Hollywood Popular Artists

Jul 31st 2012, 11:00

The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards nominees are in, with Rihanna and Drake leading the pack with 5 nominations each including Video Of The Year. Again, MTV will be raising a glass to artists whose music videos aim to spread a positive message with the return of the Best Video With A Message category. And the nominees are...

Rise Against, also nominees for the inaugural award last year, will also face off against Kelly Clarkson, Gym Class Heroes featuring Ryan Tedder, and K'NAAN featuring Nelly Furtado. Demi Lovato and Lil Wayne round out the six.

The special category, in conjunction with MTV Act (that's us!), celebrates the union between music and social activism, and highlights artists who created music videos that made us think about the world around us. Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," which instantly became an anthem against hate and celebrated the beauty in all of us, earned the honor last year. So if last year was the year of power anthems celebrating individuality ("Firework," "F***** Perfect"), this year was the year to shine ones light on some of today's darkest places.

From "How To Love" to "Dark Side," this year's nominees powerfully rallied fans to raise above life's challenges. Whether it was the artist's own life experience (Demi Lovato) or another's life the artist was inspired by (Gym Class Heroes), the 2012 nominees made it known that there wasn't any other way but to be a fighter and stand strong and tall. If you were ever feeling down over the past year, it was probably one of these videos helped you see the light, throw on the gloves, and push your way up and out.

Join us in honoring the year's top risk-taking, change-making videos by taking action and voting for Best Video with a Message through [date], below.

The 2012 Best Video With A Message nominees are...

+ Demi Lovato "Skyscraper" (Vote | Take Action)
Demi inspires all of us to stay strong because "Love is Louder" than the pressure to be perfect.

+ Gym Class Heroes featuring Ryan Tedder "The Fighter" (Vote | Take Action)
The hip-pop heroes inspire the Olympians in all of us to work hard towards our dreams.

+ Kelly Clarkson "Dark Side" (Vote | Take Action)
Kelly shines light on body image, bullying and more, while celebrating our inner-strengths.

+ K'NAAN "Is Anybody Out There? (feat. Nelly Furtado)" (Vote | Take Action)
K'NAAN and Nelly offer words of encouragement to all those looking for a shoulder to lean on.

+ Lil Wayne "How To Love" (Vote | Take Action)
Weezy walks us through life and its challenges, illustrating how love best paves the way.

+ Rise Against "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" (Vote | Take Action)
Rise Against gets us riled up about poverty and prejudices.

Tune in to the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards show and pre-show to find who wins, live from Los Angeles on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 8/7c.

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