Atlantic Records Group Leads MTV VMA Pack With 17 Nominations: Panic! At The Disco Are Biggest Newcomers With Five; James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, T.I., Sean Paul, Yung Joc and Missy Elliott Pick Up a Dozen More!

NEW YORK, NY (Atlantic Records) - The Atlantic Records Group leads the music industry with 17 nominations for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, the most of any label. The company's impressive showing is topped by a huge year for debut nominees Panic! At The Disco, who picked up a stunning five nods - ranking second only to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Shakira, who garnered seven each, and tied with Madonna. The Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen group was the only new artist to garner a nomination in the coveted Video of the Year contest, for their smash single, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies." The clip also earned nods in the Best Group Video, Best Rock Video, Best New Artist in a Video, and Best Art Direction in a Video categories.

Fellow newcomers James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley also scored big, with three nominations each. Blunt's No 1 debut Custard/Atlantic single, "You're Beautiful," is up for Best Male Video, Best New Artist in a Video, and Best Cinematography in a Video. Downtown/Atlantic duo Gnarls Barkley are on the ballot for Best Group Video, Best Direction in a Video, and Best Editing in a Video for their genre-breaking single, "Crazy."

Grand Hustle/Atlantic artist T.I. has picked up a pair of nominations for his No 1 smash single, "What You Know," including Best Male Video and Best Rap Video. Reggae superstar Sean Paul is also up for two awards for his VP/Atlantic chart-topper, "Temperature," in the Best Dance Video and Best Choreography in a Video categories.

Rounding out the Atlantic slate of nominees are new Bad Boy artist Yung Joc, whose No 1 hit "It's Goin' Down" is up for Best Rap Video, and the unstoppable Missy Elliott, whose Goldmind/Atlantic clip for "We Run This" garnered a nomination in the Best Special Effects in a Video category. In addition, Elliott is up for two more awards, for her contribution to Busta Rhymes's "Touch It (Remix)" clip - which is nominated for Best Male Video and Best Rap Video.
The 2006 VMAs will air live from New York's Radio City Music Hall on August 31st. Panic! At The Disco and T.I. are among the first artists confirmed to perform on the show.