As if we needed further proof that 2023 is very much for the girls (you know, besides Barbie becoming a billion-dollar success and bubblegum pink taking over our wardrobes), the MTV Video Music Awards just released this year’s nominations — and not a single cisgender man was nominated for the coveted Video of the Year award.
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On Tuesday, the VMAs announced that this year’s contenders for its top honor would include Doja Cat’s “Attention,” Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “vampire,” Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy,” SZA’s “Kill Bill,” and Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero.”
The largely female dominance in the category (Sam Smith identifies as non-binary) comes as a first for the award show, which has long seen a strong, at times overwhelming, male showing for Video of the Year. Prominent past male winners have included Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, Panic! at the Disco, and, most recently, The Weeknd, who took home the title in 2020.
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Aside from taking over the Video of the Year nods, women also saw major success across all of the VMA categories, with female artists serving as the top seven most-nominated musicians of the night.
While it’s no surprise that Taylor Swift leads this year’s nominations with eight nods following the release of her tenth studio album Midnights (which she first announced during last year’s ceremony), the re-release of Speak Now, and her nation-spanning Eras Tour, SZA follows closely behind with six nominations of her own.
Doja Cat, Kim Petras, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, and Olivia Rodrigo (all of which are also up for Video of the Year) round out the most-nominated women of the night with 5 nominations each.
The 2023 MTV Video Music Awards will air live on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 8 P.M. ET/PT.