YouTube announces nominees for the first-ever Youtube Music Awards

YouTube has announced the nominees for its first-ever music awards show, presenting voters with a mix of artists – around 30 in all – from across the fame spectrum.

The event takes place at Manhattan’s Pier 36 on November 3, with YouTube hoping to boost traffic to its site in the intervening days by encouraging fans to visit the show’s microsite to vote for their top acts across six categories.

The event will be hosted by funnymen Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts and streamed lived to a worldwide audience is bound to ignite a few trending topics. With YouTube promising a real award show celebrating music, we’re sure there will be plenty of OMG moments.

Check out the nominees.

Video of the Year (highlights the videos with the most fan engagement):
Miley Cyrus, “We Can’t Stop”
Justin Bieber (feat. Nicki Minaj), “Beauty and a Beat”
Lady Gaga, “Applause”
One Direction, “Best Song Ever”; PSY, “Gentleman”
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Mary Lambert) “Same Love”
Girls’ Generation “I Got A Boy”
Demi Lovato, “Heart Attack”
Selena Gomez, “Come & Get It”
Epic Rap Battles Of History, “Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney.”

Artist of the Year (recognizes the most shared, liked, watched, and subscribed-to artists): 
Eminem
Epic Rap Battles of History
Justin Bieber
Katy Perry
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Nicki Minaj
One Direction
PSY
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Response of the Year (based on the top unofficial fan remix, response video or parody):
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 (songs were selected based on the most unofficial fan videos that were created):
”Diamonds”
”Gangnam Style”
”Harlem Shake”
”I Knew You Were Trouble”
”Thrift Shop”

YouTube Breakthrough (artists who showed the biggest growth in views and subscribers): 
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Naughty Boy
Passenger
Rudimental

Innovation of the Year (criteria was based on video innovations with the most views, likes, shares and comments): 
Anamanaguchi, “Endless Fantasy”
Atoms For Peace, “Ingenue”
Bat For Lashes, “Lilies”
DeStorm, “See Me Standing”
Toro Y Moi, “Say That”