The VMA Awards

The Video Music Awards are just two weeks away - and it’s shaping up to be an amazing show. They’ll be hosted by Jack Black - that alone oughta separate it from every other award show that came before.

Presenters will include: Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Missy Elliott, Fall Out Boy, Rihanna, Busta Rhymes, Lil Jon, and Shaun White.

Performers will include: Christina Aguilera (!!!), Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Panic! at the Disco, T.I., the Killers, the Raconteurs.

Below are some of the award nominees - with my picks in bold. Hopefully Christina and Nelly Furtado will be HUGE winners. They deserve to be - then again, so do the Pussycat Dolls. They’ve had a year most performers just dream of.

BEST DANCE VIDEO
Madonna: “Hung Up”
Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: “Promiscuous”
Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: “Buttons”
Sean Paul: “Temperature”
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: “Hips Don’t Lie”

BEST POP VIDEO
Christina Aguilera: “Ain’t No Other Man”
Madonna: “Hung Up”
Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: “Promiscuous”
Pink: “Stupid Girls”
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: “Hips Don’t Lie”

BEST NEW ARTIST IN A VIDEO
Angels and Airwaves: “The Adventure”
Avenged Sevenfold: “Bat Country”
Chris Brown f/ Juelz Santana, “Run It!”
James Blunt: “You’re Beautiful”
Panic! at the Disco: “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”
Rihanna: “S.O.S.”

VIEWER’S CHOICE
Chris Brown f/ Juelz Santana: “Run It!”
Fall Out Boy: “Dance, Dance”
Kelly Clarkson: “Because of You”
Rihanna: “S.O.S.”
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: “Hips Don’t Lie”

BEST DIRECTION IN A VIDEO
10 Years: “Wasteland” (Director: Kevin Kerslake)
AFI: “Miss Murder” (Director: Marc Webb)
Common: “Testify” (Director: Anthony Mandler)
Gnarls Barkley: “Crazy” (Director: Robert Hales)
Red Hot Chili Peppers: “Dani California” (Director: Tony Kaye)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
Christina Aguilera: “Ain’t No Other Man”
Madonna: “Hung Up”
Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: “Buttons”
Sean Paul: “Temperature”
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: “Hips Don’t Lie”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
AFI: “Miss Murder”
Ashlee Simpson: “Invisible”
James Blunt: “You’re Beautiful”
Red Hot Chili Peppers: “Dani California”
Prince: “Black Sweat”