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Rema, Asake, Tems, and Ayra Starr get 2025 VMA nominations

Nigerian superstars Rema, Wizkid, Tems, and Asake are all nominated for the Best Afrobeats category alongside South African star Tyla and Ghanaian singer Moliy. Also nominated is Burna Boy, whose single ‘Higher’ earned the nod for the Best Video for Change, and Ayra Starr, who earned a nomination for Best Push Performance for ‘Last Heartbreak Song’ featuring Giveon.

Lady Gaga leads this year with 12 nominations, thanks to the success of her singles ‘Die With A Smile’, ‘Mayhem’, and ‘Abracadabra’. Bruno Mars is the second most nominated artist with 11 nods, boosted by his appearance on Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar is the third most nominated artist with 10 nods garnered from his album ‘GNX’ and hit single ‘Not Like Us’. The 2025 VMAs will take place on September 7, 2025.

Video of the Year
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead
Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – Die With a Smile
Rosé & Bruno Mars – Apt.
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
The Weeknd & Playboi Carti – Timeless

Artist of the Year
Bad Bunny
Beyoncé
Kendrick Lamar
Lady Gaga
Morgan Wallen
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd

Song of the Year
Alex Warren – Ordinary
Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
Doechii – Anxiety
Ed Sheeran – Sapphire
Gracie Abrams – I Love You, I’m Sorry
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – Die With a Smile
Lorde – What Was That
Rosé & Bruno Mars – Apt.
Tate McRae – Sports Car
The Weeknd & Playboi Carti – Timeless

Best New Artist
Alex Warren
Ella Langley
Gigi Perez
Lola Young
Sombr
The Marías

Best Pop Artist
Ariana Grande
Charli XCX
Justin Bieber
Lorde
Miley Cyrus
Sabrina Carpenter
Tate McRae

MTV Push Performance of the Year, Presented by Bacardí® Rum
Ayra Starr – Last Heartbreak Song
Damiano David – Next Summer
Dasha – Bye Bye Bye
Gigi Perez – Sailor Song
Jordan Adetunji – Kehlani
Katseye – Touch
Lay Bankz – Graveyard
Leon Thomas – Yes It Is
Livingston – Shadow
Mark Ambor – Belong Together
Role Model – Sally, When the Wine Runs Out
Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Best Collaboration, Presented by Under Armour
Bailey Zimmerman & Luke Combs – Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – Luther
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – Die With a Smile
Post Malone Featuring Blake Shelton – Pour Me a Drink
Rosé & Bruno Mars – Apt.
Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco – Sunset Blvd

Best Pop
Alex Warren – Ordinary
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead
Ed Sheeran – Sapphire
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – Die With a Smile
Rosé & Bruno Mars – Apt.
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Best Hip-Hop
Doechii – Anxiety
Drake – Nokia
Eminem Featuring Jelly Roll – Somebody Save Me
Glorilla Featuring Sexyy Red – Whatchu Kno About Me
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
LL Cool J Featuring Eminem – Murdergram Deux
Travis Scott – 4×4

Best R&B
Chris Brown – Residuals
Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – Mutt (Remix)
Mariah Carey – Type Dangerous
PartyNextDoor – No Chill
Summer Walker – Heart of a Woman
SZA – Drive
The Weeknd & Playboi Carti – Timeless

Best Alternative
Gigi Perez – Sailor Song
Imagine Dragons – Wake Up
Lola Young – Messy
MGK & Jelly Roll – Lonely Road
Sombr – Back to Friends
The Marías – Back to Me

Best Rock
Coldplay – All My Love
Evanescence – Afterlife (From the Netflix Series “Devil May Cry”)
Green Day – One Eyed Bastard
Lenny Kravitz – Honey
Linkin Park – The Emptiness Machine
Twenty One Pilots – The Contract

Best Latin
Bad Bunny – Baile Inolvidable
J Balvin – Rio
Karol G – Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido
Peso Pluma – La Patrulla
Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – Khé?
Shakira – Soltera

Best K-Pop
Aespa – Whiplash
Jennie – Like Jennie
Jimin – Who
Jisoo – Earthquake
Lisa Featuring Doja Cat & Raye – Born Again
Stray Kids – Chk Chk Boom
Rosé – Toxic Till the End

Best Afrobeats
Asake & Travis Scott – Active
Burna Boy Featuring Travis Scott – TaTaTa
Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – Shake It to the Max (Fly) (Remix)
Rema – Baby (Is It A Crime)
Tems Featuring Asake – Get It Right
Tyla – Push 2 Start
Wizkid Featuring Brent Faiyaz – Piece of My Heart

Best Country

Chris Stapleton – Think I’m in Love With You
Cody Johnson & Carrie Underwood – I’m Gonna Love You
Jelly Roll – Liar
Lainey Wilson – 4x4xU
Megan Moroney – Am I Okay?
Morgan Wallen – Smile

Best Album
Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Lady Gaga – Mayhem
Morgan Wallen – I’m the Problem
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow

Best Long Form Video
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead
Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos (Short Film)
Damiano David – Funny Little Stories
Mac Miller – Balloonerism
Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow

Video for Good
Burna Boy – Higher
Charli XCX – Guess Featuring Billie Eilish
Doechii – Anxiety
Eminem Featuring Jelly Roll – Somebody Save Me
Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco – Younger and Hotter Than Me
Zach Hood Featuring Sasha Alex Sloan – Sleepwalking

Best Direction
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead
Charli XCX – Guess Featuring Billie Eilish
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Rosé & Bruno Mars – Apt.
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Best Art Direction
Charli XCX – Guess Featuring Billie Eilish
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Lorde – Man of the Year
Miley Cyrus – End of the World
Rosé & Bruno Mars – Apt.

Best Cinematography
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead
Ed Sheeran – Sapphire
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Miley Cyrus – Easy Lover
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild

Best Editing
Charli XCX – Guess Featuring Billie Eilish
Ed Sheeran – Sapphire
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
Tate McRae – Just Keep Watching (From F1® the Movie)

Best Choreography
Doechii – Anxiety
FKA twigs – Eusexua
Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Tyla – Push 2 Start
Zara Larsson – Pretty Ugly

Best Visual Effects
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead
Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
Rosé & Bruno Mars – Apt.
Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
Tate McRae – Just Keep Watching (From F1® the Movie)
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow

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Entertainment

Davido Charges Entertainers To Speak Up More Amidst Worsening Insecurity

Davido

Davido, the Nigerian singer, has said entertainers are not doing enough to speak out against the country’s growing insecurity. The singer, via the social media platform X called on entertainers to speak more about the challenges facing the country.

In the post, Davido admitted that entertainers, including himself, had not done enough to speak out against injustice and the worsening state of affairs in Nigeria. He added that Nigerian entertainers must begin using their platforms to draw attention to the problems affecting citizens.

He wrote, “I can’t lie, we entertainers… we dey f**k up, I won’t lie, including me. We need to speak up. It’s too much injustice going on. Our country don go.”

The singer also maintained that he is not part of any “City Boy” group, insisting that he had spoken against the government in the past.

This comes after a social media user criticised him for not being sincere

“I no dey part of any City Boy group. When I called out the government on American media, you guys rained curses on me,” Davido wrote.

He added that his relationship with “ST” was only personal and did not mean he belonged to any political group.

The singer added, “I’ve been friends with ST for years, and that’s where it stops, and I call and complain to him all the time, even in person.” The singer’s remark comes amid increased calls from celebrities who are calling out the country’s leadership over rising insecurity.

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Celebs

‘I smoked 40 sticks a day for 13 years’: Ebuka opens up on nicotine addiction as Banky W revisits porn struggle

Ebuka Obi-Uchendu says he smoked up to 40 cigarettes daily for 13 years, while Banky W revisited his past pornography addiction on Mentality with Ebuka. Ebuka Obi-Uchendu has revealed that he began smoking in JSS3 and spent the next 13 years addicted to cigarettes, reaching a peak of two packs, roughly 40 sticks, every single day by the time he was in university.

The television host disclosed the latest episode of his podcast Mentality with Ebuka, which aired on Friday, May 22. The episode featured singer and pastor Banky W and medical content creator Aproko Doctor in a candid conversation about addiction, its origins, and the long road out of it.

“I started smoking in JSS3, which is crazy young,” Ebuka said. “It was basically peer pressure, wanting to prove myself, wanting to belong. By the time I was done with secondary school, I had become full-on. Got into university, and by university, I was doing about two packs a day. That’s about 40 sticks of cigarettes every single day.”

He added that his exit from the habit was less a dramatic decision and more a test of willpower. “The last stick of cigarettes I had was in February 2008. I didn’t quit. I just kept saying let me see how much longer I will hold out for, and now it’s been almost 18 years.”

Banky W used the same platform to revisit a confession he had made publicly before, his years-long struggle with pornography addiction, tracing it back to a freshman dormitory in a New York university where a classmate had shared an open hard drive filled with explicit content accessible to the entire floor.

“I wonder how many of us got trapped in that moment,” he said. He described the experience of trying to stop as a confrontation with something far more entrenched than he had anticipated.

“When it’s now time to stop, you realise you’re dealing with demons that are much stronger than you. That was where the reality dawned on me.” He said it took a deliberate journey to reach a place of freedom, and that he has since addressed the issue openly from the pulpit, part of what he described as a growing willingness among pastors to tackle subjects previously considered too uncomfortable for the church.

The episode is the latest in Ebuka’s Mentality series, which has carved out a space for honest, personal conversations that Nigerian public figures rarely have on record.

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Entertainment

Kizz Daniel announces that he will be releasing two albums in 2026

After posting his initially scheduled ‘Uncle K’ album in 2025, the hitmaker is making up for it by releasing two projects in 2026. Afrobeats superstar Kizz Daniel is gearing up for a busy year as he announces plans to release two albums.

On May 15, 2026, the hitmaker shared a post on his Instagram story unveiling the titles of two albums he intends to release later in the year. The revelation comes days after he teased what’s expected to be his first release of the year.

“Two albums this year. Thanks for your love and patience,” he posted on his Instagram story.

The prospective projects titled ‘Uncle K’ and ‘Radio Gidi’ will be a follow-up to his 2025 EP ‘Uncle K: Lemon Chase’, which had 7 tracks with guest appearances from FOLA, rapper Odumodublvk, and street pop star Bella Shmurda.

Back in 2025, the award-winning star had earlier shared his plans to release the album ‘Uncle K’ before postponing it after losing his mother-in-law and later releasing the EP that serves as a teaser for what listeners should expect.

With two albums scheduled for 2026, Kizz Daniel appears to be making up for not releasing an LP since the 20-track album ‘Maverick’ in July 2023. In 2024, he dazzled with the hit-filled four-track EP ‘TZA,’ which spawned the hit records ‘Sooner,’ ‘Too Busy To Be Bae,’ and ‘Twe Twe.’

Known for his ability to coin hit records that ride on the familiarity of language and musical simplicity to attract listeners across demographics, fans will be expecting a handful of hit records from his upcoming album.

So far in 2026, he has delivered a guest verse on G4ZI’s ‘Energy’. With his upcoming single expected to be released in the coming weeks, he appears ready for an explosive summer.

In a career that has spanned a decade, Kizz Daniel has become one of Afrobeats’ most reliable hitmakers, with his music finding eager listenership among millions of fans drawn to his witty lyricism and catchy melodies.

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