artist About to Go Global" at the 2012 MTV EMA's and MTV's 2012 "Breaking Woodie" Award. His 2015 sophomore album, General Admission clinched a #1 spot on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Album charts. His album Hotel
Diablo was released July 5, 2019 and was supported by three singles: "Hollywood Whore", "
El Diablo", and "I Think I'm Okay" (featuring
Travis Barker and Yungblud) became a certified Gold Single in December of 2019.
In 2017, his album bloom went gold with the album track "Bad Things," featuring
Camila Cabello, selling 8+ million worldwide and was nominated for a 2017 Billboard
Music Award and owned the Billboard 100 list for 16+ weeks in 2017. The song has had more than 245m+ streams with a radio audience of 145m, becoming RIAA certified 3x platinum (domestic) and 8x worldwide.
Previously Announced "VMAs" News:
The 2020 "VMAs," hosted by entertainment powerhouse Keke Palmer, will air LIVE on Sunday, August 30th at 8pm ET/PT.
PERFORMERS:
Ariana Grande,
Black Eyed Peas, BTS, CNCO, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Lady Gaga, Maluma,
Miley Cyrus and The
Weeknd are set to take the 2020 "VMAs" stage.
First-ever performances from
Black Eyed Peas, BTS and DaBaby.
First performance of
Black Eyed Peas' newest single "VIDA LOCA"
TV debut of BTS' new, English-only single, "
Dynamite"
Lady Gaga and
Ariana Grande will team up for the world premiere televised performance of "Rain on Me."
This marks Lady Gaga's first return to the "VMAs" stage since 2013;
Ariana Grande last performed in 2018.
Miley Cyrus is set to debut her new single, "
Midnight Sky"
Second "VMAs" appearance from The Weeknd, who last took the "VMAs" stage in 2015.
NOMINATIONS:
Ariana Grande and
Lady Gaga lead this year's nominations, closely followed by
Billie Eilish and The Weeknd. Full nominee list here.
The following performers are also 2020 "VMAs" nominees:
Lady Gaga: 9 nominations (Video of the Year, Artist of the Year Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Pop, Best Quarantine Performance, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Choreography)
Ariana Grande: 9 nominations (Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration x2, Best Collaboration, Best Pop, Best
Music Video From Home, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Choreography)
The Weeknd: 6 nominations (Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best R&B Video, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing)
BTS: 3 nominations (Best Pop, Best K-Pop, Best Choreography)
DaBaby: 3 nominations this year (Artist of the Year, Best Hip-Hop: "BOP," Best Choreography: "BOP"), and 1 nomination in 2019 ("Song of the Summer")
Doja Cat: 3 nominations (Song of the Year, PUSH Best New Artist, Best Direction
CNCO: 2 nominations (Best Quarantine Performance, Best Choreography)
Maluma: 1 nomination (Best Latin Video)
VOTING: Fans can vote for their favorites across 15 gender-neutral categories, including "Video of the Year," "Artist of the Year," "Best Quarantine Performance," and more by visiting vma.mtv.com through August 23, 2020. Voting for "PUSH Best New Artist, Presented by Chime Banking," will remain open.
PRODUCTION CREDITS: Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder
Jesse Ignjatovic are Executive Producers for the 2020 "VMAs." Barb Bialkowski is Co-Executive Producer. Alicia Portugal and Jackie Barba serve as Executives in Charge of Production. Wendy Plaut is Executive in Charge of Celebrity Talent. Lisa Lauricella is
Music Talent Executive.
