RIHANNA AND TAYLOR SWIFT TOP THE NOMINATIONS FOR THE "2012 MTV EMA"

THE 19th ANNUAL "MTV EMA" BRINGS TOGETHER MUSIC FANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO CELEBRATE THE YEAR'S HOTTEST ARTISTS

THE "2012 MTV EMA" WILL AIR LIVE FROM FRANKFURT'S FESTHALLE SUNDAY, 11th NOVEMBER AT 9PM CET; IN THE U.S. AT 11:00 PM ET/PT on MTV2

LONDON / NEW YORK - 17 September 2012 - Let the "2012 MTV EMA" festivities begin! MTV today unveiled the nominees for its annual celebration of the biggest musical artists from all over the globe, with reigning pop princesses Rihanna and Taylor Swift topping the list with six and five nods each, respectively. Justin Bieber and Katy Perry have each scored four EMA nominations, followed by a slew of buzzworthy acts, including Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Lana Del Rey and newcomers Carly Rae Jepsen and fun., earning three nominations each. The 19th annual MTV EMA will broadcast live on Sunday, 11th November at 9PM CET from Frankfurt's historic Festhalle on MTV channels around the world; in the U.S., the two-hour show will premiere on MTV2 at 11:00 PM ET/PT Sunday, November 11th.

Rihanna and Taylor Swift will both compete for the Best Female and Best Pop titles, and will vie against other well-known trend-setters in the brand new Best Look category, which highlights the most unique and eye-catching personal styles emanating from the music world. Rihanna is also up for Best Song and Best Video for her smash hit "We Found Love" and Biggest Fans, while Swift received nods for Best Live and Best World Stage. Hot off his wins last year for Best Male and Best Pop, Justin Bieber could repeat in those two categories, and he also landed nods for Best World Stage and Biggest Fans, while two-time EMA host Katy Perry will battle for Best Female, Best Pop, Best Video for "Wide Awake" and Biggest Fans. Also, given the resurgence of electronic music, MTV is reintroducing the Best Electronic category to honor the biggest names in that genre.

Other notable EMA nominees include Lady Gaga, Carly Rae Jepsen, fun., Lana Del Rey, Nicki Minaj, Jay Z and Kanye West, who are each up for three EMA nominations, while Green Day, Gotye, Pitbull, Rita Ora, Flo Rida, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Jack White and One Direction are up for two awards. MTV will announce EMA performers and presenters at a later date.

The MTV EMA - MTV's global celebration of the hottest stars in music - features nominees from across genres, recognizes artists from every corner of the world, from the UK to Hungary to India to Australia and everywhere in between, and brings music fans around the globe together for a unique and incomparable experience. For the second year in a row, MTV is inviting fans everywhere to have a say in which artist deserves the Biggest Fans award. Since August 30th, viewers have been voting for their favorite EMA artists from a pool of 20 acts; their votes have helped narrow down the field to the five official nominees announced today, Monday, September 17th. The more fans engage with the EMA content featured on MTV's digital platforms in the weeks leading up to the show, the more their participation and points can boost the chances for their favorite artist to win the Biggest Fans prize on November 11th.

Also returning this year is the Worldwide Act category, which celebrates the range and breadth of all the music that MTV has to offer by showcasing incredible artists from all parts of the world. Fans will be able to vote for an artist/group from their respective territory starting today, Monday, September 17th, and then the local winners will vie for the regional title starting Monday, October 15th. The Worldwide Act nominees from each region (Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa/India/Middle East) will be announced the week of October 30th, and battle for the "Worldwide Act" distinction. The winner will be named at the show in Frankfurt.

Beginning today, Monday, September 17th, viewers can vote for EMA categories such as Best New, Best Live and more by visiting www.mtvema.com online or http://m.mtvema.com on their mobile phones. Voting for EMA categories is open now until 11:59PM CET on Friday, November 9th, 2012.

Here is the list of nominees for the "2012 MTV EMA":

BEST SONG
Carly Rae Jepsen - 'Call Me Maybe'
Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris - 'We Found Love'
Gotye - 'Somebody That I Used To Know'
Pitbull feat. Chris Brown - 'International Love'
fun. feat. Janelle Monáe - 'We Are Young'

BEST NEW
Rita Ora
fun.
One Direction
Lana Del Rey
Carly Rae Jepsen

BEST FEMALE
Rihanna
Katy Perry
P!nk
Taylor Swift
Nicki Minaj

BEST MALE
Justin Bieber
Kanye West
Flo Rida
Pitbull
Jay Z

BEST POP
Justin Bieber
No Doubt
Katy Perry
Taylor Swift
Rihanna

BEST LIVE
Taylor Swift
Lady Gaga
Jay Z & Kanye West
Green Day
Muse

BEST HIP HOP
Jay Z & Kanye West
Nas
Rick Ross
Drake
Nicki Minaj

BEST ROCK
Linkin Park
Green Day
Muse
The Killers
Coldplay

BEST ELECTRON
IC David Guetta
Swedish House Mafia
Avicii
Skrillex
Calvin Harris

BEST ALTERNATIVE
Jack White
The Black Keys
Arctic Monkeys
Florence + The Machine
Lana Del Rey

BEST VIDEO
M.I.A. - 'Bad Girls'
Lady Gaga - 'Marry The Night'
Katy Perry - 'Wide Awake'
Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris - 'We Found Love'
PSY - 'Gangnam Style'

BEST LOOK
Nicki Minaj
Rihanna
Jack White
Taylor Swift
A$AP Rocky

BIGGEST FANS
Justin Bieber
One Direction
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Katy Perry

BEST WORLD STAGE
Arcade Fire
Arctic Monkeys
B.o.B
Evanescence
Flo Rida
Jason Derulo
Joe Jonas
Justin Bieber
Kasabian
Ke$ha
LMFAO
Maroon 5
Nelly Furtado
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sean Paul
Snoop Dogg
Snow Patrol
Taylor Swift

BEST PUSH
Nov - Foster The People
Dec - Lana Del Rey
Jan - Mac Miller
Feb - Michael Kiwanuka
March - Gotye
April - Rebecca Ferguson
May - fun.
June - Rita Ora
July - Conor Maynard
August - Of Monsters And Men
September - Carly Rae Jepsen

Worldwide Act North America (North American fans can vote at northamerica.mtvema.com)
Carly Rae Jepsen
Chris Brown Katy Perry
Drake
Green Day
Justin Bieber
Linkin Park
P!nk
Rihanna
Usher

The "2012 MTV EMA" will air across MTV's global network of more than 60 channels reaching nearly 700 million households around the world as well as through syndication. In addition, its convergent programming and content will reach the entire interactive community, via MTV's more than 200 digital media properties around the world. Bruce Gillmer and Richard Godfrey are Executive Producers for the "2012 MTV EMA."

The "2011 MTV EMA", held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was the event's most watched telecast ever with more than 39 million viewers tuning in to MTV and VIVA channels around the world. The 18th annual show saw a double-digit increase year over year with the coveted P12-34 demographic and enjoyed a +29% increase in unique visitors to the EMA website on show day. The "2011 MTV EMA" also drew an impressive total of 158 million votes worldwide, a huge growth of +236% year over year.

For all MTV EMA news and announcements, check out EMA on Facebook, follow us @mtvema or download the MTV EMA app for free at the iTunes store. For MTV EMA press materials, please visit press.mtvema.com or follow us @VIMN_PR.

About MTV:

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. Outside of the United States, MTV is part of Viacom International Media Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.