MTV announces first round of 2022 VMAs performers

Show airs Aug 28th

Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello x Khalid and Panic! At The Disco are the first round of global superstars set to perform at the 2022 VMAs live from New Jersey’s Prudential Center on Sunday, August 28th at 8 pm ET/PT.

The charismatic global pop sensation is slated to make her VMAs main stage debut with a first-time TV performance of her newest chart-topping single, “Envolver,” which recently earned the Brazilian superstar Guinness Book of World Records certification as the first solo Latin artist to hit No. 1 at Spotify. Anitta is also up for her first VMAs award in the “Best Latin” category, making her the first Brazilian artist to be nominated for a Moon Person.

Colombian global superstar J Balvin is set to make a fiery return to the VMAs stage with a TV/world premiere of “Nivel de Perreo” with Ryan Castro, returning for the first time since his epic on-stage collaboration with Bad Bunny for “Que Pretendes” in 2019. The 13x nominee with five wins is also looking to take his sixth Moon Person for “Best Latin” (“In Da Getto” with Skrillex), which would crown him as the most awarded Latin artist in VMAs history.

Together, Marshmello and Khalid are set to take over the iconic MTV stage for a world premiere TV performance of new chart climbing collaboration “Numb.” Marshmello – a 5x VMAs nominee – will make his main stage debut this year. Khalid returns to the VMAs stage for the first time since his unforgettable 2017 debut with Logic and Alessia Cara for “1-800-273-8255,” where he also took home “Best New Artist.”

Panic! At The Disco returns to the VMAs stage for the first time since 2018 to world premiere new single “Middle of a Breakup,” from the forthcoming album Viva Las Vengeance. The 9x nominee, who first won in 2006 for “Video of the Year,” also looks to take home a win for “Alternative Video,” their first nomination in this category.

Jack Harlow, Kendrick Lamar and Lil Nas X lead this year’s nominations with seven apiece, closely followed by Doja Cat and Harry Styles with six each, and Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd with five each.

The 2022 VMAs will return to celebrate the biggest names in music on Sunday, August 28th at 8 pm ET/PT with show-stopping surprises, epic performances and a fan-filled audience live from New Jersey’s famed Prudential Center and airing across MTV’s global footprint of linear and digital platforms in 170+ countries, reaching 422 million households in nearly 30 different languages. For the third consecutive year, the VMAs will simulcast on The CW Network, making the show available to an expanded broadcast audience, in addition to BET, BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TVLand and VH1.

Fans can vote for their favorites across 22 gender-neutral categories, including “Video of the Year,” “Artist of the Year,” “Best Collaboration” and two all-new categories “Best Longform Video” and “Best Metaverse Performance,” by visiting vote.mtv.com through Friday, August 19th, thanks to Burger King, the presenter of this year’s award voting. Voting for “Best New Artist,” presented by Extra Gum, will remain active into the show on Sunday, August, 28th. Nominations for social categories including “Group of the Year” and “Song of Summer” will be announced at a later date.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn