Arts & Entertainment
Lil Nas X scores top MTV VMA nominations
Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift also land noms
Lil Nas X is among the most-nominated artists for the 2019 MTV Music Video Awards with eight nominations.
The 20-year-old “country trap” artist, who recently came out as gay, received nominations for his breakout hit single “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. The video received nominations for Song of the Year, Video of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Hip Hop, Best Direction, Best Editing and Best Art Direction. Lil Nas X also is nominated for the Best New Artist category.
Fellow newcomer Billie Eilish came in with nine nominations for her single “Bad Guy.” Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift were the highest nominated artists with 10 nominations a piece.
The 2019 MTV Video Music Awards will air on MTV on Monday, Aug. 26 at 9 p.m. live from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Check out the list of nominees below.
Video of the Year
21 Savage- “a lot” [ft. J. Cole]
Billie Eilish- “bad guy”
Ariana Grande- thank u, next”
Jonas Brothers- “Sucker”
Lil Nas X- “Old Town Road (Remix)” [ft. Billy Ray Cyrus]
Taylor Swift- “You Need to Calm Down”
Artist of the Year
Cardi B
Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande
Halsey
Jonas Brothers
Shawn Mendes
Song of the Year
Drake- “In My Feelings”
Ariana Grande- “thank u, next”
Jonas Brothers- “Sucker”
Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper- “Shallow”
Lil Nas X- “Old Town Road (Remix)” [ft. Billy Ray Cyrus]
Taylor Swift- “You Need to Calm Down”
Best New Artist presented by Taco Bell
Ava Max
Billie Eilish
H.E.R.
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
ROSALÍA
Best Collaboration
Lil Nas X- “Old Town Road (Remix)” [ft. Billy Ray Cyrus]
Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper- “Shallow”
Shawn Mendes / Camila Cabello- “Señorita”
Taylor Swift- “ME!” [ft. ft. Brendon Urie]
Ed Sheeran / Justin Bieber- “I Don’t Care”
BTS- “Boy With Luv” [ft. Halsey]
Push Artist of the Year
Bazzi
CNCO
Billie Eilish
H.E.R.
Lauv
Lizzo
Best Pop
5 Seconds of Summer- “Easier”
Cardi B / Bruno Mars- “Please Me”
Billie Eilish- “bad guy”
Khalid- “Talk”
Ariana Grande- “thank u, next”
Jonas Brothers- “Sucker”
Taylor Swift- “You Need to Calm Down”
Best Hip-Hop
2 Chainz- “Rule the World”[ft. Ariana Grande]
21 Savage- “a lot” [ft. J. Cole]
Cardi B- “Money”
DJ Khaled- “Higher” [ft. Nipsey Hussle and John Legend]
Lil Nas X- “Old Town Road (Remix)” [ft. Billy Ray Cyrus]
Travis Scott- “SICKO MODE” [ft. Drake]
Best R&B
Anderson .Paak- “Make It Better” [ft. Smokey Robinson]
Childish Gambino- “Feels Like Summer”
H.E.R.- “Could’ve Been” [ft. Bryson Tiller]
Alicia Keys- “Raise a Man”
Ella Mai- “Trip”
Normani- “Waves” [ft. 6LACK]
Best K-Pop
BTS- “Boy With Luv” [ft. Halsey]
BLACKPINK- “Kill This Love”
Monsta X- “Who Do You Love” [ft. French Montana]
TOMORROW X TOGETHER- “Cat & Dog”
NCT 127- “Regular”
EXO- “Tempo”
Best Latin
Anuel AA / Karol G- “Secreto”
Bad Bunny- “MIA” [ft. Drake]
benny blanco / Tainy / Selena Gomez / J Balvin- “I Can’t Get Enough”
Daddy Yankee- “Con Calma” [ft. Snow]
Maluma- “Mala Mía”
ROSALÍA / J Balvin- “Con Altura” [ft. El Guincho]
Best Dance
The Chainsmokers- “Call You Mine” [ft. Bebe Rexha]
Clean Bandit- “Solo” [ft. Demi Lovato]
DJ Snake- “Taki Taki” [ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna and Cardi B]
David Guetta / Bebe Rexha / J Balvin- “Say My Name”
Marshmello / Bastille- “Happier”
Silk City / Dua Lipa- “Electricity”
Best Rock
The 1975- “Love It If We Made It”
Fall Out Boy- “Bishops Knife Trick”
Imagine Dragons- “Natural”
Lenny Kravitz- “Low”
Panic! At the Disco- “High Hopes”
twenty one pilots- “My Blood”
Video for Good
Halsey- “Nightmare”
The Killers- “Land of the Free”
Jamie N Commons / Skylar Grey- “Runaway Train” [ft. Gallant]
John Legend- “Preach”
Lil Dicky- “Earth”
Taylor Swift- “You Need to Calm Down”
Best Direction
Billie Eilish- “bad Guy” (dir. Dave Meyers)
FKA twigs- “Cellophane” (dir. Andrew Thomas Huang)
Ariana Grande- “thank u, next” (dir. Hannah Lux Davis)
Lil Nas X- “Old Town Road (Remix)” [ft. Billy Ray Cyrus] (dir. Calmatic)
LSD- “No New Friends” (dir. Dano Cerny)
Taylor Swift- “You Need to Calm Down” (dir. Drew Kirsch and Taylor Swift)
Best Visual Effects
Billie Eilish- “when the party’s over” (visual effects: Ryan Ross, Andres Jaramillo)
FKA twigs- “Cellophane” (visual effects: Matt Chandler, Fabio Zaveti for Analog)
Ariana Grande- “God is a woman” (visual effects: Fabrice Lagayette, Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic)
DJ Khaled- “Just Us” [ft. SZA] (visual effects: Sergii Mashevskyi)
LSD- “No New Friends” (visual effects: Ethan Chancer)
Taylor Swift- “ME!” [ft. Brendon Urie] (visual effects: Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX)
Best Editing
Anderson .Paak- “Tints” [ft. Kendrick Lamar] (editing: Elias Talbot)
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” (editing: Calmatic)
Billie Eilish- “bad guy” (editing: Billie Eilish)
Ariana Grande- “7 rings” (editing: Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh)
Solange- “Almeda” (editing: Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor)
Taylor Swift- “You Need to Calm Down” (editing: Jarrett Fijal)
Best Art Direction
BTS- “Boy With Luv” [ft. Halsey] (art direction: JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E))
Ariana Grande- “7 rings” (art direction: John Richoux)
Lil Nas X- “Old Town Road (Remix)” [ft. Billy Ray Cyrus] (art direction: Itaru Dela Vegas)
Shawn Mendes / Camila Cabello- “Señorita” (art direction: Tatiana Van Sauter)
Taylor Swift- “You Need to Calm Down” (art direction: Brittany Porter)
Kanye West / Lil Pump- “I Love It” [ft. Adele Givens] (art direction: Tino Schaedler)
Best Choreography
FKA twigs- “Cellophane” (choreography: Kelly Yvonne)
ROSALÍA / J Balvin- “Con Altura” [ft. El Guincho] (choreography: Charm La’Donna)
LSD- “No New Friends” (choreography: Ryan Heffington)
Shawn Mendes / Camila Cabello- “Señorita” (choreography: Calvit Hodge, Sara Biv)
Solange- “Almeda” (choreography: Maya Taylor, Solange Knowles)
BTS- “Boy With Luv” [ft. Halsey] (choreography: Rie Hata)
Best Cinematography
Anderson .Paak- “Tints” [ft. Kendrick Lamar] (cinematography: Elias Talbot)
Billie Eilish- “hostage” (cinematography: Pau Castejon)
Ariana Grande- “thank u, next” (cinematography: Christopher Probst)
Shawn Mendes / Camila Cabello- “Señorita” (cinematography: Scott Cunningham)
Solange- “Almeda” (cinematography: Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton)
Taylor Swift- “ME!” [ft. Brendon Urie] (cinematography: Starr Whitesides)
The Washington Blade held the seventh annual Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC on Saturday, June 13.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
The 2026 Lost River Pride Festival was held on the scenic grounds of the Lost River Farmers Market in Lost City, W.Va. on Saturday, June 13. Headliner Tom Goss performed at the festival and gave a second performance at the nearby Guesthouse Lost River.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Books
David Archuleta on Mormon faith, ‘Idol,’ more in new book
Unique memoir details religious upbringing, coming out
‘Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself’
By David Archuleta
c.2026, Gallery Books
$29/290 pages
So just make up your mind already.
The decision is very much in your control – or, at least that’s how it’s supposed to be. It’ll be your future, your path, and seizing it may not just be necessary, but mandatory. It’s your life, and no one can live it for you. As in the new memoir “Devout” by David Archuleta, that goes for career and for love, too.
Born to parents who both had musical careers before they wed, David Archuleta remembers an early childhood growing up in a Hispanic Mormon community in Florida, where kin was always nearby. He was six when his parents moved the immediate family to Utah; the first thing he remembers about that is the snow, and how it was so cold, it burned.
Because music was in his blood, Archuleta grew up singing and dancing, often with his mother whom he calls “my rock.” It was his father, however, who encouraged him to perform; first, with a gentle push, then a shove toward a career Archuleta didn’t really want.
But he did want to make his father happy, so he went along with the contests, embarrassing meet-and-greets with stars, and uncomfortable introductions. Slowly, though, performing became more fun, and Archuleta made friends.
Meanwhile, back home, everything was breaking apart. A “family friend” whom Archuleta refuses to name accused his father of abuse. He was exonerated, but it affected the family’s closeness and they stopped being affectionate.
That was a painful backdrop to Archuleta’s soaring career, his appearances on Star Search, friendships with other rising stars, his runner-up spot on “American Idol,” tours, and recording contracts. His father kept pushing him.
But there was one thing missing.
Since he was a boy, Archuleta had known that he was attracted to men, but his Mormon faith taught him that that was unacceptable. Kissing, his abuelita said, was wrong. He tried hard to date girls, in the most chaste way. Anything past that was against God – and anything at all with a man was unthinkable.
Though it absolutely favors his personal life and dwells on it a bit too much, “Devout” strikes an otherwise nice balance between that, author David Archuleta’s career, his sexuality, and his faith. The latter two are loaded with controversy.
You don’t need to be Mormon to fully understand the faith part; Archuleta offers non-Mormons a brief education, so readers can see the importance of the Church’s teachings in his life and why he felt the need to abandon it as his understanding of his bisexuality grew. It’s emotionally raw and honest, but also so respectful that it almost bears re-reading. Such candor and the heart-on-his-sleeve tone you’ll sense are features in the entire book, alongside Archuleta’s family’s struggles and his learning to strike out alone.
It’s harmonious in more ways than one, and fans will be happy.
So, too, will anyone who wants a unique memoir with a dose of faith, or someone who’s an “American Idol”watcher. Find “Devout” and be sure to share. You won’t mind.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
PHOTOS: Pride on the Pier
PHOTOS: Lost River Pride
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Blade editor inducted into D.C. Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame
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Rehoboth’s Pride on the Bay set for June 27
