VH1’s Divas Live has nothing on this year’s MTV Video Music Awards (Sept. 13, MTV, from Radio City Music Hall in New York City), where the big battle is between Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, who each scored nine nominations.

Both female artists are among the contenders for Video of the Year – Gaga’s “Poker Face” and Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” – along with Britney Spears‘ “Womanizer,” Eminem‘s “We Made You” and Kanye West‘s “Love Lockdown.”

Spears is also a major contender with seven VMA nominations, while Eminem, Kanye West and Coldplay have four each. The list of VMA performers so far includes Taylor Swift, Green Day, Pink and Muse.

And the complete list of nominees for the 26th annual VMAs, which will be hosted by British comedian Russell Brand for the second consecutive year:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears – “Womanizer”
Eminem – “We Made You”
Kanye West – “Love Lockdown”
Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”

BEST MALE VIDEO
Eminem – “We Made You”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Kanye West – “Love Lockdown”
Ne-Yo – “Miss Independent”
T.I. featuring Rihanna – “Live Your Life”

BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Katy Perry – “Hot ‘N Cold”
Kelly Clarkson” “My Life Would Suck Without You”
Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”
Pink – “So What”
Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”

BEST NEW ARTIST
3OH!3
Asher Roth
Drake
Kid Cudi
Lady Gaga

BEST POP VIDEO
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears – “Womanizer”
Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester – “Good Girls Go Bad”
Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”
Wisin y Yandel – “Abusadora”

BEST ROCK VIDEO
Coldplay – “Viva La Vida”
Fall Out Boy – “I Don’t Care”
Green Day – “21 Guns”
Kings Of Leon – “Use Somebody”
Paramore – “Decode”

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Asher Roth – “I Love College”
Eminem – “We Made You”
Flo Rida – “Right Round”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Kanye West – “Love Lockdown”

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO
Anjulie – “Boom”
Bat For Lashes – “Daniel”
Chairlift – “Evident Utensil”
Cold War Kids – “I’ve Seen Enough”
Death Cab For Cutie – “Grapevine Fires”
Gnarls Barkley – “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”
Major Lazer – “Hold The Line”
Matt & Kim – “Lessons Learned”
Passion Pit – “The Reeling”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll”

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
AR Rahman & Pussy Cat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger – “Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)”
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears – “Circus”
Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake – “Love Sex Magic”
Kristina DeBarge – “Goodbye”

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Eminem – “We Made You”
Gnarls Barkley – “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”
Kanye West ft Mr. Hudson – “Paranoid”
Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”

BEST DIRECTION
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears – “Circus”
Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester – “Good Girls Go Bad”
Green Day – “21 Guns”
Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”

BEST EDITING
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears – “Circus”
Coldplay – “Viva La Vida”
Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”
Miley Cyrus – “7 Things”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears – “Circus”
Coldplay – “Viva La Vida”
Green Day – “21 Guns”
Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”

BEST ART DIRECTION
Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Britney Spears – “Circus”
Coldplay – “Viva La Vida”
Gnarls Barkley – “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”
Lady Gaga – “Paparazzi”

And a fun retro category:

BEST VIDEO (THAT SHOULD HAVE WON A MOONMAN)
Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”
Bjork – “Human Behavior”
David Lee Roth – “California Girls”
Dr. Dre – “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang”
Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
George Michael – “Freedom”
OK Go – “Here It Goes Again”
Radiohead – “Karma Police”
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – “Into The Great Wide Open”
U2 – “Where The Streets Have No Name”

Viewer voting is live at MTV.com … just curious: what gets your vote for Best Video That Should Have Won a Moonman? I’m casting mine for Dr. Dre‘s “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” I can’t not watch that video any time it pops up on the tube.

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• Filed in Award shows, TV News
• Tags: Beyonce, Britney Spears, Eminem, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, MTV VMAs 2009, Russell Brand

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– The fact that Neil Patrick Harris is hosting this year’s Tony Awards (Sunday, CBS, 8PM ET) makes it the first Tonys show I’ve had any interest in watching, and the “Top 10 Signs You’ve Hired a Bad Tony Awards Host” list that NPH delivered on Late Show with David Letterman last night made me that much more excited to see how the How I Met Your Mother star can liven up the event. The list, BTW, was one of the best recent Top 10s, particularly the cheeky nods to the Eminem/Bruno brouhaha and the Jeremy Piven Broadway scandal.

– Speaking of award show hosts, Craig Ferguson as Emmy host? Yes, that should definitely happen.

– Ovation TV will air a documentary tribute to the late Heath Ledger this summer.

– Kung Fu star David Carradine‘s death may have taken a turn from sad to sad and creepy.

– Were the Dawson’s Creek kids really “four monstrous actors” once they got crazy famous on the show? A DC showrunner says so.

– If you haven’t read producer Josh Friedman‘s blog post about the end of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, check it out now. It’s hilarious, and sad, and is a reminder of how, no matter how much a fan base may love a show, it always comes down to business.

– The Shield leads all nominees for the Television Critics Association Awards, and if that makes you realize how much you miss Vic Mackey and the gang, check out what the cast says about the possibility of a big-screen Shield movie. Do we dare to hope?

– Guess who’ll be back on the island – or somewhere in the Lost universe – for the sixth and final season? Aaron’s mama Claire.

– And an article in Newsweek about how reality TV makes women look stupid makes some interesting points, though I’d suggest the author watch a couple of episodes of The Hills. From Spencer Pratt to Justin Bobby, and almost every other dude in between, these aren’t exactly flattering portraits of the American male, either. Not to mention Jon Gosselin, at least half the male Real World-ers, Danny Bonaduce, Flavor Flav, Survivor‘s “Johnny Fairplay” …

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• Filed in Boob Tube to Big Screen, Celebreality, Reality, TV News
• Tags: Bruno, Craig Ferguson, Danny Bonaduce, David Carradine, Dawson's Creek, Eminem, Emmy, Flavor Flav, Heath Ledger, How I Met Your Mother, Jeremy Piven, Johnny Fairplay, Jon Gosselin, Josh Friedman, Justin Bobby, Kung Fu, Late Show with David Letterman, Lost, Lost Claire, Neil Patrick Harris, Ovation TV, Real World, Reality TV, Spencer Pratt, Survivor, Television Critics Association Awards, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Hills, The Shield, The Shield movie, Tony Awards, Vic Mackey

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– R.I.P. Kung Fu star David Carradine. Check out some of his Emmy-nominated days as Caine at the YouTube Kung Fu page.

– Hey, yeah! TheWrap.com asks the question, If Kal Penn left House to work for the Obama White House, why isn’t he there yet?

– And don’t miss the two-part TheWrap.com investigation into just how dire post-reality TV life is for some of its stars. Not everyone turns reality TV stardom into a thriving career like Elizabeth Hasselbeck has, of course. But some of the cast-offs have been so haunted by their short-lived fame, or infamy, that they’ve committed suicide.

– Whoa: The Big O has been dethroned as the most powerful celeb in the world, says Forbes mag.

– Oprah has responded, meanwhile, to that Newsweek story on the iffy-ness of the advice from the health segments of Oprah’s talk show.

– A&E has reportedly decided to cancel The Beast, the Patrick Swayze drama that failed to pull in big ratings.

– After being bounced from the Iron Man movie series, Terrence Howard is bringing his considerable talents to the tube for an upcoming cop drama.

– The people have spoken, and they’ve declared in Ted Casablanca‘s The Awful Truth column that Spencer Pratt is The Most Awful Celeb in Hollywood. But somehow, I think the arrogant one will just see it not as an insult, but as confirmation that he is considered a celeb.

– Prison Break alum Robert “T-Bag” Knepper will be the newest Heroes villain next season. May have to actually start watching again.

– Kris Allen, you just won American Idol, what are you going to do next? Um, play a Wal-Mart shareholders meeting.

– Once and for all: Eminem was in on the Bruno joke at the MTV Movie Awards.

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• Filed in American Idol, Celebreality, Reality, TV News
• Tags: Bruno, David Carradine, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Eminem, Heroes, Heroes villain, House, Iron Man, Kal Penn, Kris Allen, Kung Fu, MTV Movie Awards, Newsweek Oprah, Obama, Oprah, Patrick Swayze, Prison Break, R.I.P., reality stars, Reality TV, reality TV stars suicide, reality TV suicide, Robert "T-Bag" Knepper, Spencer Pratt, Ted Casablanca, Terrence Howard, The Awful Truth, The Beast

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– Beverly Hills 90210 alum, and recent Sarah Connor Chronicles comeback kid, Brian Austin Green may become the newest One Tree Hill resident, now that Hilarie Burton and Chad Michael Murray are hitting the bricks. An aside: Is it a prereq to have three names to be the lead dude on that show?

– Eminem, Bruno, staged, yes.

– The New York Post has a photo of Adam Lambert and his rumored boyfriend. Doesn’t the BF sorta look like Shia LaBeouf?

– Whatever happens in Vegas will show up on TV when Top Chef heads to Sin City for season six.

– Here’s one of TVGuide.com’s funnier lists: “TV Fat Guys with Hot Wives.” They forgot Mark Addy and Jami Gertz from Still Standing, though. Anyone else they forgot?

– Yes, in between fake apologizing on The Hills and ticking off his fellow D-listers on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, Spencer Pratt is indeed trying to become the next Vanilla Ice.

– And I have to agree with Time mag’s James Poniewozik, who gives Spencer the award for “The Greatest TV Line of 2009” when he told NBC honcho Ben Silverman about the rest of the has-been/never-were cast, “This cast is devaluing our fame!” The truly sad thing is, Spencer probably has a point. I doubt Frangela or Sanjaya are pulling down the kind of bank Speidi is pulling down with their club appearances and … whatever else it is they do to make cash.

– One more Speidi item: TMZ claims that, after quitting the show twice during last night’s premiere, the Pratts quit – for reals – after the live portion of the show.

– Ex-lovers Heidi Fleiss and Tom Sizemore, whose relationship was tempestuous, to put it mildly, will reunite as co-stars on the new season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. That cannot possibly be something that would ever be allowed to happen in real-life rehab, could it?

– And the Emmys will air a week earlier than planned this year. Because of a football game.

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• Filed in American Idol, Celebreality, Reality, TV News
• Tags: Adam Lambert, Beverly Hills 90210, Brian Austin Green, Bruno, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Chad Michael Murray, Eminem, Emmys, Frangela, Heidi Fleiss, Hilarie Burton, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, One Tree Hill, Sanjaya, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Speidi, Spencer Pratt, terminator, The Hills, Tom Sizemore, Top Chef, TV Fat Guys with Hot Wives

Not so fast, LATimes.com scribe Tom O’Neil …

O’Neil suggests that “The stunt only fuels old fears that (Eminem‘s) a secret homophobe.”

Now, there’s no defending some of Eminem’s lyrics . And, a good part of the humor from last night’s MTV Movie Awards stunt came from bare-butted Bruno plopping down on the prickly Eminem. But to assume that Eminem’s reaction, pre-planned or not, was homophobic, ignores the fact that most people:

… would not want to have Sacha Baron Cohen‘s sweaty, feather-covered body plopped heinie-first on their faces; and

… would not want to have said plop happen in front of a crowd, during an event that is being broadcast to millions of people.

So, not to put too fine a point on it, but … hot lights … crowded building … body swaddled in feathers … it all adds up to hot, sweaty mancakes. Is it really a stretch to assume that, like most people, Eminem wouldn’t welcome Sacha Baron Cohen’s sweaty, feather-covered body plopped heinie-first on their faces in front of a crowd, during an event that is being broadcast to millions of people?

Not to mention, it’s not like Eminem was uncharacteristically crabby in his reaction; remember when he freaked out on Triumph the Insult Comic Dog? That was just some dude with his hand stuck up a puppet getting in his face. It’s not so hard to believe, or understand, why Baron’s bare butt – and some other body parts that were a little too close for comfort, oh by the way – might set him off when they landed In. His. Face.

Bottom (ha!) line: It was a crude, rather dumb, stunt. Funny as hell, and given the media coverage it sparked, also smartly planned (Mark Burnett, and Cohen, you mad geniuses!). But, still gross, and gross by most standards.

So, is Eminem homophobic? Maybe. But not because he didn’t want to go home reeking of Eau de Bruno Butt.

Agree?

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• Filed in Comedy, TV News
• Tags: Bruno, celeb feud, Eminem, Feud, incident, Mark Burnett, MTV, MTV Movie Awards, Sacha Baron Cohen, scandal, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog