GLOBAL SUPERSTAR NICKI MINAJ RETURNS TO THE "VMAS" FOR A SPECIAL REMOTE PERFORMANCE FROM ICONIC NEW YORK LOCATION

THE 2018 "VMAS" WILL AIR LIVE ON MONDAY, AUGUST 20TH AT 9:00 PM ET/PT

NEW YORK, NY (August 9, 2018) - MTV today announced global superstar Nicki Minaj will return to the "VMAs" in a special performance, presented by PEPSI(R), from an iconic location in New York. This will mark Minaj's debut performance after the release of her highly anticipated album, "Queen." It will also be the first time a major awards show will televise a performance from the surprise location.

As previously announced, Jennifer Lopez will be honored with the "Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award." She is also set to perform at this year's show for the first time since 2001. Additional performers include Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Shawn Mendes, Post Malone, and Logic with Ryan Tedder. The "VMAs" will air live from Radio City Music Hall on Monday, August 20 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT across MTV's global network of channels in more than 180 countries and territories, reaching more than half a billion households around the world.

The full list of nominees for the 2018 "VMAs" is available here.

Fans can vote for their favorites across 12 VMA categories, including "Video of the Year," "Artist of the Year," "Best Collaboration" and more by visiting vma.mtv.com until Friday, August 10. Voting for the "Best New Artist" award, presented by Taco Bell(R), will remain active until the VMA broadcast.

MTV has teamed up with Amazon to release a skill for Alexa, the cloud-based voice service, that will allow customers to vote for "Artist of the Year." This marks the first time ever that a major awards show has used Alexa for audience voting. To cast your vote, just say, "Alexa, vote for the VMAs" on any Alexa-enabled device.

Bruce Gillmer and Jesse Ignjatovic are Executive Producers for the 2018 "VMAs." Melanie Block serves as Executive in Charge of Production. Amani Duncan is Executive in Charge of Music. Wendy Plaut is Executive in Charge of Celebrity Talent.

Official sponsors of the 2018 "VMAs" include PEPSI(R), Swiffer(R), Taco Bell(R) and truth(R).

About MTV

MTV is the leading youth media brand inspired by music, in nearly 180 countries and 450 million homes around the world, connecting with over 350 million fans across all social media platforms. A unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), MTV operations span cable and mobile networks, live events, and the new MTV Studios unit which produces original and reimagined content for SVOD and linear networks based on MTV's library of over 200+ youth titles and franchises.