MTV VMAs 2012: Chris Brown, Rihanna, and Drake Battle for Top Award

Twitter is buzzing with the snubs and nods for the nominees of this year's MTV Video Music Awards. Entertainment Weekly has taken to calling this year's nominee list "the year of Rihanna and Drake" as the one time couple, and two-time collaborators lead with nominees with five nods apiece. The duo, who was embroiled in a long-time scandal with artist Chris Brown will also face off against him in separate categories. Rihanna and Brown will face off for Best Choreograph (she for "Where Have You Been" and he for "Turn Up the Music"); Brown and Drake will compete in the Best Male Video category (Drake for "Take Care" which features Rihanna, and Brown for "Turn Up the Music".)

Other big nominees this year are Katy Perry, Beyonce, The Throne's Jay-Z and Kanye, Coldplay, and M.I.A. A noticeable snub from the list is Lady Gaga, whose eligible videos "Yoü and I" and "Marry the Night" were overlooked. When the nominees were revealed Gaga's fans took to Twitter, angrily employing the world trending phrase, "VMA's Are Nothing Without Gaga." 

The list of nominees is available below: 

Video of the Year

Best New Artist

Best Hip-Hop Video

Best Male Video

Best Female Video

Best Pop Video

Best Rock Video

Best Electronic Dance Music Video

Best Video With a Message

Best Art Direction

Best Choreography

Best Cinematography

Best Direction

Best Editing

Best Visual Effects

The 2012 VMA, airing live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday, September 6 at 8 P.M. EST.