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New York - Beyoncé on Tuesday led nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards as she basked in acclaim for her intertwined film-album Lemonade.
The pop diva was in the running for 11 awards at MTV's annual extravaganza, which will take place on 28 August in New York's Madison Square Garden, a shift from the more common venue in Los Angeles.
Adele came in second with eight nominations. All but seven were for the chart-topping English balladeer's Hello, which with more than 1.6 billion views is the fifth most watched video ever on YouTube.
Hello, filmed by the Canadian director Xavier Dolan, shows Adele on the phone with a younger version of herself and was the first music video created for the high-resolution IMAX format.
Hello was in the running for Video of the Year against Beyoncé's Formation, the most overtly political work of the former Destiny's Child singer's career as she aligned herself with the Black Lives Matter protest movement.
Filmed by Melina Matsoukas, Formation at one point shows a row of police officers with their hands in the air and graffiti on a wall that reads, "Stop shooting us."
The video riled some conservative commentators and law enforcement groups who voiced anger when Beyoncé performed the song at the Super Bowl, the most watched television event of the year.
Shot in New Orleans, Formation marked a shift in sound by Beyoncé to the southern city's bounce hip-hop scene.
Formation was her first single off her album Lemonade, which she released in April to accompany a film that she made for HBO.
The album and film are full of references to infidelity as well as forgiveness, drawing speculation that Beyoncé's husband, rap mogul Jay Z, had been unfaithful.
If Beyoncé sweeps the awards, she would make MTV history. Peter Gabriel holds the record for the most VMAs in a single night, taking home 10 in 1987 amid a global following for his animation-driven Sledgehammer.
Posthumous nods for Bowie
Other nominees for Video of the Year included Kanye West's controversial Famous, in which the rapper boasts that pop superstar Taylor Swift may sleep with him and that he made her famous.
Despite her protests over the song, the video features a naked woman in bed with West who resembles Swift as well as nude doppelgangers of other celebrities including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Also in the running for the top prize were two videos dominated by dancing - rapper Drake's Hotline Bling and pop celebrity Justin Bieber's Sorry.
Bieber's Sorry is the sixth most watched video ever on YouTube, closely trailing Adele's Hello, which was released on the same day last year.
The late rock icon David Bowie's video for Lazarus took four nominations, although not in the main categories.
Bowie, who embraced music videos as an art form when MTV was in its infancy, released Lazarus three days before stunning the world with his death from an unannounced battle with cancer.
The video, in hindsight, was full of foreshadowing of his death with the singer levitating over a hospital bed and retreating into a closet with outfits from his prolific music career.
'Disappointed' Jonas
The VMAs have often been more closely watched for incidents at the televised gala than for actual winners, who are determined by fan voting.
At last year's awards, West vowed to run for president in 2020, although his level of seriousness was unclear.
In one small controversy already this year, Nick Jonas said on Twitter he was "disappointed" he was not nominated for Closer, in which he and Swedish singer Tove Lo grope longingly for each other but struggle to connect physically.
But minutes later, the onetime child star tweeted that he would not let himself be bothered by "small stuff".
"Actually after thinking about it more, there are so many amazing things happening in my life and career. Nine out of 10 boxes are checked."
Here is the full list of nominees:
Video of the year:
Adele – Hello
Beyoncé – Formation
Drake - Hotline Bling
Justin Bieber – Sorry
Kanye West – Famous
Best female video:
Adele – Hello
Beyoncé - Hold Up
Sia - Cheap Thrills
Ariana Grande - Into You
Rihanna featuring Drake – Work
Best male video:
Drake - Hotline Bling
Bryson Tiller - Don't
Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna - This Is What You Came For
Kanye West – Famous
The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face
Best new artist:
Bryson Tiller
Desiigner
Zara Larsson
Lukas Graham
DNCE
Best pop video:
Adele – Hello
Beyonce – Formation
Justin Bieber – Sorry
Alessia Cara - Wild Things
Ariana Grande - Into You
Best hip hop video:
Drake - Hotline Bling
Desiigner – Panda
Bryson Tiller - Don't
Chance the Rapper featuring Saba – Angels
2 Chainz - Watch Out
Best rock video:
All Time Low - Missing You
Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime
Fall Out Boy featuring Demi Lovato – Irresistible
twenty one pilots – Heathens
Panic! at the Disco – Victorious
Best electronic video:
Calvin Harris & Disciples - How Deep Is Your Love
99 Souls featuring Destiny's Child and Brandy - The Girl Is Mine
Mike Posner - I Took A Pill In Ibiza
Afrojack - SummerThing!
The Chainsmokers featuring Daya - Don't Let Me Down
Best collaboration:
Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar – Freedom
Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla $ign - Work from Home
Ariana Grande featuring Lil Wayne - Let Me Love You
Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna - This Is What You Came For
Rihanna featuring Drake – Work
Breakthrough long form video:
Florence + the Machine - The Odyssey
Beyoncé – Lemonade
Justin Bieber - PURPOSE: The Movement
Chris Brown – Royalty
Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy
Best art direction:
Beyoncé - Hold Up
Fergie - M.I.L.F. $
Drake - Hotline Bling
David Bowie – Blackstar
Adele – Hello
Best choreography:
Beyoncé – Formation
Missy Elliott featuring Pharrell -WTF (Where They From)
Beyoncé – Sorry
FKA Twigs - M3LL155X
Florence + the Machine – Delilah
Best direction:
Beyoncé – Formation
Coldplay - Up&Up
Adele – Hello
David Bowie – Lazarus
Tame Impala - The Less I Know the Better
Best cinematography:
Beyoncé – Formation
Adele – Hello
David Bowie – Lazarus
Alesso - I Wanna Know
Ariana Grande - Into You
Best editing:
Beyoncé – Formation
Adele – Hello
Fergie - M.I.L.F. $
David Bowie – Lazarus
Ariana Grande - Into You
Best visual effects:
Coldplay - Up&Up
FKA Twigs - M3LL155X"
Adele - Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face
Zayn - PILLOWTALK
