Nominees Announced for UK Music Video Awards 2016

David Bowie, Beyoncé, Radiohead, Massive Attack, OK Go, Coldplay and Jamie xx are among the acts who pick up multiple nominations in this year’s UK Music Video Awards, the annual celebration of music video creativity and technical excellence, which takes place at the Roundhouse in London on Thursday October 20th.

The most nominated videos at this year’s UKMVAs include Massive Attack’s ‘Voodoo In My Blood’, directed by Ringan Ledwidge and starring Rosamund Pike in the grip of possession from an evil metallic orb; Jamie xx’s  ‘Gosh’, directed by Romain Gavras, featuring a cast of 400 extras worshipping an unexpected hero in a Chinese facsimile of Paris; Miike Snow’s ‘Genghis Khan’, directed by Ninian Doff, which puts an irreverent twist on classic Bond movie tropes; and Hurts ‘Lights’ directed by Dawn Shadforth, where frontman Theo Hutchcraft finds his perfect partner on the dancefloor of a London club.

In what is already being regarded as a stellar year for creative excellence in music videos, the nominations at this year’s UK Music Video Awards honour a range of magical achievements and memorable moments. These include dancer Sonoya Mizuno being gradually rendered into a 3D dancing model for The Chemical Brothers; OK Go hurtling through zero gravity in their ‘Upside Down & Inside Out’ video; British comedian Sharon Horgan as a 70s suburban housewife for Metronomy; Camberwick Green crossed with The Wicker Man for Radiohead; Beyoncé on a police cruiser sinking into floodwaters in ‘Formation’; and David Bowie shuffling backwards into a closet in this final video, for ‘Lazarus’.

Sony Music picks up the largest number of nominations for its artists across the globe, with Virgin EMI in strong contention thanks largely to Massive Attack and The Chemical Brothers. XL Recordings also has a strong showing with nominations for Radiohead, Adele, Jamie xx, Kaytranada and the label’s video commissioner Phil Lee.

Because Music, who are celebrating their 10th birthday this year, and whose commissioner Jane Third is also nominated, deliver their best showing yet at the UKMVAs, with an apt 10 nominations from artists including Metronomy, Christine and the Queens, Mr Oizo, Major Lazer and Breakbot. Australian label Modular Recordings also deliver in a strong set thanks to Tame Impala and The Avalanches.

The MVA shortlists also recognise a host of celebrated directing talent – including David Bowie’s final visual collaborator, Johan Renck; pop video legend Sophie Muller; longtime Radiohead associate Chris Hopewell; celebrated commercials director Ringan Ledwidge; and feature filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson – all lining up against more recently discovered talent.

US director Hiro Murai – a winner at the MVAs for the past two years, and co-creator with Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) of new US TV show Atlanta – is back in the shortlist for Best Director, alongside Florence Welch’s visual interpreter Vincent Haycock, and Barcelona-based powerhouse CANADA (who also directed the new Easyjet ad currently delighting British audiences). They face fierce competition in the Best Director category from British directors Ninian Doff, Sam Pilling and Ian Pons Jewell.

The music video work of up and coming artists and directors is also recognised in a set of Newcomer categories, with artists such as Vant, Mura Masa, Connie Constance and Ray BLK in the running for awards. In the Best Interactive video category, advances in 360º and VR videos are also recognised.

As well as honouring the best work in music videos, there are also awards at the UKMVAs for other music films, including Best Music Documentary, and Best Live Music Coverage category. This year’s documentaries in contention include the stories behind the making of Blur’s most recent album and the subsequent comeback tour, and a film about three young African American Brooklyn teenagers who formed a heavy metal band. Also revealed are the background successes and conflicts that led to the making of the Beach Boys’ legendary ‘Pet Sounds’ album. In the Live Coverage category, last year’s winning director Paul Dugdale has two nominations this year, for his coverage of The Rolling Stones historic concert in Havana and Ed Sheeran’s gigs at Wembley. He’s up against Nick Wickham for Iggy Pop’s Albert Hall concert, Dick Carruthers for Imagine Dragons in Toronto, James Russell for Catfish and the Bottlemen in Brighton and Dan Massie for Rudimental’s intimate acoustic session.

This year’s UK Music Video Awards ceremony will be staged for the second time at the legendary Roundhouse venue in London, and will be hosted once again by BUG frontman, and UKMVA regular host, Adam Buxton. The UK Music Video Awards editorial director, David Knight, says, “The nominations at this year’s UK Music Video Awards confirm that it’s been a fantastic year for music video creativity, here in the UK and across the world. We’re now in our ninth year, and we can safely say that as the music video has become more important to the music industry over that time, it has reemerged as a focus of creativity and entertainment. The UKMVAs is where the craft, creativity and the love that goes into making music videos is celebrated like nowhere else in the world – in London, the spiritual home of music videos.”

Here is the full list of nominations:

Adele – Hello

Hurts – Lights

JONES – Melt                 

Laura Mvula ft Nile Rodgers – Overcome

Michael Kiwanuka – Black Man in a White World

The 1975 – A Change of Heart 

Christine and The Queens – Tilted

Miike Snow – Genghis Khan

Miike Snow – My Trigger

MØ – Kamikaze

OK Go – Upside Down & Inside Out

The Avalanches – Frankie Sinatra

Casi – Lion

Connie Constance – Lose My Mind

Kloe – Touch

MS MR – Wrong Victory

Skylar Spence – I Can't Be Your Superman

Will Joseph Cook – Take Me Dancing

Bring Me The Horizon – True Friends

Coldplay – Up&Up

David Bowie – Blackstar

David Bowie – Lazarus

PJ Harvey – The Community of Hope

The Kills – Doing It To Death

De Staat – Witch Doctor

Hinds – Warts

Radkey – Glore

Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better

The Dead Weather – I Feel Love

Wintersleep – Amerika                 

Captains – Heavy Metal Works

Girl Band – In Plastic

Honeyblood – Ready For Magic

Small Black – Boy's Life                 

Tim Aminov ft Pete Josef – One Lone Survivor

Vant – Fly-By Alien

Jamie xx – Gosh

Massive Attack ft Young Fathers – Voodoo In My Blood

Metronomy – Old Skool

Radiohead – Burn The Witch

Radiohead – Daydreaming

Stealing Sheep – Apparition

John Grant – Down Here

Klyne – Don’t Stop                 

The Blaze – Virile                 

The Shoes ft Blaine Harrison – Submarine

The Shoes ft Dominic Lord – 1960's Horror

Yeasayer – I Am Chemistry

FOXTROTT – Shaky Hands

Holy Fuck – Tom Tom

Jono McCleery – This Idea of Us

Lil Silva ft Kent Jamz – De Ja

Sheep, Dog & Wolf – Breathe

The Shoes – Drifted

99 Souls ft Destiny's Child & Brandy – The Girl Is Mine

Calvin Harris ft Rihanna – This Is What You Came For

Delta Heavy – White Flag

Disclosure ft Lorde – Magnet

SG Lewis ft Gallant – Holding Back

The Chemical Brothers ft Beck – Wide Open

Baauer – GoGo!

Breakbot – My Toy

GTA ft Sam Bruno – Red Lips (Skrillex remix)

Kaytranada – Lite Spots

Major Lazer ft Nyla & Fuse ODG- Light It Up (Remix)

Valentino Khan – Deep Down Low

Antony & Cleopatra - Love Is A Lonely Dancer

Beardyman – Mountainside

Gabriels – Amethyst

Lone – Backtail Was Heavy

Mura Masa – What If I Go?

Vessels – Are You Trending?

Dusky ft Wiley – Sort It Out Sharon

Kano – This Is England

Nao – Bad Blood

Rejjie Snow – Blakkst Skn

Roots Manuva – Crying

Spyro ft Big H, Bossman Birdie & President T – Side By Side

Beyoncé – Formation

DJ Shadow ft Run The Jewels – Nobody Speak

KCPK – Who Wants It?

Leon Bridges – River

Mykki Blanco ft Woodkid – High School Never Ends

Run The Jewels ft Gangsta Boo – Love Again 

A.CHAL – Round Whippin’

Dead Players – Drenching

Ichon – Fils de Pute

Jesse James Solomon – YPT

LarzRanda – Lifeguard

Ray BLK – 5050

David Bowie – Blackstar

Fergie – M.I.L.F. $

Miike Snow – Genghis Khan

Radiohead – Burn The Witch

Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better

The Avalanches – Frankie Sinatra

Beyoncé – Formation

Hurts – Lights

Jamie xx – Gosh

Metronomy – Old Skool

Mykki Blanco ft Woodkid – High School Never Ends

Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better

Christine and the Queens – Tilted

Florence + The Machine – Delilah

Massive Attack ft Young Fathers – Voodoo in my Blood

OK Go – Upside Down & Inside Out

Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson – Say Say Say

Unknown Mortal Orchestra – First World Problem 

Holy Fuck – Tom Tom

Hurts – Lights

Jamie xx – Gosh

Miike Snow – Genghis Khan

Nao – Bad Blood

Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better

Jamie xx – Gosh

Miike Snow – Genghis Khan

Tom Odell – Magnetised

Izzy Bizu – Give Me Love

Vince Staples – Lift Me Up

Wild Beasts – Get My Bang

Hurts – Lights

Leon Bridges – River

Massive Attack ft Young Fathers – Voodoo In My Blood

Run The Jewels ft Gangsta Boo – Love Again

Seafret – Wildfire

The Shoes ft Dominic Lord – 1960's Horror

Baauer – GoGo!

Cassius – The Missing

Coldplay – Up&Up

Massive Attack ft Young Fathers – Voodoo In My Blood

The Chemical Brothers ft Beck – Wide Open

The Shoes ft Blaine Harrison – Submarine

De Staat – Witch Doctor

Mr Oizo ft Charli XCX – Hand In The Fire

Radiohead – Burn The Witch

Radkey – Glore

The Chemical Brothers ft Beck – Wide Open

Yeasayer – I Am Chemistry

Cassius – The Missing

Mind Enterprises – Chapita

Naïve New Beaters ft Izia – Heal Tomorrow

Netsky – Work It Out

Polar Youth – Searching/The Future of Music

Reeps One – Does Not Exist 

Catfish and The Bottlemen – Live at the Brighton Dome

Ed Sheeran – Jumpers For Goalposts: Live at Wembley Stadium

Iggy Pop: Post Pop Depression Live At The Royal Albert Hall

Imagine Dragons: Smoke & Mirrors Live

Rudimental Live Acoustic Session

The Rolling Stones: Havana Moon

Blur: New World Towers

Breaking A Monster

Classic Albums: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Goodnight Brooklyn - The Story of Death By Audio

Janis: Little Girl Blue

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King

Holly Blakey

John Merizalde

Oscar Hudson

Pedro Martin-Calero

Thunderlips

Youth Hymns

CANADA

Hiro Murai

Ian Pons Jewell

Ninian Doff

Sam Pilling

Vincent Haycock

Dobi Manolova

Nathan Scherrer

Rachel Rumbold

Roman Pichon Herrera

Sarah Boardman & Rik Green 

Tom Birmingham

Elizabeth Doonan

Emily Tedrake

James Hackett

Jane Third

Phil Lee

Sam Seager

Beyoncé

Christine and The Queens

Massive Attack

Miike Snow

Radiohead

Years & Years