Now the music industry has added yet another major awards program to its growing list that includes not only the Grammys, also the AMAs, VMAs, and BMAs (Billboard Music Awards). Welcome the First Annual YouTube Music Awards with their inaugural announcement of nominees Monday night. Not surprisingly the nominees comprise of Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Katy Perry, Psy, Eminem, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis who recently swept the nominations at the upcoming American Music Awards. What makes the YouTube Music Awards different from the plethora of other award shows are its online viewers.
Initially YouTube asked viewers to select nominees based on a variety of criteria from its six categories: Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Response of the Year, YouTube Phenomenon, YouTube Breakthrough and Innovation of the Year. The selected videos were then based on the most viewed, shared, liked, and subscribed artist channels from the past 12 months. Another important standout with these awards is honoring music parodies, such as Epic Rap Battles of History YouTube channel, and fan mimic-created clips.
The categories and their criteria feature Video of the Year which deals with the most fan participation. Artist of the Year highlights the most liked, viewed, and subscribed for that particular artist. Response of the Year comprises of a best fan remix, parody, or response video. YouTube Phenomenon focuses on those setting new trends. YouTube Breakthrough showcases new artists making an impact at YouTube. Innovation of the Year honors the most creative and unique videos never before seen.
Actor Jason Schwartzman will host YouTube’s first ever award ceremony at New York’s Pier 36 in a live webcast presented on Sunday, Nov. 3. Special musical guests slated to perform are Eminem, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Avicii and M.I.A. Fans can now vote for the winners.
Here is the complete list of the six categories and its nominees:
Video of the Year:
- · Epic Rap Battles Of History — “Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney”
- · Demi Lovato — “Heart Attack”
- · Girls’ Generation – “I Got A Boy”
- · Justin Bieber (feat. Nicki Minaj) — “Beauty And A Beat”
- · Lady Gaga – “Applause”
- · Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Mary Lambert) — “Same Love”
- · Miley Cyrus — “We Can’t Stop”
- · One Direction – “Best Song Ever”
- · PSY – “Gentleman”
- · Selena Gomez – “Come & Get It”
Artist of the Year:
- · Eminem
- · Epic Rap Battles
- · Justin Bieber
- · Katy Perry
- · Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
- · Nicki Minaj
- · One Direction
- · PSY
- · Rihanna
- · Taylor Swift
Response of the Year:
- · Boyce Avenue (feat. Fifth Harmony) – “Mirrors
- · Jayesslee – “Gangnam Style”
- · Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix – “Radioactive”
- · ThePianoGuys – “Titanium / Pavane”
- · Walk Off the Earth (feat. KRNFX) — “I Knew You Were Trouble”
YouTube Phenomenon:
- · Diamonds
- · Gangnam Style
- · Harlem Shake
- · I Knew You Were Trouble
- · Thrift Shop
YouTube Breakthrough:
- · Kendrick Lamar
- · Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
- · Naughty Boy
- · Passenger
- · Rudimental
Innovation of the Year:
- · Anamanaguchi – “ENDLESS FANTASY”
- · Atoms For Peace – “Ingenue”
- · Bat For Lashes – “Lilies”
- · DeStorm – “See Me Standing”
- · Toro Y Moi — “Say That”
