Rihanna and Drake Lead MTV Video Music Awards Nominations

By JAMES C. MCKINLEY JR.

Rihanna and Drake lead the field of nominees for this year's MTV Video Music Awards, with five nominations apiece, while Katy Perry got four nods for her videos, the cable network announced on Tuesday.

Alicia Keyes will host the award ceremony, which will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. The performers will include One Direction, the British boy band whose hit “What Makes You Beautiful” has been high on the American pop charts since it was released last spring.

Drake and Rihanna's duet on “Take Care” â€"  the hit single from Drake's second studio album â€"  is nominated for Video of the Year.  Rihanna's solo song “We Found Love” is also a contender in that category, along with Katy Perry's “Wide Awake,” Gotye and Kimbra's “Somebody I Used to Know” and M.I.A.'s “Bad Girls.”

There were few surprises on the list of nominees, which clos ely tracked the Billboard charts.  The nominations for Best New Artist reflect what some program directors have said is a bumper crop of unusually catchy pop songs by rookie artists this summer:  fun.'s “We Are Young,”  Carly Rae Jepsen's “Call Me Maybe,” Frank Ocean's “Swim Good,” One Direction's “What Makes You Beautiful” and the Wanted's “Glad You Came.”

In a nod to the rising popularity of electronic music, MTV is adding a category for “Best Electronic Dance Music Video.”  The D.J.s contending for the new award are Skrillex, Duck Sauce, Calvin Harris, Martin Solveig and Avicii.