Thanks to the release of the Earth-shatteringly good Lemonade, Beyoncé received a staggering 11 VMA nominations on Tuesday — but it looks like not all of her peers were so lucky.
Taylor Swift
Perhaps most notably absent from the pack — which included eight nominations for Adele along with nods for Ariana Grande, Drake, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber — was 2015’s reigning champ, Taylor Swift. Last year, the pop star received ten nominations for her #squad-celebrating video, “Bad Blood,” but this year, she received zero.
According to Us Weekly, it’s entirely possible that Taylor simply wasn’t eligible for nomination this year, given that 1989 came out in late 2014. However, her music videos for “Wildest Dreams” and “Out of the Woods” premiered at the 2015 VMA pre-show and in December 2015 respectively, which technically should make them eligible for nomination.
A few sources have contested this, saying that Taylor’s team might not have submitted them for consideration since she was mostly on tour this year. But nonetheless, her absence was definitely felt by many, for better or worse.
Nick Jonas
Another person who seemed peeved by Tuesday’s announcement was none other than Nick Jonas, who took to Twitter to express his disappointment that his video for “Close” didn’t get any love.
?
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) July 26, 2016
Disappointed with the fact Close got no love for the #VMAs2016
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) July 26, 2016
He then, however, seemed to backtrack from his original sentiment, claiming that everything was actually going pretty well for him lately.
Actually after thinking about it more there are so many amazing things happening in my life and career. 9 out of 10 boxes are checked…
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) July 26, 2016
Won't let this one thing get to me. I'm feeling so inspired and grateful these days. Gonna focus more on caring less about the small stuff.
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) July 26, 2016
Everything is awesome ???
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) July 26, 2016
Selena Gomez
While Selena seems to have had a pretty amazing year on Instagram, the same apparently can’t be said for her music video for “Hands to Myself.” The video failed to get a single nod for the 2016 VMAs, disappointing many of her fans.
https://twitter.com/Brxndon_k/status/758095192704618496
the fact that Selena Gomez wasn't nominated for a VMA proves how trash the VMA's are becoming. Selena had one of the biggest songs #GFY
— ???? (@thebrooklyncat) July 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/Peytonmeador/status/758027164931399680
Selena Gomez: pop princess, legendary hit maker, snubbed of a VMA nomination. I want justice.
— SG (@slutIenas) July 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/runonlove/status/758004688478437377
Demi Lovato
While she technically got a VMA nomination for her video “Irresistible” with Fall Out Boy, many felt Demi Lovato was snubbed because she failed to get a single nod for any of her solo work. Demi absolutely slayed this year with multiple amazing music videos, and her fans were extremely disappointed that the VMAs didn’t acknowledge any of them.
Meghan Trainor
Despite the amazing response to her hit singles “No” and “Me Too,” Meghan also didn’t get a nod at the 2016 VMAs. Given how hard she fought the Photoshop scandal that “No” created, it was a heartbreaking revelation for a lot of her fans.
From: Harper’s BAZAAR US
