MTV today announced that Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, Rosalía and Shawn Mendes will take the stage at the 2019 VMAs, airing live globally from Newark, N.J. on Monday, August 26 at 8:00 p.m.ET.
The 2019 VMAs will be hosted by comedian, actor and best-selling author Sebastian Maniscalco, and will air live from Prudential Center across MTV’s global footprint in more than 180 countries, reaching more than half a billion households around the world. Music’s biggest stars and fans will celebrate the year’s most iconic videos with electrifying performances, viral moments and a new, first-of-its-kind immersive fan experience.
The full list of nominees for the 2019 VMAs, including, Cardi B, Drake, H.E.R., Khalid, Jonas Brothers, and more, is available here.
Additional performers will be announced at a later date.
Latin music’s rising star Bad Bunny, originally from Puerto Rico, is one of the top Latin urban artists of the moment and one of the pioneers of the Latin Trap movement. His unmistakable voice and rhythm have led him to transition to the general market, where he’s already created waves of revolution with his participation in “I Like It” alongside Cardi B and J Balvin and his hit collaboration with Drake, “Mia,” part of his debut album “X 100PRE.” Bad Bunny is widely recognized for breaking cultural boundaries and language barriers and seamlessly transcending into the American market as a full-fledged urban artist of his own right.
Cuban born multi-platinum singer/songwriter Camila Cabello released her debut solo album, “CAMILA” in January 2018 to rave reviews. By the end of 2018, Cabello took home “Artist of the Year” and “Video of the Year” at the 2018 VMAs, and was nominated for two Grammy Awards, “Best Pop Vocal Album” and “Best Pop Solo Performance” for “Havana,” her multi-platinum smash hit which became the most streamed song of all time by a female artist. Most recently, Cabello released her new single “Senorita” with Shawn Mendes which debuted at number one on iTunes worldwide and broke Spotify’s record for the biggest debut from a male/female duet in its history. Camila is currently the most listened to female artist on Spotify worldwide.
J Balvin, originally from Medellin, Colombia, is one of the top streaming music artists in the world. J Balvin developed a distinctive musical style all his own that pays reverence to the first-wave of Reggaeton stars from Puerto Rico, while fusing wider influences of hip-hop, mainstream pop, Dance Music and innovative global rhythms tied with lyrical inclusivity. Between his game-changing major-label debut album “La Familia,” multi-platinum successor “Energia” and several landmark singles such as “Mi Gente,” “Safari,” “Ginza” and more, J Balvin has won three Latin Grammy Awards, numerous Billboard Latin Music Awards, a Guinness World Record for the longest #1 run for a solo Latin single, and collected over twenty billion YouTube views.
Record-shattering artist Lil Nas X is known for the inescapable song of the year, “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, which has completely taken over the internet and broken boundaries in the industry. The song first took flight on TikTok, with fans across the world posting videos dancing to the song and memes where they transform into cowboys. Propelled by many moments and Lil Nas X’s charming, hilarious online presence, the record-breaking song has become the longest running number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 after nineteen weeks atop the chart.
Platinum selling, genre-bending, Lizzo channels boundless self-confidence through a downright earth-quaking voice, colorful persona, and undeniable star power. Lizzo has stormed the charts around the world with an upbeat, positive, high energy tracks like “Juice,” “Good As Hell” and “Tempo” ft. Missy Elliott. Her highly praised Atlantic debut album, Cuz I Love You, is an instant classic that showcases her phenomenal talents as a vocalist, rapper, songwriter, and flutist. The critically acclaimed album reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart in the U.S. as well as breaking into the top of the charts in Australia, Ireland, Scotland, and the UK stamping her as one of 2019’s biggest and brightest stars. Her 2019 takeover continues as her smash single “Truth Hurts” continues to take the industry by storm and has been a definitive and inescapable anthem of the Summer.
Spanish singer/songwriter, Rosalía is making a global splash with her interpretations of flamenco music. Her landmark album “El Mal Querer” was released to immediate critical and commercial success last fall. The album’s groundbreaking fusion of classic Flamenco with R&B and electronic beats, coupled with Rosalía’s nod to the visual arts, fashion and choreography was strongly embraced by fans across the globe. The album’s lead single “Malamente” garnered six Latin Grammy nominations, and took home the award for Best Alternative Song and Best Urban Fusion Performance. This year has seen three more releases from Rosalía with the recent double track “Milionària & “Dio$ No$ Libre Del Dinero,”“Aute Cuture” and her #1 Global video streaming hit and wide ‘Song of the Summer’ pick “Con Altura” with J Balvin and featuring El Guincho.
Toronto born, multi-platinum singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes has become one of the biggest voices in mainstream media, with three consecutive album debuts, two platinum albums, and eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum singles. Most recently he launched two new singles “If I Can’t Have You” and a Camila Cabello collaboration “Senorita.” Mendes has completed two sold-out world tours with over one million tickets sold, selling out legendary stadiums and arenas including NYC’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena in minutes. His current tour, “Shawn Mendes: The Tour,” began in March 2019, with over 100 dates announced across the UK, Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Australia/New Zealand.
As previously announced, Missy Elliott will be honored with the “Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award” and is set to hit the VMAs main stage. Taylor Swift will also perform following the release of her highly anticipated album, “Lover.”
Fans can vote for their favorites across 14 gender-neutral VMA categories, including “Video of the Year,” “Artist of the Year,” “Best Collaboration” and more by visiting vma.mtv.com until Thursday, August 15. Voting for the “Best New Artist” award, presented by Taco Bell®, will remain active until the VMA broadcast. Fans on Twitter and Facebook Messenger can also slide into VMAs’ DMs to cast an additional vote for “Video of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” and more.
This year, for the first time ever, MTV is rewarding fans for voting through VMA Power Hour on vma.mtv.com, where their votes are doubled from 1-2pm ET daily. Superfans can come back each day within this voting window beginning tomorrow to show double the love for their favorite artists.
