The metaverse is being invaded by the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).
The venerable awards program for the music channel revealed on Tuesday that it will add a new category this year: “Best Metaverse Performance.”
Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK, BTS, Justin Bieber, Charli XCX, and Twenty One Pilots are among the nominees. These artists all gave performances at various virtual events.
MTV made the decision to add a metaverse category after noticing that musicians were beginning to engage more frequently in virtual settings.
This year, the “Best Metaverse Performance” category was added because MTV “recognized the chance to spotlight and reward some of the best, most effective implementations of this — and celebrate artists who have found new ways to exploit these places.”
Not only are this year’s VMA nominees based around the metaverse, but a category for “Best Longform Video” has also been added. The network invited viewers to vote for nominees on Tuesday in 22 gender-neutral categories.