Powered by her theatrical “Bad Blood” video, Taylor Swift will carry a leading nine nominations into Sunday’s presentation of the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
Ed Sheeran has six nods heading into the ceremony, which will be held at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Swift’s “Bad Blood” and Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” will compete for the top prize of video of the year, along with Beyonce’s “7/11,” Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.”
Sheeran, Ronson and Lamar are also nominated for best male video. Rounding out the category are The Weeknd for “Earned It” and Nick Jonas for “Chains.”
Swift is nominated for best female video — not for “Bad Blood,” but for “Blank Space.” Beyonce is also nominated in the category for “7/11,” as are Nicki Minaj for “Anaconda,” Sia for “Elastic Heart” and Ellie Goulding for “Love Me Like You Do.”
Miley Cyrus will host. Justin Bieber is among those expected to perform during the show, as are The Weeknd, Nick Jonas, Pharrell Williams, Demi Lovato, Macklemore & Lewis and Walk the Moon.
