It’s another year for the MTV Video Music Awards, one of the most celebrated music award shows worldwide. Despite the quarantine interrupting our normal activities such as going to concerts and music festivals, it was still a great year for the music industry since a lot of awesome releases happened this 2020. (Yes, 2020 wasn’t a total b*tch.)
And because the members of the Preen team all have their own different taste and speciality, each of us have our own predictions as to who will win the different categories.
Artist of the Year
“The nominees for AOTY this year are an interesting crop—seriously, just look at their names. While I’m cheering on for Megan Thee Stallion, who just had a whopper of a hit with Cardi B and is emerging as a pop culture juggernaut, and Da Baby, mostly just because I’m still not over the fact that he did an admittedly middling collab with Lil Baby named ‘Baby,’ there’s only one clear winner for AOTY.
Lady Gaga has never been named artist of the year (unless you count the niche genre categories, which I don’t), which is absolute bonkers considering she’s Lady Gaga. There’s…really not much to debate over here. Who has the tracks, the lasting cultural legacy, the stage power, the range that Gaga has?” — Zofiya Acosta, associate editor
Song of the Year
“Let’s face it: TikTok definitely made an impact in the music industry this year. A lot of people not only got song lyrics stuck in their heads but dance moves as well. We could clearly see this pattern in MTV’s Song of The Year nominees with strong contenders like Doja Cat’s ‘Say So,’ Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Savage’ and Roddy Ricch’s ‘The Box.’
Aside from these, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s ‘Rain On Me’ is also such an iconic song with its cyber chic music video and poppin’ makeup looks. Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ was indeed a cultural reset for 2020, but I have to go with my girl Megan with ‘Savage’ for SOTY. The song just screams power to the women and it’s just so good that even Beyonce hopped in for a remix. Not only this, its animated music videos paid homage to the creator of the TikTok Savage Challenge.
And, personally, I think animation is underrated, like, not a lot of people do it enough (‘cause maybe they think it’s for children or something) so I’d love to see more music videos take on this platform. Big props to Megan and her team for this one.” — Nadine Halili, content creator
Best K-pop
“MTV created the K-pop category because they know Korean artists would dominate otherwise but not everyone’s ready for that convo. Anyway, my top 3 are ‘Psycho,’ ‘9 and Three Quarters’ and ‘On.’
Although ‘Oh My God’ seems to have a high production value, it isn’t (G)I-DLE’s strongest track. This is also true with EXO’s ‘Obsession’ which boasts CG that had the boys looking every bit from an exoplanet. Monsta X’s ‘Someone’s someone’ gives me chills but their MV paled in comparison with busier contenders.
I didn’t miss how BTS submitted their ‘kinetic film manifesto’ instead of their weird Noah’s ark themed official MV for ‘On.’ The powerful choreography and the POC rep was chef’s kiss so that was a good move. Coming-of-age shenanigans and magic are a great combo and since the TXT MV’s are getting better, I bet they’re going to be nominated next year too. But, I think Red Velvet got this in the bag. ‘Psycho’ went really viral because it’s a hauntingly good song, the choreo had a lot of flair but a lot of people were still able to do covers and every detail of the MV is delicious.” — Amrie Cruz, junior content creator
Push Best New Artist
“I’m sure it won’t be a surprise that my money’s on Doja Cat. Compared to the other nominees, you hear multiple songs from her on TikTok. As Nadine said, TikTok has made a huge impact on the music industry and I believe it’s because people see it as a platform to show off their unique talents. It even brings out the inner choreographer of most people because of the different dance challenges on the app. One of the most popular ones is the #SaySoChallenge, which makes use of Doja Cat’s single “Say So.” And even if the singer never really danced in the music video, I think it’s the fact that her songs are a bop that makes it easy for people to choreograph a challenge to it. I mean, her other single “Like That” is also a TikTok challenge.” — Lia delos Reyes, junior content creator
Video of the Year
“MTV’s Video of the Year, the top prize of the night, has historically been a category wrought with fierce fan wars and hot debates on who should take home what was long considered as the most prestigious music video award of the year. In 2020, the nominees are titans in their own respective fields. Eminem, The Weeknd and Drake have been dominating airwaves and streaming with their fellow female nominees, while Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga are as big and bright as it can get for pop stars.
However, I don’t think any of their videos can hold a candle to the sheer force of Gaga and Ariana’s ‘Rain On Me,’ a juggernaut not just in sales and streams but also in its chokehold on the public’s collective consciousness through its earworm hooks, stunning visuals, and impeccable timing. The song’s message about dancing through the pain could not have come at a better time as months of isolation have dampened our spirits.
The video itself feels like a pop culture event, one that’s rarely seen anymore as the world these days seemingly moves on from one trendy artist to the next, and rarely do they have staying power to become legends as Ariana and Gaga are. Showering might just never be the same after ‘Rain On Me,’ and we have two of this generation’s biggest supernovas to thank.
Though MTV’s monopoly as the reigning authority on music videos has waned in the recent decade, the stars, as always, are enough to give this award gravity in 2020.” — Neal Alday, photographer/videographer
Best Visual Effects
“Yes bias, but I’m just going to go for ‘Rain On Me’ because what’s better than Ariana and Lady Gaga on Chromatica, with their hair flowing like a pair of anime heroines? NOTHING. Although I will give props to Travis Scott’s video, which was a fun ride. The fun transitions and trippy concept made it enjoyable from start to finish.” — Tricia Guevara, junior designer
Screengrab from “Rain on Me” MV
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