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MTV VMAs noms include Hayley Kiyoko, Cardi B

The ceremony airs on Aug. 20

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Hayley Kiyoko (Photo via Instagram)

The MTV VMAs announced its 2018 nominations which include big recognition for Cardi B and the Carters.

Cardi B received the most nominations (10) including for Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. The Carters (Beyonce and Jay-Z) followed close behind with eight nominations for their video  “Apeshit.” Childish Gambino and Drake earned seven nominations each, Bruno Mars received six and Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello came in at five nominations.

Lesbian pop singer Hayley Kiyoko also received a VMA nomination for Best New Artist. She will face off against Bazzi, Cardi B, Chloe x Halle, Lil Pump and Lil Uzi Vert.

The VMAs air from Radio City Music Hall on Monday, Aug. 20 at 9 p.m.

See the nominees below.

Video of the Year

Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry”
Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
The Carters – “APESH*T”
Childish Gambino – “This Is America”
Drake – “God’s Plan”

Artist of the Year

Ariana Grande
Bruno Mars
Camila Cabello
Cardi B
Drake
Post Malone

Song of the Year

Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
Drake – “God’s Plan”
Dua Lipa – “New Rules”
Ed Sheeran – “Perfect”
Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – “rockstar”

Best New Artist

Bazzi
Cardi B
Chloe x Halle
Hayley Kiyoko
Lil Pump
Lil Uzi Vert

Best Collaboration

Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line – “Meant To Be”
Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”
The Carters – “APESH*T”
Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled & Cardi B – “Dinero”
Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid – “1-800-273-8255”
N.E.R.D & Rihanna – “Lemon”

Push Artist of the Year

July 2018 – Chloe x Halle
June 2018 – Sigrid
May 2018 – Lil Xan
April 2018 – Hayley Kiyoko
March 2018 – Jessie Reyez
February 2018 – Tee Grizzley
January 2018 – Bishop Briggs
December 2017 – Grace VanderWaal
November 2017 – Why Don’t We
October 2017 – PRETTYMUCH
September 2017 – SZA
August 2017 – Kacy Hill
July 2017 – Khalid
June 2017 – Kyle
May 2017 – Noah Cyrus

Best Pop

Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry”
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana”
Demi Lovato – “Sorry Not Sorry”
Ed Sheeran – “Perfect”
P!nk – “What About Us”
Shawn Mendes – “In My Blood”

Best Hip-Hop

Cardi B ft. 21 Savage – “Bartier Cardi”
The Carters – “APESH*T”
Drake – “God’s Plan”
J. Cole – “ATM”
Migos ft. Drake – “Walk It Talk It”
Nicki Minaj – “Chun-Li”

Best Latin

Daddy Yankee – “Dura”
J Balvin, Willy William – “Mi Gente”
Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled & Cardi B – “Dinero”
Luis Fonsi, Demi Lovato – “Échame La Culpa”
Maluma – “Felices los 4”
Shakira ft. Maluma – “Chantaje”

Best Dance

Avicii ft. Rita Ora – “Lonely Together”
Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa – “One Kiss”
The Chainsmokers – “Everybody Hates Me”
David Guetta & Sia – “Flames”
Marshmello ft. Khalid – “Silence”
Zedd & Liam Payne – “Get Low (Street Video)”

Best Rock

Fall Out Boy – “Champion”
Foo Fighters – “The Sky Is A Neighborhood”
Imagine Dragons – “Whatever It Takes”
Linkin Park – “One More Light”
Panic! At The Disco – “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”
Thirty Seconds To Mars – “Walk On Water”

Video with a Message

Childish Gambino – “This Is America”
Dej Loaf and Leon Bridges – “Liberated”
Drake – “God’s Plan”
Janelle Monáe – “PYNK”
Jessie Reyez – “Gatekeeper”
Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid – “1-800-273-8255”

Best Cinematography

Alessia Cara – “Growing Pains” – Cinematography by Pau Castejón
Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry” – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham
The Carters – “APESH*T” – Cinematography by Benoit Debie
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Cinematography by Larkin Seiple
Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran – “River” – Cinematography by Frank Mobilio & Patrick Meller
Shawn Mendes – “In My Blood” – Cinematography by Jonathan Sela

Best Direction

The Carters – “APESH*T” – Directed by Ricky Saix
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Directed by Hiro Murai
Drake – “God’s Plan” – Directed by Karena Evans
Ed Sheeran – “Perfect” – Directed by Jason Koenig
Justin Timberlake ft. Chris Stapleton – “Say Something” – Directed by Arturo Perez Jr.
Shawn Mendes – “In My Blood” – Directed by Jay Martin

Best Art Direction

The Carters – “APESH*T” – Art Direction by Jan Houlevigue
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Art Direction by Jason Kisvarday
J. Cole – “ATM” – Art Direction by Miles Mullin
Janelle Monáe – “Make Me Feel” – Art Direction by Pepper Nguyen
SZA – “The Weekend” – Art Direction by SZA and Solange
Taylor Swift – “Look What You Made Me Do” – Big Machine Records – Art Direction by Brett Hess

Best Visual Effects

Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left To Cry” – Visual Effects by Vidal and Loris Paillier for Buf
Avicii ft. Rita Ora – “Lonely Together” – Visual Effects by KPP
Eminem ft. Beyoncé – “Walk On Water” – Visual Effects Supervisor Rich Lee for Drive Studios
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “All The Stars” – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier for BUF Paris
Maroon 5 – “Wait” – Visual Effects by TIMBER
Taylor Swift – “Look What You Made Me Do” – Visual Effects by Ingenuity Studios

Best Choreography

Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)” – Choreography by Phil Tayag & Bruno Mars
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – “Havana” – Choreography by Calvit Hodge and Sara Bivens
The Carters – “APESH*T” – Choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Jaquel Knight
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Choreography by Sherrie Silver
Dua Lipa – “IDGAF” – Choreography by Marion Motin
Justin Timberlake – “Filthy” – Choreography by Marty Kudelka, AJ Harpold, Tracy Phillips and Ivan Koumaev

Best Editing

Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – “Finesse (Remix)”– Editing by Jacquelyn London
The Carters – “APESH*T” – Taylor Ward and Sam Ostrove
Childish Gambino – “This Is America” – Editing by Ernie Gilbert
Janelle Monáe – “Make Me Feel” – Editing by Deji Laray
N.E.R.D & Rihanna – “Lemon” – Editing by Taylor Ward
Taylor Swift – “Look What You Made Me Do” – Editing by Chancler Haynes for Cosmo

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Photos

PHOTOS: Night of Champions

Team DC holds annual awards gala

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Team DC President Miguel Ayala speaks at the 2024 Night of Champions Awards on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Team DC, the umbrella organization for LGBTQ-friendly sports teams and leagues in the D.C. area, held its annual Night of Champions Awards Gala on Saturday, April 20 at the Hilton National Mall. The organization gave out scholarships to area LGBTQ student athletes as well as awards to the Different Drummers, Kelly Laczko of Duplex Diner, Stacy Smith of the Edmund Burke School, Bryan Frank of Triout, JC Adams of DCG Basketball and the DC Gay Flag Football League.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Photos

PHOTOS: National Cannabis Festival

Annual event draws thousands to RFK

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Growers show their strains at The National Cannabis Festival on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2024 National Cannabis Festival was held at the Fields at RFK Stadium on April 19-20.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Theater

‘Amm(i)gone’ explores family, queerness, and faith

A ‘fully autobiographical’ work from out artist Adil Mansoor

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Adil Mansoor in ‘Amm(i)gone’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. (Photo by Kitoko Chargois)

‘Amm(i)gone’
Thorough May 12
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
641 D St., N.W. 
$60-$70
Woollymammoth.net

“Fully and utterly autobiographical.” That’s how Adil Mansoor describes “Amm(i)gone,” his one-man work currently playing at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. 

Both created and performed by out artist Mansoor, it’s his story about inviting his Pakistani mother to translate Sophocles’s Greek tragedy “Antigone” into Urdu. Throughout the journey, there’s an exploration of family, queerness, and faith,as well as references to teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his Muslim mother. 

Mansoor, 38, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and is now based in Pittsburgh where he’s a busy theater maker. He’s also the founding member of Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective and the former artistic director of Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQ youth arts organization.

WASHINGTON BLADE: What spurred you to create “Amm(i)gone”? 

ADIL MANSOOR: I was reading a translation of “Antigone” a few years back and found myself emotionally overwhelmed. A Theban princess buries her brother knowing it will cost her, her own life. It’s about a person for whom all aspirations are in the afterlife. And what does that do to the living when all of your hopes and dreams have to be reserved for the afterlife?

I found grant funding to pay my mom to do the translation. I wanted to engage in learning. I wanted to share theater but especially this ancient tragedy. My mother appreciated the characters were struggling between loving one another and their beliefs. 

BLADE: Are you more director than actor?

MANSOOR: I’m primarily a director with an MFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon. I wrote, directed, and performed in this show, and had been working on it for four years. I’ve done different versions including Zoom. Woolly’s is a new production with the same team who’ve been involved since the beginning. 

I love solo performance. I’ve produced and now teach solo performance and believe in its power. And I definitely lean toward “performance” and I haven’t “acted” since I was in college. I feel good on stage. I was a tour guide and do a lot of public speaking. I enjoy the attention. 

BLADE: Describe your mom. 

MANSOOR: My mom is a wonderfully devout Muslim, single mother, social worker who discovered my queerness on Google. And she prays for me. 

She and I are similar, the way we look at things, the way we laugh. But different too. And those are among the questions I ask in this show. Our relationship is both beautiful and complicated.

BLADE: So, you weren’t exactly hiding your sexuality? 

MANSOOR: In my mid-20s, I took time to talk with friends about our being queer with relation to our careers. My sexuality is essential to the work. As the artistic director at Dreams of Hope, part of the work was to model what it means to be public. If I’m in a room with queer and trans teenagers, part of what I’m doing is modeling queer adulthood. The way they see me in the world is part of what I’m putting out there. And I want that to be expansive and full. 

So much of my work involves fundraising and being a face in schools. Being out is about making safe space for queer young folks.

BLADE: Have you encountered much Islamophobia? 

MANSOOR: When 9/11 happened, I was a sophomore in high school, so yes. I faced a lot then and now. I’ve been egged on the street in the last four months. I see it in the classroom. It shows up in all sorts of ways. 

BLADE: What prompted you to lead your creative life in Pittsburgh? 

MANSOOR: I’ve been here for 14 years. I breathe with ease in Pittsburgh. The hills and the valleys and the rust of the city do something to me. It’s beautiful, it’ affordable, and there is support for local artists. There’s a lot of opportunity. 

Still, the plan was to move to New York in September of 2020 but that was cancelled. Then the pandemic showed me that I could live in Pittsburgh and still have a nationally viable career. 

BLADE: What are you trying to achieve with “Amm(i)gone”? 

MANSOOR: What I’m sharing in the show is so very specific but I hear people from other backgrounds say I totally see my mom in that. My partner is Catholic and we share so much in relation to this. 

 I hope the work is embracing the fullness of queerness and how means so many things. And I hope the show makes audiences want to call their parents or squeeze their partners.

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