Here Are The 2014 VMA Nominees! And, of course, Beyonce leads the pack.

Check out the list of nominees for this year’s MTV Video Music Awards! (Photo: courtesy of college-of-music.com)

A lot of questions will be answered in August at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards. How many Moonmen will Beyoncé win? Who will be the next superstar to get all butthurt? Will Jay Z and Solange square off for another elevator kickboxing match afterwards? We’ll find out on August 24 at 9 p.m. (EST) as the ceremony airs live from The Forum in Inglewood, California.

In the meantime, we get to take a look at the list of nominees more than a month ahead of time. Beyoncé leads the way (not unexpectedly) with a whopping eight nominations, including video of the year for her collaboration with husband Jay Z, “Drunk In Love.” Close behind her are Eminem and Iggy Azalea with seven nods each.

Pharrell Williams is also sitting pretty with multiple nominations for his phenomenally popular song “Happy.” He’ll have some stiff competition in the video of the year category, however, going up against juggernauts such as Miley Cyrus (“Wrecking Ball“), Iggy Azalea (“Fancy“), Sia (“Chandelier“), and the aforementioned Beyoncé (“Drunk In Love”).

Pharrell is also up for the best male video award, going head-to-head not only with the likes of Eminem and John Legend, but also with… himself! Both “Happy” and “Sing,” his video collaboration with Ed Sheeran, are nominated in the category so it’s entirely possible that Williams could both win and lose at the same time. Something tells me he wouldn’t be too crushed, though.

Click this link to see the full list of this year’s VMA nominees, including the categories only the nominees themselves care about. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and share your picks for this year’s big winners!

Happiness Not Allowed! Six Iranians arrested for making “Happy” tribute video

Six young Iranian citizens were arrested for making a Pharrell tribute video (photo: nbcnews.com)

Pharrell Williams‘ smash hit “Happy” has truly taken the world by storm. Since its release in November of last year there have been more than 1,500 fan tribute videos go viral on YouTube. The phenomenon is so popular that it has made its way around the world to the Islamic Republic of Iran… where fun gets smacked in the face and dragged off to jail.

On Tuesday (May 20), six young Iranian citizens were arrested in Tehran for posting a video online of them dancing to Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy.”

“After a vulgar clip which hurt public chastity was released in cyberspace, police decided to identify those involved in making that clip,” stated Tehran police chief Hossein Sajedinia to the Iranian news agency, ISNA. ” He continued, “Following a series of intelligence and police operations and after coordinating with the judiciary, all the suspects were identified and arrested.”

Here’s the “vulgar clip” in question: 

OMG! I am so offended! Please, lock these hooligans up and throw away the key!

This is just another outrageous display of further aggression against human rights by a government which censors even its own elected leaders. Only days before the arrests, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave a public speech in which he encouraged his country’s ruling Islamic regime to allow its citizens more online freedom and decried government sanctioned censorship as “cowardly.” Meant for widespread television distribution, the speech was, nevertheless, ignored by state broadcaster IRIB. Ahh… freedom.

UPDATE: According to CNN, the six Iranians shown dancing in the video have been released by authorities. The video’s director, however, is still in custody.

iHeartRadio Music Awards Leave Some Asking “Why?”

Photo: news.iheart.com

On Thursday (May 1st), the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California was home to the first annual iHeartRadio Music Awards… because apparently there weren’t already enough award shows in Hollywood.

By now everyone who cares about such things already knows who won what, with Rihanna killing it by taking home 4 awards, Pharrell being presented with the inaugural “Innovator” award, etc. The real question has nothing to do with winners and losers (or, rather, those who were honored “just to be nominated”). No, the real question is this: With the industry jam-packed full of awards shows (the Grammys, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, CMT Music Awards, etc.), why add yet another 3-hour-long awards show to a docket that’s already bursting at the seams?

This question was being asked by many before the show even aired and, unfortunately, no answers were presented Thursday night. Though I wouldn’t exactly call the event a failure, there just wasn’t the same pizazz we’ve come to expect from other more vaunted shows, nor was it innovative in any way. It just seemed like more of the same old, same old.

In a music industry that’s rapidly evolving, from the way albums are distributed to the ways in which customers are listening to their favorite songs, “staying the course” just doesn’t get the job done. You would expect iHeartRadio, a company right at the heart of this change, to understand that.

Am I wrong? Perhaps I’m being too hard on an awards show that’s in its infancy, one that simply hasn’t had a chance to hit its stride. What do you think? Do we look forward to the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards, or is it a case of “been there, done that?”

Pharrell Williams – Man of the Year

Photo courtesy of thehollywoodshuffle.com

If you didn’t know who Pharrell Williams was a year ago I bet you do now. He’s the man behind the hat, your favorite artists’ favorite producer, and the voice behind the feel good songs you can’t seem to get out of your head. Pharrell’s been in the music industry for nearly two decades, but in the past year has taken the world by storm. And things only seem to be getting bigger and better for Skateboard P.

You can call him the renaissance man of music; he raps, sings, writes, and produces. Pharrell and Chad Hugo formed The Neptunes, a production duo responsible for hit songs from numerous hip hop, pop, and R&B artists such as Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Usher, and Kelis. The two also founded the record label Star Trak under Universal Music Group and linked up with Shay Haley to create the group N.E.R.D. It wasn’t until 2003 that Pharrell released his first solo track, “Frontin’.”

So how exactly has he dominated 2013 and 2014? Well, he produced and was featured on the anthem of the summer, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” He collaborated with Daft Punk on their single “Get Lucky” which won Record of the Year at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Last but not least “Happy” (which has received the ultimate cover treatment) from Despicable Me 2 scored Pharrell an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

Perfect Harmony: Music and movies unite at 2014 Academy Awards

Though music isn’t the primary artform honored at the Academy Awards, it is the perfect compliment to theatrical performance. Without the simplistic, yet spine-tingling theme from John Carpenter’s Halloween, Michael Myers would have been almost laughable walking around in a white-washed Captain Kirk mask. Celine Dion‘s “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic is just as memorable as the movie itself. On a night filled with great moments and performances, the 2014 Academy Awards ceremony thrust music into the spotlight… where it belongs. Check out some our our favorite performances below.

Pharrell Williams (and his hat) spread the joy with audience members and a full dance troop as he performed his hit song “Happy” from Universal Pictures Despicable Me 2.

U2‘s stirring rendition of “Ordinary Love” wasn’t just simply the performance of a song from a movie soundtrack (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), it was a fitting tribute to a man who completely embodied the spirit of peace and forgiveness.

Karen O and Vampire Weekend‘s Ezra Koenig changed things up a bit. No glitz. No glamour. Just a beautifully simplistic performance of “The Moon Song,” the main theme from the Spike Jonze film Her.

In yet another tribute moment, Pink dawned a ruby-red gown and gave an emotional performance of Judy Garland‘s beloved classic, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”

What were some of your favorite moments, music or otherwise? Let us know in the comments below.